Provincetown, the "Outer Cape," and Wellfleet Too

[suzilightning]

I adore your reports @liamsaunt.  That was the one place my mom wanted to go to but she didn't make it.  Took my mother-in-law #1 but she wasn't impressed.  Party on with the niece, girl!!!!

[liamsaunt]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

Other than a tiny bit or two of shell or sand, they really shuck oysters nicely.

 

 I had a sizable (for an oyster) rock in one of the oysters I ate this week.  Not from Mac's.  Luckily I did not bite into it.  My husband actually broke a crown on a steamer clam from our fish share a few years ago.  Eat with caution!  🙂

 

Today we tried to go to the Beachcomber but the lot was full, so we ended up at the Pearl, much to my niece's chagrin.  She has a grudge against this restaurant for reasons unknown to me.  The rest of the group likes it and majority rules.  

 

Drinks

 

 

Steamers

 

 

Fried "calamari"  I put calamari in quotes because we ordered fried calamari but there were also some random fried clams on the plate.  We did not mind.

 

 

Baked brie for niece.  She said it was "fine." Ah, teenagers 🙂

 

 

Spicy cod wrap

 

 

Oyster tacos

 

 

Shrimp tacos

 

 

Fish and chips

 

 

Sister and niece went to free Shakespeare in the Park this evening (they are both theater geeks).  The rest of us went to the sunset.

 

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by liamsaunt (log)

[kayb]

Your sunset photos soothe my soul.

 

Your seafood pictures, on the other hand, make me hungry.

 

Keep 'em both coming!

 

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday we went to Provincetown to stock up on more books to read, and at my niece's insistence we went to lunch at Mac's Fish House.  I figured she was a decent sport about the Pearl yesterday so indulged her.

 

Drinks

 

 

Tuna mango martini

 

 

Jalepeno yellowtail

 

 

Salmon poke

 

 

Assorted sushi

 

 

 

My brother does not eat sushi so he had a lobster roll.

 

[TicTac]

Everything looks great.

 

Minus the cream cheese in the sushi.

 

That is plain scary.

 

 

[weinoo]

13 hours ago, TicTac said:

Everything looks great.

Minus the cream cheese in the sushi.

That is plain scary.

 

But it makes it (sushi) a little more believable for Americans. Thorw a little smoked salmon and avocado in there, and you could be eating a bagel.

[teonzo]

27 minutes ago, weinoo said:

But it makes it (sushi) a little more believable for Americans. Thorw a little smoked salmon and avocado in there, and you could be eating a bagel.

 

You just invented the sugel, or the bashi! Hurry and register both trademarks!

 

 

 

Teo

 

[liamsaunt]

18 hours ago, TicTac said:

Everything looks great.

 

Minus the cream cheese in the sushi.

 

That is plain scary.

 

 

 

Haha yup, that was my niece’s roll. I do not like cream cheese in sushi either.

 

We cooked at the house last night due to bad weather (swordfish pasta) and I think we are cooking at home tonight too, but this afternoon we are touring an oyster farm so I might have some photos from that to share later.

[liamsaunt]

We ate at home again last night (grilled halibut topped with butter poached lobster, sweet corn, tomato salad).  I don't have any pictures of dinner, but here are our cocktails from Wednesday and Thursday: crush and blush and porch swing

 

 

 

This next part is only interesting if you like oysters 🙂  Yesterday we toured the largest oyster farm in Wellfleet.  The tours are run by SPAT, which is a non-profit organization that promotes Wellfleet oysters and supports the aquaculture industry in town.  They run the somewhat famous annual Wellfleet Oysterfest in October (which we will be attending this year after taking last year off).  Here are some photos from the tour.  The oysters are grown on "hats" that are coated with a calcium and concrete sludge that the oysters like to adhere to.  Here are the spats, you can see how tiny they are:

 

 

Lots of spats

 

 

They grow like this for a year, and then are removed from the hats and moved to bags, where they grow for another year.  Bags

 

 

After that, they are dumped right on to the harbor floor, where they grow in the muck for another year.  

 

 

This is Jake Puffer, the son of the original owner of this oyster farm.  He now works with his Dad to raise the oysters

 

 

The Puffer family also farms clams.  The clam seed is buried in the muck, and left to grow for three years before being harvested.  These are the clam beds.  They are covered with plastic mesh to keep the birds and crabs from preying on them

 

 

In this photo you can see Irwin Puffer and his helper Linda working on cleaning the oysters for sale.  They cut off any barnacles and trim off any other growths such as sponges.  Then the oysters are bagged and returned to the water for 24 hours before being hauled out and transferred to the wholesaler. 

 

 

I learned that this farm processes 15-20,000 oysters a week for sale, and the famers work 335 days a year.  Oysters sell for about 70 cents a piece to the wholesaler.  Of course then we turn around and pay $3.50 a piece in restaurants!    They are worth it. 

 

My breakfast of local tomatoes and bacon from the Wellfleet farmer's market

 

 

And our path to the beach at somewhat low tide

 

 

 

[weinoo]

Quote

Oysters sell for about 70 cents a piece to the wholesaler.  Of course then we turn around and pay $3.50 a piece in restaurants!    They are worth it

Except at happy hours, when they're $1, and sold as a loss leader!!

 

When we were up there in June, I was surprised to see a pickup truck drive out onto the beds at low tide. Must've been a Puffer!

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday we were able to get parking at the Beachcomber.  Fried clams

 

 

Mozzarella sticks (for the niece)

 

 

Steamers

 

 

Caesar salad with shrimp

 

 

Fish and chips

 

 

Oyster po boy

 

 

Heading out for a whale watch

[weinoo]

The Beachcomber, where their motto is:

 

We've never met a tortilla that couldn't become a bowl for something!

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday we had a terrific whale watch.  We saw 15 humpback whales and two fin whales.  Here are a couple of photos.  The pier that the boats leave from looking back towards town

 

 

Humpback doing a chin breach.  This one actually did a full body breach but I was not fast enough with the camera.

 

 

 

Mother whale with her calf

 

 

 

Hello people

 

 

 

Afterwards, per tradition, we had dinner at Mac's Fish House.  Drinks

 

 

Shrimp and grits

 

 

Oysters (and it was happy hour so they were indeed $1 each!)

 

 

Salmon hand roll

 

 

Sushi (note the dreaded cream cheese again, yes this was my niece's plate)

 

 

Roasted cod with a clams casino crust and crispy kale

 

 

Broiled striped bass with mashed potatoes and vegetables

 

 

Grilled striped bass with smoked mussels and mussel veloute

 

 

Swordfish curry

 

 

Niece had fried plantains with ice cream for dessert

 

 

Back at the house we tried to go for a beach walk but were thwarted by the presence of this fellow on our deck.  He's been hanging around here a lot and dive bombed my brother the other day so the nest must be close

 

 

Edited September 1, 2019 by liamsaunt (log)

[suzilightning]

9 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

at the house we tried to go for a beach walk but were thwarted by the presence of this fellow on our deck.  He's been hanging around here a lot and dive bombed my brother the other day so the nest must be close

 

 

 

great pictures of your food and drink

can't exactly tell the size but definitely an accipiter - sharpshinned or coopers hawk....looking for his meal...………………….

[weinoo]

I showed that pic to a birder friend...here's what his thought was...

 

Belly band is diagnostic of RT hawk. I found this pic on ebird.org

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by weinoo (log)

[liamsaunt]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

I showed that pic to a birder friend...here's what his thought was...

 

Belly band is diagnostic of RT hawk. I found this pic on ebird.org

 

 

Yes, it is a red-tailed hawk.  This type of hawk used to sit on the ledge of my office window to hunt rats and pigeons in the parking lot adjacent to my building.  I have some cool pictures of them.   Eventually a building was put in there and now they sit on that building instead.  They also have a nest in the iconic CITGO sign that you can see from Fenway Park, so I still get to see them flying around as that is also part of my office window view.

 

Yesterday my sister requested that we return to Winslow's Tavern.

 

Drinks: summer in a glass, spicy G+T, and crush and blush

 

 

Same roasted oysters as last time

 

 

 

Tuna confit with saffron aioli

 

 

Lobster sandwich

 

 

Proscuitto sandwich

 

 

Crab burger

 

 

Cacio e pepe

 

 

Triple chocolate mousse

 

 

Sunset

 

 

Crescent moon

 

 

Today is our last day of the trip.  We leave for home at 10AM tomorrow.  My sister and niece have already left, and I think my brother and brother in law are leaving soon too (only my husband and I took tomorrow off from work).  I'm not sure what we are doing for food yet.  It is supposed to rain later, so we won't be venturing far.

[kayb]

I had to save that crescent moon sunset so I can go back and look at it. Gorgeous.

 

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

thank you for sharing your trip.

[demiglace]

Thank you for taking the time to post pictures of all the wonderful meals and the scenery. Really appreciate it. Oh and thank your family for indulging us!

[liamsaunt]

Last meal for the trip.  There are thunderstorms in the area so we decided to stay close and go to Mac’s Shack.  Blueberry lemonade cocktail. I normally dislike sweet drinks but this was ok.

 

 

Halibut turadito

 

 

tuna tostada

 

 

seared halibut over over lobster mashed potatoes with lobster sauce

 

 

grilled swordfish with roasted fingerlings, Swiss chard and tomatillo sauce

 

 

 

And that is it for now. Tourist season is over.  Friends of the owner came up on our beach boardwalk today looking for him to go with them to Reggae on the Bay and were disappointed to find out that the renters were firmly installed until tomorrow morning 🙂 But no worries, we will be back in this same house next month to attend Oysterfest and I will be sure to share photos here.  Beach house rental

 

 

last bit of sunset

 

 

back to work Wednesday.

[liamsaunt]

I’m back in Wellfleet for the next 10 days so it’s time to update this thread. There’s a nor’easter happening right now so it is very windy.  In fact, five minutes after we walked in from dinner power went out on the Outer Cape for as far as I can see. Luckily our rental house has a huge generator. 
 

Tonight we went to a restaurant we have been meaning to try for years, PB Boulangerie.  This is the restaurant side of the bakery I have posted about in the past.  They offer a $31 prix fixe menu from 5-6:30. In tourist season the choices are limited but after Labor Day the whole menu goes to prix fixe with a couple of upcharges for certain items. We all chose from the non upcharge items.  Tonight it was my husband and myself, my nephew, and my husband’s brother dining.

 

pre dinner cocktail, the Provence. 

 

 

We were the first diners, so got a song from the organ grinder. I have that same fish light that is on the ceiling in my home.  
 

 

bread from the bakery

 

 

roma tomato tatin

 

 

smoked salmon with wasabi caviar

 

 

amuse bouche: tuna tartar and tuna rillete. The tartar was good but the rillete was fantastic

 

 

local curried clams with rice

 

 

nephew’s pasta

 

 

poached cod with leeks, potatoes and clams

 

 

“Paul Bocuse” classic quenelle de Lyon made with local cod and scallops. This was mine and it was outstanding.

 

 

chocolate mousse

 

 

Floating island 

 

 

By the time we left the restaurant was full with people waiting to get in.  I am stuffed. 🙂 

[heidih]

Your seafood porn makes me crazy. I have access to great stuff but what you post is stunning 

[liamsaunt]

last night we went to Mac's Shack.  We were seated in a cramped setup so I had to use my phone rather than my camera.  Oysters

 

 

Steamed littlenecks with garlic and shallots

 

 

Nephew had a steak with garlic mashed potatoes.  He only likes fish when it is fried and he cannot have anything fried at Mac's.

 

 

Husband and brother had the pan roasted halibut with lobster mashed potatoes

 

 

Sister had the lobster fra diavolo with squid ink gnocchi.  She said the flavor was good but there was too much sauce.

 

 

I was in the mood for salmon so got that roasted with maple sweet potatoes and bourbon brussel sprouts

 

 

Brother in law had the scallop dish that I had last time, served with farro and coconut curry sauce.  He ate that in about five minutes and then helped my sister and I finish our dishes.

 

 

My niece had sushi but she was too far away from me to get pictures.  She said it was very good as usual.

[liamsaunt]

It's a dreary, foggy day here in Wellfleet.  Luckily, the weather looks better for the rest of our stay.

 

Yesterday we had a late lunch at Winslow's Tavern.  We ordered a mix of new items and old favorites.  Drinks--a crush and blush, and a new drink called the Last Word.  It was....odd.  It had gin, luxardo cherry, and benedictine.  I would not get that drink again.

 

 

The usual roasted oysters

 

 

A tuna tartar.  The tuna was an odd color and lacked in flavor.  I don't think it was local, which is weird.

 

 

Pear apple salad

 

 

Burger with prosciutto and blue cheese

 

 

crab burger

 

 

Wild mushroom pasta with truffled egg

 

 

Squid pasta

 

 

Butternut squash and crispy lamb belly soup

 

 

Niece of course ordered the triple chocolate mousse for dessert.  We have been here so many times that the waitress did not even ask, she just brought it over

 

 

Nephew had a malva pudding

 

 

This morning my sister and I took the teens to breakfast at the Wicked Oyster.  Niece got french toast, which she started eating before I got a picture.  Nephew had blueberry pancakes

 

 

Sister ordered an omelet stuffed with bacon, sour cream, and avocado

 

 

I had chilaquiles

 

 

 

Sister and niece left after breakfast because niece has school tomorrow.  They will be back Friday.  My brother and my husband's brother are leaving shortly and will be back Thursday night.  So, it's just me, my husband, and my nephew for the next few days.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

It's a dreary, foggy day here in Wellfleet.  Luckily, the weather looks better for the rest of our stay.

 

Yesterday we had a late lunch at Winslow's Tavern.  We ordered a mix of new items and old favorites.  Drinks--a crush and blush, and a new drink called the Last Word.  It was....odd.  It had gin, luxardo cherry, and benedictine.  I would not get that drink again.

 

 

 

There's your problem.  Last Word is not supposed to have Benedictine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Word_(cocktail)