Any current recommendations for nice places to eat on the Cape? We'll be there in a few weeks, I figure we've got to do Chillingsworth one night, and probably Abicci since we've had good meals there in the past AND they're on Transmedia these days so we get 20% off. We will probably do Aesop's Tables again since we've had good meals there in the past (although the last time we were they we had an awful time, they put us in a room with a large party that made a lot of noise and had loud kids. We had our kids with us (now 5 and 9) but they are well behaved and I didn't appreciate being the only other party in the room with these people. Anyway, if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Obviously if they take Transmedia AND they're good, that's even better! -- Bill [email removed]
Massachusetts
Cape Cod Restaurants
Bill R. wrote: > Any current recommendations for nice places to eat on the Cape? > > Anyway, if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Obviously if > they take Transmedia AND they're good, that's even better! You might want to try the Impudent Oyster in Chatham, Bill, although I'm not totally sure how comfortable it would be with a five year-old and a nine year-old. The Impudent Oyster always has interesting dishes, usually seafood-based. Another "must" stop is the Chatham Squire. Eat in the bar section (NOT the adjacent restaurant). A great stop for lunch -- wonderful clam chowah and what our family considers the best hamburgers/cheeseburgers on the cape. You'll definitely feel OK there with children, by the way, even though there won't be many there (it's the place where the locals, including fisherman, eat). Sorry that I don't know what "Transmedia" is, so I can't help you there. Have a nice vacation.
My faves are ones that have proven to be consistent over the years. In Orleans, I like Captain Cass in Rock Harbor. It's seasonal or quasi-seasonal -- may be open only weekends except in summer, or maybe not even that. It is not a fine dining experience (paper plates, Dixie cups) and the menu is limited (fried fish, boiled lobsters, fried clams, chowder, a few other things), but it's as fresh as it gets. The best lobsters I've ever had were at Captain Cass. They also usually have a she-crab stew on the menu that's one of my faves. I like to go to Captain Cass after a day at the beach or hiking or something, when I want a good basic dinner that I don't have to get dressed up for -- plus, if the weather is nice, I like to walk out on the jetty at Rock Harbor and see the sunset and watch the boats come in. On Route 6 in Eastham is the Lobster Pool. Yeah, yeah, I know that Route 6 is full of places called the Lobster Pool and the Lobster Trap and the Lobster Condo, and that most of them are probably not very good. The Lobster Pool is good, and reliable. It's on the right hand side as you're heading north, just before Ben and Jerry's and the South Wellfleet General Store. This is a nice relaxed place, where the menu is based around (what else?) fresh fish and shellfish. They offer whatever fish is fresh that day deep-fried, grilled, baked with crumbs, or poached in court bouillon. One of my favorite meals there is poached swordfish, but I've also had boiled lobster, which was very good. They usually have a special or two on the menu, which are consistently well-executed: one time when I was there, a dinner companion had a bowl of cioppino that was bigger than his head. He ate the whole thing and got extra bread to soak up the broth. Serena's, on Route 6 in South Wellfleet, serves Italian-style seafood. It's a good stop if you're not in the mood for the more plain, New England style that predominates at Captain Cass and Lobster Pool. Favorites of mine are the scampi and the lobster fra diavolo. This place is very popular, so expect a wait. The Lobster Pot in Provincetown gets a lot of business because of its location: it is on Commercial Street near MacMillan Wharf, and a lot of the cruise-boat crowd ends up here. Its popularity is sometimes something of a problem, but they have lots of seating -- most of it with a view of the harbor -- and I've never had to wait very long for a table. Like the other three restaurants mentioned above, the Lobster Pot has been under the same ownership and management for some time, which accounts for its consistency. They sometimes get experimental with the menu, but it's generally a success. The Portuguese soup, the smoked seafood platter, the swordfish with ginger and soy sauce, the clambake, and the desserts are always good.
My favorite Cape Cod restaurants in the Orleans, Chatham area are in this order: Nauset Beach Club Off the Bay Cafe Christian's, downtown Chatham say hi to newsman Jack Hynes who hangs out at Christian's bar upstairs. John Gallagher
go to the small town of Wareham "the gateway to the cape", right on Main Street is a new place, Webster Hall. it excellent.