Boston and Cape Cod

I am taking a real, live, over-a-week-long vacation in mid-September. I plan to spend about 2 1/2 days in Boston proper, and a full week on Cape Cod, home base being a cabin in Eastham. And for the obvious question: where should a chowist hungry for fresh seafood, especially lobster, go? I'm more interested in freshness and pristine prepartion, but there's nothing wrong with the occasional pricier meal in a good restaurant.

Also, I'm curious about sampling Portugese cuisine, and understand that it can be found in costal Massachusetts. [And why, if so many other European immigrants found their way to the midwest, did so few Portugese?]

Giovanna

My family vacations on Cape Cod regularly, and one of our favorite casual (order at the counter) places for lobster is Moby Dick's. The seafood is fresh and the prices are reasonable. It's on Rt. 6 in Wellfleet, on your left if you're coming from Eastham (that's where we stay sometimes too!). Here's their website. http://www.wellfleet.net/restaurant/mobydicks/

I don't have much light to shed on Portuguese food, but Provincetown has Portuguese in its history, and I know that there is at least a Portuguese bakery there. I believe Napi's has some Portuguese dishes, and Portuguese soup is pretty easily found on the Cape. By the way, do see Provincetown--it's a blast and has an environment of live-and-let-live to an extent rarely found anywhere else in the world.

Some of our other favorite restaurants are (in order from most casual to most formal):

Cottage Street Bakery in Orleans--not a restaurant per se, but recommended for picking up muffins, etc. for breakfast. Last year my mom FedExed me their "dirt bombs" on my birthday. My whole family was on the Cape for my brother's wedding; I was 8 3/4 months pregnant and couldn't make the trip.

Napi's in Provincetown--they have some Portuguese items, among others, and some vegetarian stuff, if that's of interest.

Brewster Fish House--there's been a bit of a wait the times I've been there, but we've found it enjoyable, and the preparations are creative; menu at http://www.capecodmenus.com/brewster2.htm

The Red Inn, near the far end of Commercial Street in Provincetown--has a wonderful view, good food and great desserts. http://www.theredinn.com/ I considered this place legendary before they changed hands and the chef went to prison for murder (this is the word on the street anyway), but have been there once since then and consider it still very good.

Chillingsworth in Brewster--For a sort of fancy/expensive night out, it's my favorite. Anywhere. They do also have brunch/lunch. http://www.chillingsworth.com/

One more fun place to check out is the Truro Vineyard, it's where Rts. 6 and 6A split on the way into P'town (look for the big barrel/watertower). They seem to have tastings going on pretty frequently (although I don't know about in September), and we've brought a few bottles home to give us that "on vacation" feeling now and then.

Good luck, have fun, and please report back--I'm going at the end of September!

Well, I'm not sure if I went pre or post-murder, but I will second The Red Inn, we had an excellent meal there about 10 years ago. Maybe the first time this Kansas boy really liked lobster.

Provincetown I found rather skanky and depressing. Apparently I am not its target demographic. Providence RI I had very good Italian food in, not sure about availability of Portuguese though.

Being on Cape Cod during the week was nice. Being there on the weekend was crazy-busy traffic, just fyi. Damn Kennedys hogging the roads...

Giovanna wrote:Also, I'm curious about sampling Portugese cuisine, and understand that it can be found in costal Massachusetts. [And why, if so many other European immigrants found their way to the midwest, did so few Portugese?]Giovanna

Most recent visit this past May.

Strongly suggest a 35 minute ride north of Logan to Essex Seafood:
http://chowhound.com/newengland/boards/ ... 47003.html

For Portuguese:
I would certainly trust Galleygirl's posts at CH re O Fado in Peabody in exurban Boston. Logistics prevented us from getting there, but Galleygirl steered us to Essex Seafood on the nearby North Shore, and that was a huge winner.

In addition, Clem and Ursie's in Provincetown (not downtown, but out east towards the hwy) for clams, lobsters (pick a cull with just its fighting claw) etc and their adjoining terrific bakery for crusty breads and fresh fruit pies.

I had always grown up with the wisdom that Fall River held the state's greatest concentration of Portuguese, but a factoid I coincidentally stumbled on (lot of that going on in my life lately :) said that Ludlow, a suburb of Springfield in the south central part of the state, was where the Portuguese had gone, and Fall River was largely Lebanese now. Both cities are a hike from the Cape, but if your wanderlust puts you behind the wheel, you can take this under advisement.

Friends who love their lobster do like to get a lobster roll on Revere Beach, a very short trip north of Logan. (Lobster's not an option for me, but I still wanted to smack Steingarten one when he said New York had the best lobster rolls.)

My last four years in Boston, I lived on the top floor of a three-flat otherwise occupied by an extended Portuguese family, and the cooking smells were amazing. Aside from their very broken English, the only thing stopping me from inquiring about it (and perhaps attempting to mooch an occasional taste) was that the family tended to show their love for one another with loud, clangy fights that occasionally attracted the attention of the town's police. (One officer once misheard "third floor" instead of "first" from the dispatcher and checked all my closets for ... well, whatever.) But they grew their own vegetables and (this may have had something to do with the fights) made their own wine, and I have no doubt that they ate well.

A great Portuguese place in Boston, (Cambridge, actually) is Atasca. Great homey atmosphere and wonderful food.
My favorite place in the same area is Oleana. Middle eastern inspired, has a great outdoor patio/garden to sit in.
For a truly indulgent meal I would recommend either No.9 Park or L'Espalier. You'll spend lots of money but it is truly worth it.
Also the North End is worth exploring, and if you like cannolis, please go to Modern Pastry, NOT Mike's. Mike's will be mobbed and *look* like the place to go, but Modern will fill a fresh shell for you with not-too-sweet-homemade ricotta. *Sigh* And a great restaurant there, that is unpretentious from the outside, is Pomodoro. All on the same street
Enjoy your stay!

If you spend any time in or around Somerville, Davis Square and Ball Square are good spots. Both have authentic Pullman diners, though I think the Rosebud in Davis Square uses a Sysco-like service, so I'd recommend the one in Ball Square. It's been a few years since I ate at either Johnny D's or Gargoyle in Davis, but neither of them ever disappointed me while I lived there. Santoro's, a few doors down from Gargoyle, has the best pizza on earth, and I recommend their special with sausage, roasted red pepper, and ricotta. This is a pizza they worked hard on getting right. And Carberry's, yet a little further down the street, is a fantastic little bakery with cinnamon rolls I'd gladly pay to have airshipped to me and a whole lot of good breads.

Landfall in Woods Hole, next to the Waterway Authority serves some of the freshest most succulent clam bellies you've ever had in your life.

If you're driving from Providence, I also highly recommend the Venus De Milo in Swansea MA, just 15 minutes outside of Providence and before Fall River. The Specialty of theHouse ios the 3 1/2 pound baked stuffed lobster, a huge lobster baked, the body filled with scallops and lobster meat, then topped with crushed buttery crackers. Its a banquet hall that serves dinners. But, don't let that scare you away.

If you're driving up to Essex, head straight to Woodman's for the best fried clams you will ever eat-very hot, dry (i.e. not greasy) and excellent tartar sauce that has bite. Their boiled lobsters are great too.

In the Boston area, you really can't go wrong with Olives in Charlestown. Depending where you're staying it may be a bit out of the way but my mom and i had an excellent meal there just 3 weeks ago-graceful waiter with great wine suggestions, amazing grilled scallops, and an intensely satisfying cheese course stand out. Oh, and the rack of lamb was flaoverful, tender, and excellently seasoned.

Reviving this thread...

Here are a few highlights from my trip last month to Cape Cod; unfortunately, I've only got pics of one place. Which was Mojo's, in Provincetown, where I found some unexpectedly terrific whole fried clams & onion rings; the onion batter is light and flakey and encourages you to eat a lot of them.







Also, I had the best steamers of my life at the Lobster Pool in Eastham, though their extreme deliciousness was probably an anomaly; I've had them there before, and they were only very, very good. These were buttery-sweet without the butter, dosed with a good hit of the ocean. Steamers look pretty gross to the uninitiated; I'm sorry I can't provide pictures.

Mac's Shack in Wellfleet turned out delicious, straight-forward seafood, and a surprisingly delicious fish taco, though very different from the Baja variety. It's got the cabbage & lime, but theirs is gussied up with some diced, dressed tomatoes, minced red onion, avocado, and an aioli thing that had a kick. The fish was pan-seared halibut or cod. It's BYO, and they've got picnic tables instead of regular tables; it's informal but not cheap. It's got a good raw bar-- Mac's started out as a seafood market-- it also has, unaccountably, a sushi bar.

One fancy dinner at Abba was good-- it is a Mediterranean-Thai (?) place-- but not exceptional enough to detail. Previous visits to Chillingsworth in Brewster and Terra Luna in Wellfleet yielded much more memorable fine dining experiences.

I had a tip that the one place on the Outer Cape that has its own oyster-fishing license-- and can therefore sell them right out of the boat, rather than through a middle-man in Hyannis-- is the Bookstore Restaurant. I'd been there once before, before I knew this fact, and was unimpressed by food and atmosphere... though it does have a nice view, and the attached used bookstore is pretty charming, if you like that sort of thing (I do). Next time I'm there, I'll be sure to try the oysters.


Mojo's
5 Ryder St. Ext.
Provincetown, MA 02657
(508) 487-3140

Lobster Pool
4380 Rte 6
Eastham, MA 02642
(508) 255-9706

Mac's Seafood Shack
265 Commercial St
Wellfleet, MA 02667
(508) 349-0404

Abba
Old Colony Way & West Road
Orleans, MA 02653
(508) 255-8144

Terra Luna
104 Shore Rd
Truro, MA 02666
(508) 487-1019

Chillingsworth
2449 Main Street (Route 6A)
Brewster, MA 02631
(508) 896-3640
http://www.chillingsworth.com

Bookstore Restaurant
50 Kendrick Avenue
Wellfleet, MA 02667
(508) 349-3154

East Cambridge is the place to go for Portuguese if you don't want to haul it out to the rather distant towns where the largest Portuguese populations reside. Cambridge does have a sizeable Portuguese population and many Portuguese-language services are available there, from church services to drug counseling.


Atasca -- I wasn't wowed by it, there are better places around, but it will do in a pinch. Kinda fancy-ish compared to the other portuguese places around.

Atasca
50 Hampshire St.
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-621-6991 - map & directions
www.atasca.com

There's Azores-focused Portugalia, which I haven't visited but the website is informative:

Portugalia
723 Cambridge St.
Cambridge, MA 02141
617-491-5373 - map & directions
www.portugaliaincambridge.com

Casa Portugal is an East Cambridge favorite. I've dined there once, way too long ago, to comment on its current state. But it was really good then.

Casa Portugal
1200 Cambridge St
Cambridge, MA 02139-1316
(617) 491-8880

Lastly, O Cantinho, an Atasca off-shoot seems like a good stop. I'm going to check it out next week when I'm in Boston.

O Cantinho Cafe
1128 Cambridge St
Cambridge, MA 02139-1408
(617) 354-3443

FYI: Boston also has an impressively large Brazilian and Cape Verdean population.

Restaurant Caesaria is in Dorchester, which is south of downtown Boston and a world away. (I lived there for a year and I loved it -- there's good vietnamese, soul food, and various African cuisines to be found there, not to mention Boston's real Irish pubs -- but it is best to go with someone who knows their way around or doesn't mind an adventure).

One Cape Verdean place bubbled up to the top -- very interesting sounding menu. Lots of seafood as well as traditional dishes.

http://www.restaurantecesaria.com/menu.htm

has anyone been?

Is Moby Dick's on the way from Boston to Woods Hole? I am completely unfamiliar with the area. My husband and I are spending a long weekend in Boston and then we're driving to Woods Hole to take the Ferry over to Martha's Vineyard for one night then heading up to Maine.

No - Moby Dick's is on Rt. 6 in Wellfleet, which is on the forearm of the Cape, close to Provincetown. Woods Hole is near the Cape Cod Canal side.

You could always come to MASA in the South End. I moved here three months ago from Chicago to take over as chef.

One really great place on the Cape is the Duck Creeke Tavern in Wellfleet, just east of the center of town. The menu is mostly American with hints of Mediterranean and Northern Italian, and the food is about the best I've had in New England over the past year. Some highlights include the Chatham Cod and the pasta pasta (strange name, but a great dish with chicken, pasta, and veggies).

Atmosphere is great, too. It is housed in a nearly 200-year-old building that has a lot of charm. The prices are reasonable, conssidering what you get there.