Sorry it’s so long!
Trip Report, Aug. 2017
Provincetown trip
I’m late getting around to this, but we spent four days in Ptown last week and had a great time. I’m not sure we made the best food choices but still managed to eat well.
Our first night we went to Tin Pan Alley because the patio was so inviting. We had a very good meal and our server was charming. I really enjoyed my moqueca, which was loaded with snapper, squid, shrimp and scallops and had a very flavorful broth. Our server said that it is the signature dish of our chef, who is French and Cuban. My husband also enjoyed his perfectly-cooked halibut on a bed of spinach and white beans. It was a lovely evening and we’d probably return.
In the morning, we split a caramel apple dumpling from Connie’s Bakery, The pastry was buttery, flaky and tender and the apple perfectly seasoned. All of the pastries looked great. They are obviously made with care and skill. That night, we ended up at 9 Ryder, a sweet little old school Italian place with a fabulous view and gracious service. I had baked flounder stuffed with clams, shrimp and breadcrumbs along with a side of spaghetti tossed with butter, garlic and cheese. The fish was perfectly cooked and tasty, and definitely sort of retro. My husband had the eggplant parm and a side of pasta with marinara. It was fine. We enjoyed our time there but probably would go elsewhere next time just to try out other places.
The next morning we went to Cafe Heaven so I could get my Hollandaise fix. I got the Benedict Florentine after reading how great the sauce is. It was quite good, but it has quite a bit of whole grain mustard in it which I wasn’t expecting and found a bit overwhelming. The eggs were well poached and the homemade English was delicious. My husband loved his Mexican scramble. Great little place and if we were there longer we may have hit them up for a casual dinner. For dinner, we ended up at Ciro and Sal’s. The atmosphere is really warm and inviting and the servers worked really hard, but it was understaffed and we were seated 1/2 hr. after our reservations after having to flag down the host, who was also serving, a couple of times. My seafood fra diavolo was quite good. My husband got the manicotti special which was tasty enough, but looked sort of like burritos and could have used a bit of the accompanying béchamel own top.
Our last morning we grabbed some donuts from the Donut Experiment, which advertises donuts made to order. The donuts were actually pre-fried and just topped to order, but they were warm and tender. We’d go back.
For coffee, we went to Kohi coffee a few times for good pour-overs and outstanding espresso. (One is opening in the New Balance complex in the next couple of months.) Highly recommended. We also hit the Wired Puppy a couple of times and were happy. On our way home, we grabbed some malassadas and egg tarts from the Portuguese bakery.
On last thing. We stayed at the Waterford Inn and would definitely return. Very nice, low-key people and located right on Commercial St. Clean, pleasant rooms. Great place.
Moqueca
Halibut
Donuts
Fra Diavolo
Manicotti
