After PTown's Memorial Weekend Fire at Lopes Square, The Coffee Pot is Back!

It's so nice to see Linda's friendly face behind the counter at The Coffee Pot
once again. That smile is real, and all of her customers feel it. Welcome back!

Yippeee! The Coffee Pot is open once again, following the fire that ripped through the Red Shack, next door, and damaged several other adjacent businesses over Memorial Day weekend.
The three-alarm fire devastated two restaurants, leaving questions about their ability to rebuild before the summer season is over, and damaged two others. It shut down every restaurant on the eastern strip at Lopes Square.
Through the amazing efforts of the Provincetown Fire Department, and firefighters who rushed here with extra equipment from other towns, the fire was kept from spreading beyond the center of the long, narrow building that housed all four of these popular restaurants and takeouts.
The Coffee Pot sustained heavy water and smoke damage, and the roof was singed a little, but they're scrubbed, repaired and restocked, and they're up and running again in full summer mode. They open daily from 5:30 AM till about 10:30 or 11:00 at night.

Slices of ham are grilled, giving extra flavor to this Coffee Pot breakfast sandwich,
one of several choices. The roll is split and grilled as well. These little touches, and
generous servings, make for great flavor and extra value in everything they make.

Linda and Nelson opened The Coffee Pot in 1989 in Small's Court, just around the corner from the Lopes Square location they moved into the following season, where they've expanded their business and menu offerings a bit in every summer since.
One of the secrets to their success is that they simply give you more value for your money. They seem to charge a little less for most items than many other restaurants do, but at the same time their servings are often more generous than most.

The Coffee Pot's hot lobster roll is 6 ounces of lobster meat drizzled with melted
butter, served on a big, grilled sub roll with a bit of  lettuce;  great bargain at $17.99.

Case in Point: The Coffee Pot sells lobster rolls made with 6 ounces of lobster meat, served hot or cold, for $17.99.
With the cost of lobster on the East Coast taking a serious jump this year, this is not only a good price, but you get about 50% more lobster meat than offered by most other restaurants.
Fish & chips, fried clams, scallops and shrimp are all available, along with several daily soups on a rotating basis. Today's soups just happen to be all of the local favorites: clam chowder, of course, along with lobster bisque, and kale soup, which hails from Provincetown's rich Portuguese heritage. Each served by the cup or bowl, they start at just $4.85. There are also 7 great salads on the menu, too.

I love the Gyro at The Coffee Po, made with the classic Greek tzatziki .
I order mine with the traditional lamb, but it can also be ordered with chicken.,

The Gyro (say yeer•oh) is a Greek sandwich which starts with the traditional lamb, or you can choose chicken, on a grilled pita. It's stuffed with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and topped with tzatziki, the classic Greek yogurt sauce. Excellent!
They make about 30 different rolls, wraps, sandwiches,  and paninis, not to mention burritos and burgers. And their fries are among the very best in Provincetown.
Also the absolute best in town are their real fruit smoothies, in eight different flavors, or make up your own. I like mine a little less sweet, so I combine raspberries and blueberries with pineapple, for just $5.65. Add protein or Red Bull, if you'd like, for $1.50.

Real fruit, not flavorings, go into these
smoothies. This is strawberry/raspberry.

I haven't yet mentioned the muffins, bagels, brownies, scones, croissants, cinnamon rolls and giant cookies that come fresh from their ovens every day; perfect with a cup of great coffee. I'm partial to the dark roast, especially if I have it iced rather than hot.
I usually call ahead, at 508•487•2580 for any of 8 great breakfast sandwiches, starting at $4.10, ready to go by the time I get there for pickup. But I also like a sit-down meal in the dining room or out on the patio. Whether I want brioche French toast or one of 7 omelets for breakfast, or a traditional lox and bagel, there's some fine "people watching" to be done here, right at the edge of Lopes Square. By the way, a plate of eggs, toast and home fries is a real bargain at just $5.99.
OK, writing this and sorting through a couple of thousand photos of food I've eaten all over PTown has got me really hungry, so I know where I'm heading for something to eat. I've been jonesing for a sausage, egg and cheddar croissant ever since the fire. I'm gonna go help these folks make up a little of their lost income, and I hope you'll all get out and do the same. I'm sure the tip jar could use a little bump as well, since all the employees lost their usual income while they were closed down for three weeks.
We're so glad to have the restaurant running again, and we heartily welcome back Linda and Nelson and the gang, and wish them all the best!

It's Not Spring in PTown Until My First Visit to The Coffee Pot

Linda and Nelson have been welcoming folks to The Coffee Pot, and to
Provincetown, for more than 24 years. They're genuinely glad to see you!

For 24 years or so, Linda and Nelson have been opening the doors of The Coffee Pot at 5:00 in the morning (in the height of the season) and doing it with smiling faces. Every day of the season they get out of bed in the pre-dawn hours and make their way to the most popular coffee shop in the heart of Provincetown, at Lopes Square, by the giant anchor.
Within a few moments they're sliding  trays of bagels, muffins, croissants and cinnamon buns into the ovens, and putting on the coffee, and soon the aroma of fresh baked goods is wafting out the door as local fishermen, carpenters, cops, and anyone else who's up at that time of day stop in to get their morning started. Nothing beats a really good cup of coffee and fresh baked goods, right out of the oven.
My first order of the season was their giant breakfast sandwich called the Rescue Squad, which I had been jonesing for all winter. It's made with three eggs, three strips of bacon, two sausage patties and two slices of cheese on a freshly baked sub roll that's been split open and toasted on the grill. It's an entire meal that you can take with you.

The patio at The Coffee Pot is a great place for a little fresh air with
your meal, and a little people watching at the edge of Lopes Square.

If you want a sit-down breakfast in the dining room or out on their patio, The Coffee Pot can also accommodate you. Get a plate of eggs and toast for just $5.99, or  add bacon, sausage or linguica (say leen•gwee•suh,) the slightly spicy, extremely tasty Portuguese sausage. The also make omelets, brioche French toast and other great breakfast plates, and the menu for lunch and supper is sizable and tempting as well. For example, they make some of the best French fries in PTown, perfect with a burger, burrito, Gyro, panini or their huge lobster roll, served hot or cold. (Try the lobster omelet, too.)
If for some unknown reason you've never visited The Coffee Pot, it's time to give them a whirl. Generous portions and reasonable prices, and those smiling faces behind the counter, make this one of the town's favorite eateries.

The Coffee Pot Opens PTown's 2016 Summer Season

This is just the first half of one of my favorite breakfasts in Provincetown.

Oooops! I was so eager to taste my first Coffee Pot breakfast sandwich of the season that I forgot to take its picture until I'd already taken a big old bite out of it! For this one, a particular favorite of mine, they put several layers of thin-sliced deli ham on the grill to bump up the flavor before adding it to those fluffy eggs and gooey cheese (make mine cheddar) and then they stuffed it all into a freshly baked roll, right out of the oven.

The photo above was actually taken a couple of weeks ago, when Lopes Square was still pretty quiet at 7 AM, and The Coffee Pot had already been open for a few weeks. This friendly little spot always seems to be the first business to open for each new season. Soon it’ll be so busy that they'll be open by 6 o’clock, every morning, and even earlier in the height of a busy summer season. When the lines begin to form, it pays to phone in your order at 508 487-2580, and they’ll have it ready for pick-up when you get there.

Linda and Nelson make The Coffee Pot one of PTown's most welcoming spots,
with great coffee, fresh baked goods, and a variety of meals served all day long. 

Linda and Nelson must have been here at Lopes Square, in the heart of Provincetown, for around 25 years now. I’ve lost track, so I’ll have to ask them the next time I stop in. That may be this morning, now that my stomach is starting to growl as I’m writing this.

In fact, I may have to order the Rescue Squad: a huge breakfast sandwich with three eggs, three strips of bacon, two sausage patties and two slices of cheese served on a giant, toasted hoagie roll.

Visit The Coffee Pot, serving up great coffee and baked goods all day long, with breakfast served at least two-dozen different ways, and every year they seem to add something new to their lineup of homemade soups, sandwiches, burritos, wraps, seafood, salads and more. We wish them a great 2016 season!

PTown Breakfast at Connie's Bakery

Connie's Bakery makes their excellent breakfast sandwiches
on their own breads, freshly baked from scratch every day.

I got a chance the other day to get to Connie's Bakery in time for breakfast, so, naturally, I wanted to try their breakfast sandwich, which starts at just $4.50 for two eggs and your choice of cheeses, served on your choice of fresh baked breads. They had a breakfast special that morning that suited me just fine, with spinach, tomato, peppers and onions.
I ordered it with cheddar cheese, on their homemade-from-scratch herbed focaccia. I could have added bacon, ham or turkey for another $1.50, but I stuck with the meatless version, and it was great.
They blended the veggies right in with the eggs, the cheese was a good cheddar and the focaccia was tasty, tender and a little bit crusty, just the way I like it. Writing this makes me want another one.
Breakfast at Connie's also includes a different quiche every day, along with their homemade granola, served either with milk or with fruit and yogurt, and a changing variety of daily scones and muffins, with their famous blueberry muffin (clobbered with juicy blueberries) served every day. How about a warm slice of coffee cake, or toast with butter and jam, or maybe a bagel, a donut, or their huge cinnamon roll?
Grab a nice cup of coffee as well, and take your breakfast out onto the deck. There's no better way to start your day than enjoying a great breakfast while you take in that stunning view out over magnificent Provincetown Harbor.
Connie's will also make you lunch, with great sandwiches, salads, and their legendary, savory street pies, along with an endless array of desserts, cakes, pies, cookies and other sweets. In fact, the Cape Cod Times has named Connie's among the top ten bakeries anywhere on Cape Cod.
Find Connie's Bakery at 205 Commercial Street, in the Aquarium Marketplace, open daily at 7 AM in season. Call ahead at 508 487-2167 for pickup orders.

Lunch at Far Land Hits the Spot

Far Land's terrific Herring Cove sandwich is big, delicious, and only $7.

I stopped at Far Land Provisions the other day to get something to eat, and I tried their Herring Cove sandwich. It's made with a pile of tender, lean roast beef, just a bit on the rare side, tasty and perfect in a sandwich.
Next comes the roasted red pepper, then the garlic herb spread. I ordered it with the standard lettuce and tomato, and added thin-sliced red onion. All of that went between a couple of hearty slices of impeccably fresh multigrain bread, with a pickle spear on the side, and it was the best sandwich I've had in quite some time. Better still, it was just $7.
I like their Wood End sandwich, too, with grilled, marinated vegetables, sprouts and their homemade hummus rolled in a wrap. Their Head of the Meadow is no slouch, either: brie, apple, sprouts and honey mustard. Delish!

Desserts and sweets are a specialty at Far Land, made daily, from scratch.

It's hard to walk out of Far Land without something from their bakery case, too, with freshly baked muffins, cookies, bars and brownies in an endless variety. My dessert this day was made with pineapple, cashews, macadamia nuts and coconut, with a crust that was something akin to a shortbread. Did they call this a Congo Bar? I don't know, but I got the last one in the case.
I ate my lunch at a little table looking out the window onto Bradford Street, amongst a bunch of folks who had taken refuge from Wednesday's killer rain storm, but you can get your order to go, too. Check out Far Land, at 150 Bradford Street, for their award winning sandwiches and goodies, and for lunch to take with you to the beach.

PTOWN Café Frittata is a "Best Bite"

The frittata at PTOWN Café is Best Bite, available Saturdays and Sundays.

PTOWN Café, found on Commercial Street next to Town Hall, offers a great breakfast choice on weekends. They make a frittata, a bit like a crustless quiche, with sun dried tomatoes, feta, arugula and a few Kalamata olives. It's delicious, and a good-sized slice sells for just $3.75, which makes it a Best Bite.
For another dollar I'll often add a cranberry pecan roll, and that makes a nice breakfast for about $5. A variety of fresh baked goods will come out of the oven throughout the day, and there are coffees and teas both hot and cold. The iced coffee is cold-brewed for a smoother flavor, and you'll find a nice brewed, iced green tea, too.

The cranberry pecan roll is among my favorites at PTOWN Café.

They also carry quite a variety of healthy packaged snacks, like Beanos black bean chips, for a quick bite, or to go with a cup of fresh fruit or a sandwich. This thoughtful choice of snack foods includes things that are good for you, like oats, dark chocolate, beans, nuts or olives.
For those times when your taste runs toward the more decadent end of the scale, look no further than Lisa's killer chocolate chip brownie, perhaps the best in town.
PTOWN Café is located at 258 Commercial Street, just west of Town Hall. Give 'em a try.

What's New? - All Kinds of Flavors at the Food Court in the Aquarium Marketplace

This spring there are so many new things to taste in Provincetown. You could spend an entire day trying new flavors in the Food Court at the Aquarium Marketplace, at 209 Commercial Street. In fact, you could easily spend your whole day at Uma Loucura, the new Brazilian restaurant there, tasting dishes and flavors you've never had before, but will be sure to go back for again. Let's start there...

Some of Brazil's favorite breakfast
and snack foods from Uma Loucura.

Uma Loucura offers a wonderful variety of meals, made from scratch from authentic Brazilian ingredients you have likely never tasted. They offer a great menu and daily specials, but for today, let's start with a few very popular Brazilian snack foods, clockwise from the bottom left corner:
Coxinha is the favorite of all snacks in Brazil, a sort of chicken croquette, if you will. This is a light teardrop shaped ball of soft dough stuffed with shredded chicken.
Esfirra is a tiny, triangular pastry stuffed with ground beef and Brazillian seasonings, heralding from the Middle East.

Pao De Queijo, a little ball of cheese bread made from cassava flour (from the ground roots of the manioc plant) will soon be offered in daily choices like jalapeño, bacon and other flavorss. This is a very popular snack and breakfast food in Brazil.
Empadinha, in the bottom right corner, is a mild, bite sized pie made with shredded chicken baked into a pastry crust, with a great texture and flavor.

Get a plate of any or all of these to carry out onto the Aquarium's waterfront deck to enjoy with a cocktail, a glass of wine or a cold beer at the Aqua Bar, along with that amazing view of Provincetown Harbor.

About 2 dozen great flavors at a time
are n the case at I Dream of Gelato.

It is impossible to walk into I Dream of Gelato and not find something new. Michelle simply can't help herself. She gets an idea for a new flavor and can't seem to rest until she has perfected it. It'll take you a couple of years to taste them all, with somewhere around 200 brilliant flavors of gelato and sorbetto rotating through the freezer case as they are made fresh daily. Yesterday I tasted the amazing banana fig, and the award-winning Holy Canolli. It was the caramel salt pretzel, though, that sent me off looking for Michelle to find out how in the world she comes up with these sublime combinations of flavors and then actually puts those flavors into these extraordinary confections. Short of grinding up actual pretzels into the mix, how does she achieve that flavor? Turns out she does use pretzels, but that still doesn't explain how she makes this perfectly smooth, and perfectly flavored, fine Italian ice cream. 

The famous Mississippi Mud Cake
from Connie's Bakery is legendary.

So much is new at Connie's Bakery this year that I'll have to write a whole page about it very soon. So let me just mention that Shane has taken over upon Connie's retirement, after her many years of turning out some of Provincetown's favorite baked goods. Don't worry, all your favorites are still here. The store has been carefully remodeled, making it much easier to shop for savory treats like their beautiful quiche, or sweets like the endless array of cookies, cakes, pies, muffins, and brownies that made Connie's famous.

Shane has some new things in store for us as well. Recently inspired by the birthday of a friend, Shane made a tiny tweak to a favorite recipe from Connie's vast collection, and made the Mississippi Mud Cake what many now claim to be the best chocolate cake ever created. I was certainly hooked upon tasting this rich, dense Bundt cake, a bit like a pudding cake but somehow lighter, with a bit of coffee to give it a little mocha flavor, and drizzled with a chocolate ganache. Stop in and give it a taste.

All these things and more are found in the Aquarium, with seven unique restaurants, and seating indoors or out, on the patio or the waterfront deck. Everything here is available for takeout, too. Next week we'll try more of the new dishes Provincetown has to offer this summer. They are found all along Commercial Street. Let me know if you find something I need to taste.

The Provincetown Portuguese Bakery Ushers in the Spring Season

Pasteis 'de 'nata, a small lemon custard tart,
is the most popular pastry in Portugal, and a PTown favorite.

Yippee! The world-famous Portuguese Bakery has just re-opened for the 2013 season, bringing back all the yummy treats they are so well known for, although not everything on their usual menu is available quite yet. But as we get a bit farther into the season we'll find close to a hundred different pastries, both sweet and savory, available at any given time.
The hazelnut torte, for example, won't be in the pastry case for a few more weeks, when we've got more visitors in town. But for now, lots of your favorites are back, and if you've never tried the Portuguese Bakery you'll have a hard time choosing a favorite treat.
The best-loved pastry of the native Portuguese people is a tiny lemon custard tart called pasteis 'de 'nata, which translates roughly into "pies from cream," made from a smooth custard baked into a small pastry shell. It sells for $2.39
Of course, no trip to Ptown is complete without sampling the malassadas, the Portuguese version of a light, tender dough that's deep fried until it's puffed and golden, then rolled in sugar and left to cool a bit on a rack seen through the front window of the shop. You can watch them being made, and ideally, you'll arrive just as they are being set out to cool, which is when they are at their most delicious.
The Provincetown Portuguese Bakery, at 299 Commercial Street, started baking bread for local restaurants well over 100 years ago, and in 1976 the front section of the building was opened to the public, selling their legendary breads, along with pastries and sweet treats. Nowadays you can also get a number of savories as well as sweets, like the linguica roll ( say leen•gwee•suh) which is made with a slightly spicy Portuguese sausage. You can also get breakfast or lunch from their grill. A bacon and egg  breakfast, for example, is an inexpensive way to start your day right in the center of town.This is a counter service restaurant, and you are asked to bus your own table, which helps to keep the prices low. Right now they're open daily from 8 AM till roughly 3 or 4 PM, depending on business. In the summertime their hours will be greatly extended.
Whether you need breakfast, lunch, a tasty treat or a full-blown wedding cake, check out the Portuguese Bakery.

Red Eye Coffee Makes the 3 Under 35 List, and the Best Bite List as Well

On my quest to help you eat well, with three meals a day for under $35 total for the day, this is my second entry into the pool of meals that you can quite easily combine to come up with an excellent line-up of nourishing, tasty, filling, high quality, well prepared yet very inexpensive PTown meals.
At Red Eye Coffee, at 258 Commercial Street, just west of Town Hall, Jeremy is now cooking up a full breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays, and you can order this terrific meal all day long. Order two eggs cooked however you like them, and a choice of ham, bacon or sausage, served with home fried potatoes and your choice of Texas toast, Portuguese muffin or bagel, toasted and buttered, for $6, which includes the tax. I ordered sausage, an "everything" bagel, and eggs over medium.
Everything was cooled perfectly, the home fries were delicious, and the plate came garnished with a few slices of fresh cantaloupe. I haven't found anywhere in town where you can beat this breakfast and its price. Order it right through the day until closing late at night. I had it at breakfast time, sitting at a table on their patio out front, watching the people go by on Commercial Street.
If you stop by on a day other than Saturday or Sunday, you won't find this breakfast, but you will find a wide variety of fresh baked pastries, turnovers both sweet and savory, individual quiche and many other items suitable for breakfast and also in the range of around $6 or less. Today I noticed there was a spinach quiche, and a bacon quiche, and the other day I wanted to try the cauliflower quiche but it sold out before I got one. Ham and cheese turnovers, blueberry turnovers and many other pastries are generally available along with a breakfast egg-and-cheese sandwich. Those are $4.50, or add a breakfast meat for another dollar.
So there are many meals and combinations here that fit into the Provincetown 3 under 35 list, but the most outstanding bargain is the weekend breakfast plate for just 6 bucks, and that makes it a Best Bite. You can't beat it.
Update: A few days after I wrote this post, the summer season picked up a bit, and Jeremy began offering this meal every day. Let's hope that lasts beyond Labor Day when the crowds thin out again.

Truro Residents, Frequent PTown Diners, Came This Night for Chinese and Fries at the Aquarium Marketplace

As I was having my own dinner on the patio, next to the waterfront deck at the Aquarium Marktplace, I met these folks from Truro. They quite often come into PTown for supper and have a number of favorite meals in our local eateries. This night they came into Provincetown for Chinese and fries. They got Chinese take-out from the Fortune Cookie, a Townie Favorite and the longest-running restaurant in the food court at the old aquarium, now in its 20th season serving appetizers, seafood dishes, beef, chicken and vegan choices, along with many others.

Tofu and Broccoli, photo from Fortune Cookie's website

Among my favorites are the Scallion Pancakes, Thai Chicken Wings, and General Tsao's Chicken; a daily special and a real bargain at $11.55, and that includes the tax. One of my favorite vegetarian dishes here is the Tofu and Broccoli.
You'll also find Connie's Bakery in the Aquarium, with egg sandwiches and a variety of breakfast pastries from scratch every day, and a savory pastry called a street pie, meant to be eaten as you walk down Commercial Street.
This foursome from Truro also ordered a big basket of fries from Batata, which features a wide variety of Canadian-style comfort foods, among them some of the town's best French fries, as well as a favorite take-out menu for a number of local police officers, making this little spot another Townie Favorite.
These folks from Truro sat down at the table next to mine as I was trying the fish taco of the day from Native Cape Cod Seafood. They've really hit their stride this year, now in their 2nd season in the Aquarium Marketplace. Give them a try. A man sharing my communal table was there for the Lobster Scampi served over linguine. He told me he thought it was one of the best values in town on top quality seafood.

New this year in the Aquarium is Cookies U, featuring delicious cookies made from scratch every day by Jackie, a former teacher, now following her heart and baking up cookies from simple to elaborate every day.
A favorite of mine is the basic peanut butter cookie, in the Cookies 101 section. Cookies with something extra, like Jackie's frosted sugar cookie, are in the Cookies 201 class. Advanced studies in the Cookies 301 class include whoopee pies and others that have moved well beyond basic studies. Stop and taste these cookies and you will return again.
That brings us to Big Daddy's Burritos, where meat lovers and vegetarians alike will find fresh, healthy choices in not only burritos, but also tacos, nachos, quesadillas, and salads, and any burrito can be served in a bowl without a tortilla and gluten free.
One of my favorites here is the Squash and Corn Burrito, made with zucchini, corn, brown rice, Monterrey Jack cheese, your choice of black or pinto beans and homemade salsa, all rolled into a 12 inch flour tortilla. You can also add sour cream, or make it a whole wheat or a spinach tortilla for a small extra fee. I also like the Carnitas Burrito, made with specially seasoned, slow-roasted pork. Add $1.25 to any food purchase and get a 24 ounce freshly brewed iced tea. Get a breakfast burrito from 9:30 till 11 AM.

Sign from
I Dream of Gelato website

There is no better spot in town for dessert than I Dream of Gelato, with dozens of things here each qualifying as a Best Bite. It's the last shop on the left as you walk through the building and out to the beautiful waterfront deck looking out over the boats in the harbor. Homemade gelato, the Italian ice cream, is made right here, all day long, with more than 160 flavors having been absolutely perfected over the years. Gelato is not only better for you, but it also has more flavor than traditional American ice cream. Made with milk rather than heavy cream, and without eggs, and frozen at a slightly warmer temperature and with much less air whipped into the mixture, the result is an extremely flavorful, denser and smoother consistency that really lets the flavors of the fruits, nuts, caramel swirls or whatever special ingredients might be in your favorite flavor shine through.
There are always 24 flavors in the case, each of the 160 flavors taking its turn in the spotlight. You'll find traditional favorites like strawberry, nearly three-dozen chocolate flavors, and unique offerings like the golden butter cake with milk chocolate frosting. The black sesame is simply amazing.  My very favorite is the pineapple basil sorbet. Like all sorbets, it is made without any dairy ingredients, so it is even lower in fat and calories, but you could never tell from the taste. There are sugar-free choices as well. Try any flavor and you'll be hooked. Tastes are available. This shop also makes wonderful specialty coffees, Italian hot chocolate and other treats, too. Look for an upcoming post about I Dream of Gelato.
Choose your food, even from more than one of these restaurants, as these folks from Truro did, and carry it out to the patio or the waterfront deck to enjoy a little sea breeze, and get a few oysters on-the-half-shell or other treats from the raw bar on the patio. Have a cocktail from the Aqua Bar, right on the deck, served by Dante, one of the town's favorite bartenders. The view from the deck is fantastic, and you are having your own, custom waterfront dining at a bargain price. Meals here range from about $7 to $20, with many around the $10 range. The Aquarium Marketplace is found at 205 Commercial Street, near the corner of Carver Street.