PTown's Best Lobster Roll, Chapter Four

This week's trek takes us to four sit-down restaurants that each serve more of a lobster salad type of roll, a little sloppier, perhaps, than those served with only the barest touch of mayonnaise, and with a bit of celery or other ingredients added. Each also includes an accompaniment, like chips or fries.

Sage's toothsome lobster sliders are perfect for sharing.

The "Lobster Knuckle Slider" at Sage is about 5 chunky ounces of fresh lobster claws and knuckles mixed with a little mayo, a bit of diced red onion and roasted sweet corn kernels, served on a pair of warm sesame-seeded brioche buns that have been basted with a touch of melted butter. These tempting little lobster rolls are served with about a half-dozen or so house made chips, cooked just a bit dark and tasty. This dish sells for $16, which makes it a better bargain than many others, too. I generally like my lobster fairly unadorned, but I  liked this dish quite a bit.
Find Sage tucked away at the end of a little alley that will lead you just a few steps off Commercial Street, at number 336.

Frozen lobster just doesn't float my boat with great fresh lobster available. 

Bayside Betsy's looks out over the harbor at 177 Commercial Street, with new owners since the spring, serving a lobster roll only on their lunch menu, which calls it a "Maine Lobster Roll, simple and delicious."
When I asked the waiter why Maine lobster instead of local lobster, he said it was because Maine lobsters are the best. So I was a bit puzzled when I bit into it and found it was made with frozen lobster. To be fair, I have one friend who actually prefers the texture of frozen lobster over fresh, but that opinion is certainly in the minority around here.
It's made with just a tiny bit of mayo and just a hint of celery, but what puts it in the slightly sloppier "lobster salad" category is the extra moisture inherent in frozen lobster. My waiter told me there were 6 ounces of lobster in this brioche bun lined with lettuce, but having eaten about 40 lobster rolls for this series over the last couple of months, I find I can ballpark it pretty accurately on sight, and this looked light. Thinking that the extra water content might raise the weight a smidgen, I called later to inquire, and was told that "there's 6 to 8 ounces of lobster" in this sandwich. An 8 ounce lobster roll would be double the size of the average lobster roll served in any Provincetown restaurant. Look at the photo and draw your own conclusions...
Their lobster roll is $19.95, served with some very good fries.

Tin Pan Alley's lobster roll makes a nice lunch.

Tin Pan Alley, new this year at 269 Commercial Street, serves a "traditional lobster salad" roll at lunchtime, made with about 5 ounces of fresh local lobster, with a little dollop of mayo, some finely diced celery and a dash of salt and pepper stirred in.
This makes a slightly creamy lobster salad that sits on a bit of chopped iceberg lettuce in a brioche roll that has been toasted over the flame of the grill.
This tasty sandwich is $17, served with your choice of a side salad, some barely salted hand cut fries, or coleslaw, which is not their forte, so stick with the salad or fries. They also serve a Lobster Quesadilla with jack cheese, mango salsa and guacamole for $15.

The Purple Feather's lobster roll is a bargain for lunch or supper. Check hours.

The Purple Feather, at 234 Commercial Street, serves 4 ounces of fresh lobster mixed with finely chopped celery and a minimum of mayo, on a grilled New England style frankfurter roll lined with leafy green lettuce and sliced tomatoes. What makes this roll a little sloppy is probably the juicy tomatoes in the sandwich, and there are extra tomatoes and a couple of pickle chips on the side, along with a small bag of Cape Cod potato chips. At $14.95 this is a bargain, at a better price than many others.

There are still a few lobster rolls in town that I haven't gotten to yet, so there's more to come. Next week we'll be off to the Post Office Cafe, among others. If I haven't mentioned your favorite, let me know where it is, and I'll taste it and feature it.

Get it While You Can...

As the little casual dining spots in Provincetown get ready to shut down for the season, I'm making the rounds to enjoy some of the great food and bargain prices that we'll miss over the winter...

Mojo's grilled swordfish platter with mixed vegetables, salad and their signature round fries. Mojo's has a HUGE menu with some of the best prices in town.

The Red Shack lobster mac & cheese became a new favorite when I tasted it this summer. I'll miss their gyro, pastrami, sausage and peppers, and their giant breakfast wrap with a whole meal rolled inside.

Provincetown Portuguese Bakery has the best fried dough in town, hands down. Breakfast and lunch from their grill are bargains, as are dozens of sweet or savory pastries and traditional Portuguese treats.

John's Footlong fish sandwich is among the best in town, along with their fried clams, kale soup, scallop roll and oooohh, the lobster roll. And don't forget the footlong hot dog in a grilled bun.

Lewis Brothers Ice Cream is the last real, homemade American ice cream in Provincetown, despite the "homemade" signs you might see in other windows. It's not. The brothers make it right there in their shop, churning out several flavors every day. I love their small sundae. I'm not sure I could finish the big one.

Native Cape Cod Seafood is one of the spots I miss most over the winter. Everything they make is absolutely fresh, delicious and reasonably priced. You could throw a dart and be happy with anything on the menu. I order an ear of corn with my linguine and clams. And the lobster scampi rivals any in town, at a great price.

Blondie's portobello mushroom burger comes with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and feta cheese, and it's one of my favorite vegetarian meals in Provincetown.

Uma Loucura brought Brazilian flavors to town this summer with daily specials like Bobo De Camarao, made with yucca, peppers, fresh tomato, coconut milk and a mountain of shrimp. Everything is made from scratch, and I loved everything I tasted there.

The Canteen brought great seafood, sandwiches, homemade linguica and a variety of ethnic flavors to Provincetown this summer. Their homemade sodas, and the return of Pucci Wings, were highlights of my summer. I'm jonesing for them already.

I Dream of Gelato makes more than 200 flavors of the best homemade gelato (the Italian version of ice cream) you're ever likely to taste, from simple fruit flavors to gourmet delights. My very favorites are the pineapple basil and the black sesame.

The Coffee Pot has a line of people every morning getting their coffee, fresh baked goods and an array of great breakfast sandwiches. When I'm really famished I'll order the Rescue Squad, with three eggs, three slices of bacon, two sausage patties and double cheese on a sub roll.

ScottCakes are the best cupcakes in the world, period. This fluffy vanilla cupcake topped with that distinctive swirl of pink buttercream frosting is one of the greatest sweet treats ever invented.

Get out and enjoy some of these great PTown eats before these little joints fold up for the season.

Big Fish at the Breakwater

There's a beautiful, big fish in that bucket.

Seen today as an exceptionally high tide rolled in at the breakwater in Provincetown's Far West End, this man was fishing in the first 15 feet of water to the left of the breakwater, right  next to the shoreline, which I thought made no sense, but notice the tail of the fish sticking up out of his bucket! This fish was about 30 inches long, still kicking, as the woman plopped it headfirst into the bucket. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to capture the photo of this beautiful fish as she held it up. It was at least two-and-a-half feet, maybe a little longer, and looked to be a nice, sleek, striped bass, the prize fish of these waters.
You can try your hand at fishing by picking up a rod and lures at either of the local hardware stores or at Nelson's Bait and Tackle on Race Point Road, and stroll out onto the breakwater yourself, or you can fish along the beach at Herring Cove. Remember to get your fishing permit, which you can do online at the public library by googling "Mass recreational saltwater fishing permit" (and print it out there as well) for about $12 total, charged to a credit card. Or get your permit right now if you're reading this from a computer that's hooked to a printer by clicking this link to get your saltwater fishing permit. If you're over the age of 60 it's free, though they zing you a couple of bucks for the processing fee if you get it over the Internet, and if you're under the age of 16 you don't need the permit at all. If you're going out on a fishing charter you've hired, their permit covers you at no cost. Get out for a little fishing in this beautiful weather we're having.

Striped Bass at Native Cape Cod Seafood takes TheYearRounder's "Best Bite" Award

Native Cape Cod Seafood's simple grilled striped bass is a terrific value.

You might know I've been out nearly every night recently on my summertime search for the best striped bass in Provincetown, having had eight or nine over the past week or so, each at a different restaurant. The price has ranged from under $20 to well over $30, with the size of the bass portions also varying from smaller to larger servings, but not necessarily correlating with the cost of the dinner. More ingredients in a recipe does not always result in a better dish, just as a more renowned restaurant does not always turn out a better meal.
A higher price has sometimes brought a more complex preparation, or more elaborate side dishes, but perhaps a smaller serving of bass, and each of these dishes has also achieved a certain level of success on the proverbial scale from 1 to 10. This summer I've not been served a single plate of bass that was hugely disappointing, as has sometimes been the case in the past, and often with a $36 price tag for a hapless bass that was tragically overcooked, or for one that had been unmercifully sauced beyond the point where the taste of the fish could still be recognized. On the contrary, the stripers I've found this summer have all been well prepared, with only a couple of them leaning just slightly toward the frufru of over-complicated preparations.
My striped bass at Native Cape Cod Seafood was grilled perfectly with a little lemon, salt and pepper, served on a paper plate with a sort of rice pilaf and fresh zucchini brushed with a tiny bit of oil and a dash of sea salt and grilled until just tender. This uncomplicated plate of simple flavors let the taste of the bass shine through, and I ate it sitting in the open air of the Aquarium Marketplace deck, looking out over magnificent Provincetown Harbor. It was among the best of all the stripers I'd had during the week, the ambience was stellar, and the price of just $18.95 pushed this dish all the way to the top of the list, earning it a Best Bite award. That's two now for Andrew and the crew at Native Cape Cod Seafood. See my August 22nd post of 2012 about their fabulous Lobster Scampi, which won them TheYearRounder's Best Bite award last summer for one of PTown's greatest seafood dishes.
When the striper runs out for the season, Andrew will continue to bring in the best fish available every day, serving it blackened and a little spicy or simply grilled, along with fish pockets (kind of like a deluxe fish taco,) shrimp, fried clams, oysters, many others and, of course, the scampi. Andrew raises his own shellfish, trades throughout each week in the Boston area both buying and selling while he's delivering shellfish there, and has solid connections for the freshest and best seafood in New England, most of it from Cape Cod waters. When there is no more striped bass available, which may be any day now, I may suffer withdrawal symptoms, so I asked Andrew if he could cook me up a 4 or 5-pound lobster for my dinner one night next week and he said no problem, and I know the price will be fair as well. I can't wait.
If you've never visited Native Cape Cod Seafood, you owe yourself this treat. It's worth the effort to find this little counter service joint tucked away in the Aquarium Marketplace at 205-209 Commercial Street, in the old aquarium building. It sits kitty-corner across Commercial Street from the corner of Carver Street, at the back of the food court at the edge of the outdoor patio and the waterfront deck, where they also run the raw bar. Give them a try. The food is delicious, top quality and one of the best values in PTown.

TheYearRounder is Back, and on a Quest for Provincetown's Best Striped Bass

This is my favorite time of day on the water's edge, as the sunset starts its warmup with the first round of brilliant
colors dancing on the harbor, the pinks and purples and golden colors just beginning to make their appearance.

Greetings, dear readers. I've missed you. Technical difficulties kept me from writing my blog for what seemed like a very long time... After a ten-day struggle with corporate America, and serious phone help from at least 8 technicians, TheYearRounder's Guide to Provincetown is now back on the Internet. Thank you for your patience, and your persistence in trying to find this page. And my thanks to those who sent e-mails wondering if everything was OK.
The beach scene above was shot from my table at the Mews the other night. I've been on my annual quest for the best striped bass in Provincetown, and the Mews always ranks high on the list of contenders. It's been really frustrating to have so many great meals (bass number 6 tonight at Jimmy's Hideaway) and not be able to tell you about them. So I suppose I'll write a single post to give a brief description of several great striped bass dishes I've consumed over the last week or so. Give me a day or two to sort through my notes and photographs so I can "show & tell" you about my whirlwind tour through some of PTown's great restaurants as I gobble up as much as I can of the noble "striper" while it's running.
There's likely not much time left to get out and enjoy this delectable fish, since the commercial fishermen have a strict limit on the amount of it they can take from local waters. So enjoy it while it's here. You've likely got a few more days to work in a couple of plates of striped bass before it disappears for the season. Last year I found the last bass in town being served by a restaurant whose chef had managed to procure one more striper by ducking over the border to Rhode Island to get one to serve one last time as the season ended. Let me know where you've found your favorites this summer, and I'll tell you about mine in my next post.

Portuguese Food at the Mayflower Cafe

Our quest for Portuguese food in Provincetown leads us this week to the Mayflower Cafe, a family operated business run by various members of the Janoplis family over the last 83 years, who built this restaurant at 300 Commercial Street in 1929. It's not a fancy place by any means, but is a favorite of locals for fresh food simply prepared, reasonable prices, and a number of Portuguese specialties on the menu. it's a great spot for folks traveling on a budget, and the large booths are perfect for families, with room to easily seat six adults or a family with a number of children of various sizes.
I often like to start out with a baked stuffed clam; priced at $4.99, which is a large sea clam shell mounded with a bread stuffing mixed with chopped clams and linguica (say lean-gwee-suh, a mildly spicy Portuguese sausage made with pork) and baked in the oven. It's served with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top, and many folks will drizzle a little hot sauce over the top of this tasty appetizer. There's also a Portuguese kale soup, packed with vitamins from the green leafy chopped kale, with potatoes and red kidney beans in a broth flavored with, what else...? More linguica.
The Pork Chops Vinho de Alhos are a favorite entree, translating into English as "pork chops with wine and garlic." Center cut pork chops are marinated in wine, garlic, spices and a bit of vinegar before they go onto the grill, and are served with a small garden salad, a dinner roll and your choice of French fries, mashed or baked potato. These have a different flavor from other pork chops you've known, and are quite tasty, and a good value at $16.99.
Another specialty here is the Portuguese Fish and Chips. That's flounder battered and deep-fried, sauced with a mixture of vinegar, oil, garlic and spices, and served with French fries and coleslaw. This dish also carries the reasonable price tag of $16.99.
Stroll over to the Mayflower, with the big black-and-white striped awning out front, and try some of Provincetown's oldest recipes, brought here by the families of many of the early Portuguese sailors and fishermen, who were pretty much the backbone of Provincetown's early fishing community. There are other Portuguese specialties here as well, so give them a try. Bom apetite!