Box Lunch Clam Chowder Earns TheYearRounder's 'Best Bite' Award

The outstanding clam chowder at Box Lunch was my favorite of the five Provincetown chowders I tasted this past week, earning TheYearRounder's first Best Bite award of the 2019 season.  

I generally like my clam chowder medium thick, and though this one leaned a bit to the thicker side, it was somehow quite light, not overly heavy, with plenty of tender clams.

  

Fresh cream lent a luscious, silky consistency to this hearty pottage of chunky quahogs (say kwo•hogs) and potatoes, both cooked perfectly. Altogether, this fine soup is quite a worthy competitor in the ongoing debate over who serves PTown's best "chowdah.".

Box Lunch is at 355 Commercial Street, across from the library, tucked away a few feet off the road in the lovely brick courtyard leading to Angel's Landing. This unique little eatery is widely hailed for its Rollwiches, with a great selection of tasty, rolled-up sandwiches you ought to try.
We congratulate Box Lunch on earning our Best Bite award,

Serving Provincetown for about 40 years now, Box Lunch offers great soups, salads, mac n' cheese, gigantic cookies, breakfast (served all day,) and, as it turns out, a really good clam chowder. Give 'em a whirl!

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!

Box Lunch Celebrates 40 Years Serving Hungry Cape Codders, 35 Years in PTown

This A-frame style sign lists just a few of the specialty
sandwiches, salads and soups offered by Box Lunch.

It was good to see recently that Box Lunch is open again, tucked away just off Commercial Street, down a wide, sloping, red brick walkway. It's right across from the Provincetown Public Library.
It's worth the effort to find this great little sandwich shop. Julie and her crew are among the friendliest folks in town. They truly do go out of their way to serve their customers in any way they can.
And the food is not only terrific, but it's different from any other sandwich shop or deli in town. Box Lunch is home of the Rollwich, a name that is copyrighted, to perfectly describe the roll-up style sandwiches invented in Wellfleet by a school teacher during summer break, back in 1977.
That's right… This spring Box Lunch is celebrating its 40th anniversary, making unique, delicious, rolled sandwiches that are easy to eat on the go. These have also proven to be some of Cape Cod's all-time favorite sandwiches, winning multiple awards from Cape Cod Life magazine and others.
There are four Box Lunch shops, from Provincetown to Eastham. Sandwiches start at just $5.49, with dozens to choose from, or you can come up with your own combination. Kids have a menu of their own, too, with a choice of six Kidwiches. Gluten free, vegetarian and vegan folks will also find plenty of choices.
Owen MacNutt created his sandwiches by rolling his fillings up tightly in big, round, thin discs of fresh Syrian flatbread. That way you can easily carry them with you, to the beach or on the bike trail, without the sandwich suffering in transit. These are easy to eat while you're working, or walking down the street, or through the forrest, without all the spilling and dripping that can tend to make a conventional sandwich too difficult and messy to eat while you're doing something else. You can eat a Box Lunch Rollwich with one hand, without all the filling falling out.

Julie told me about a customer who comes in every day for the Gilded Lobster,
above: Succulent lobster, melted Swiss, avocado and a bit of mayo. Perfection!

My first sandwich from Box Lunch was more than 25 years ago, at the original Wellfleett location, which is still run by Owen and his wife, Kathryn.
I remember I had a hard time choosing from their huge menu that day, but finally settled on Porky's Nightmare, made with ham, three melted cheeses, tomatoes, onions, mayo and Durkee's mustard vinaigrette. It was so good that I don't remember ever trying anything else in all these years. Turns out it's their number one seller. Except in Provincetown…
Here, the best-selling sandwich at Box Lunch is the Gilded Lobster, pictured above, which Julie got me to try a couple of days ago, on my first visit there this year. It's stuffed with plenty of fresh lobster, mild, melted Swiss cheese, avocado and a little mayo. I'm not normally a fan of Swiss cheese, but this inspired combination was really good!

This excellent version of a hearty tomato soup, made with fresh basil and
crumbled feta cheese, was one of three great soup choices offered on this day.

Another unusual thing about Box Lunch's PTown location is the tremendous number of salads they sell; far more than the Turo, Wellfleet or Eastham branches, and again, a gazillion choices.
I was there on a cold, drizzly day, so to warm up a bit, I had one of three soups offered that day. Clam chowder is always on the menu, with other favorites popping up on a daily basis. Each is made right there, in the tiny kitchen at Box Lunch, from scratch, just like everything else they make. That chilly day, I ordered the tomato/basil/feta soup, which was perfect on that blustery afternoon. Those bright flavors make me want more of this hearty potage as I am writing this.
Provincetown, by the way, was the second Box Lunch location to open, and celebrates its own 35th anniversary in PTown this year. After five years of hard work, with the popularity of MacNutt's Rollwiches steadily growing as more people discovered them, he opened a new Provincetown location in 1982, at the Pilgrim House complex. It later moved to the old Whalers Wharf, then it moved to its current location in 1998, when the Whalers Wharf burned to the ground. Oddly, the Pilgrim House had also gone up in flames in 1990, in a suspicious, four-alarm blaze. Happily, the third incarnation of Provincetown's Box Lunch has been thriving for nearly 20 years in its present spot.
Box Lunch does breakfast, too, for under $5. They open by 8 AM. Right now they stay open until late afternoon, and hours are bound to be extended as the summer season gets into full swing, so you'll be able to get a quick, tasty, inexpensive supper, not to mention a great breakfast or lunch.
The Provincetown location is nestled under the trees in a little courtyard, down that wide, red brick walkway at 353 Commercial Street. Choose the sunlight or shade with relaxed, comfortable outdoor seating at tables or benches, or you can take your food with you. If you're in a hurry, or dashing between jobs, you can call ahead at 508 487-6026 to have your order ready to pick up.
This spot is only a few steps off Commercial Street, but you could walk right by without seeing it. Look for their bright red, A-framed blackboard sign, shown above, to lead you to this unusual, award-winning little PTown eatery, popular for all the right reasons.

The Hot Lobster Roll at The Coffee Pot Warms This Cool Provincetown Weather

In PTown, The Coffee Pot's hot lobster roll is a delicious lunch time bargain.

This big, hot lobster roll at The Coffee Pot really hits the spot as PTown weather begins cooling off with the changing season. I added an order of their terrific French fries, too. Fresh from the fryer and still sizzling, these are some of the best in town.
This very generous lobster roll starts with a big bun that's split open and grilled a bit, face down. The tender inside gets warm and toasty, and the outside is just a bit crusty, and perfect for the delicate filling that's coming…
It's lined with a leaf of fresh iceberg lettuce, then stuffed with 6 ounces of succulent, warm lobster meat doused with melted butter. This great sandwich is so simple, but sooo good! It has about 50% more lobster than most others in town, and the textures of the bun and filling are great together. Add a little crunch from an order of fries and this satisfying lunch or supper has got you covered, all for a price that's less than most others as well. You just can't beat it.
Find the Coffee Pot at Lopes Square, in the heart of Provincetown, where Standish Street crosses Commercial and heads down toward the pier. Eat-in or takeout, or carry your meal out to their patio seating for a little people watching while you eat. You might get one of their fresh baked goodies for dessert, too.

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.

Enjoy the Last of Provincetown's Off-Season Lunch Specials

Betsy's Friday fish & chips lunch special is a great PTown meal bargain.

During the winter Bayside Betsy's, at 177 Commercial Street, has been offering not only their Friday night fish fry, but also a Friday lunch special, which will disappear in the middle of May. There are two more Fridays left, till May 15th, to get Betsy's Fish and Chips lunch for just $8.99.
This lunch was among the best meal bargains I found in PTown last week, with a huge piece of haddock fried up in a crispy coating, served with fries, coleslaw, lemon, tartar sauce, and ketchup for your fries, and your choice of soft beverage. I had the iced tea. Get yours before it's gone.

Soon we'll find fresh local strawberries, and blooming flowers at Far Land once
again. Those smiling faces are always there. Photo is from Far Land's website.

Far Land Provisions, at 150 Bradford Street, also has at least one more Friday fish special, but I'm not sure how many more Fridays it will last. Go this week to be sure, and get your fried cod sandwich with a caper-basil tartar sauce, lettuce and tomato on a toasted bulkie roll. Click on farlandprovisions.com to find their website, and scroll down the page to find hot sandwiches they've been making over the winter. These. too, will likely disappear shortly as the season gets busier, which is already starting to happen, so now's the time to taste their black bean burger with a lime-cilantro aioli, or hot pastrami or turkey Reuben, or other hot choices. Once they become too busy to make 'em, we'll have to wait for winter to bring back Far Land's hot sandwiches. Enjoy them while you can.

Bubbles' last lunchtime fish fry for 2015 is this Friday at the Governor Bradford.

Governor Bradford Restaurant, at 317 Commercial Street, offers their wintertime hot lunch specials for just two more days. Today, Thursday, May 7th, they'll serve meatloaf with mashed potatoes and hot vegetables, and Friday, May 8th, will be the last day for Bubbles' lunchtime Fish Fry specials for the 2015 season. It's a generous serving of golden-fried fish served with coleslaw and a mountain of French fries, with lemon and tartar sauce. Each of these meals is just $7.50, with a soft drink included, which probably makes these lunches the best meal bargain in Provincetown this week.

PTown's Best Lobster Roll, Chapter Two

As I mentioned in chapter one of this series, choosing the best lobster roll from all of the dozens available in Provincetown is quite subjective, and depends on individual tastes. So I'll continue to describe them, and you can see which ones look and sound the best to you as we make our way around the town.
This week's chapter on lobster rolls is written entirely at The Red Shack, a little walk-up counter service joint at Lopes Square. It has no seating of its own, but you can usually find a seat on the benches that surround the square, or sometimes I'll carry my meal to the far end of the municipal parking lot adjacent to Lopes Square, and find a spot beneath the trees on the benches that span the width of a tiny town park that runs right along the edge of Provincetown Harbor, stretching between MacMillan Pier and Fishermen's Wharf. I'll watch all the whale watch boats, the ferries, and the Long Point Shuttle coming in and out of the harbor while I enjoy my meal sitting right at the edge of the water, with a seagull or two waiting to see if I drop anything.
Each of the lobster rolls in this week's chapter comes from The Red Shack, serving it five different ways, each one having 4 ounces of choice lobster meat, mostly the claws and knuckles. Each sandwich sells for $13.95, and each is served on a large Portuguese roll, made daily at the Portuguese bakery, right around the corner at 299 Commercial Street. That's a great spot to stop for a little dessert after your lobster roll, too.

We'll start with The Red Shack's Classic Lobster Roll, simply lobster dressed in a just a little mayo, with a bit of chopped scallion, served with leafy green lettuce and sliced tomatoes.

Next is The Connecticut, served hot with just the naked lobster, drizzled with melted butter on a toasted bun, plain and simple, one of their best selling lobster rolls.

The Californian has a bit of mayo and crumbled bacon mixed in with the lobster, served on leafy lettuce and sliced tomato, and topped with sliced avocado.

The Moroccan has a bit of mild, yellow curry and a touch of mint mixed in with the mayo, along with a few chopped scallions and a bit of pineapple. This one's served on a toasted bun, and a tasty way to have your lobster if you're a bit adventurous.

The Mexican has a mild salsa and a bit of cilantro along with leafy green lettuce and sliced tomatoes. It's just a bit of spice, and different from any other lobster roll in town.





The Red Shack is open daily in season for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and they sell a lot of lobster rolls, with some choices that are very different from others in town, so stop in and give them a whirl.

PTown's Best Lobster Roll, Chapter One

There's some pretty stiff competition for best lobster roll in Provincetown, with some surprising differences between some of them, and the title of "best" is pretty subjective.
It may take four or five installments to taste our way around the town on a quest for the best. We'll start our odyssey with five of them, each served with a side dish, and three of these are among the largest lobster rolls in PTown. Here we go…

Pepe's serves a tasty, BIG lobster roll and excellent fries.

The lobster roll at Pepe's Wharf
is nearly the biggest in town, weighing in at 5 1/2 ounces of choice lobster meat, mostly the claws and knuckles, dressed in a tiny bit of lemon aioli and just a hint of Old Bay seasoning, and it's delicious, with a slightly different flavor than any other in town. No lettuce, just a sprig of parsley, on a roll that's been toasted a bit in the oven.
It's served with a lemon wedge and a mound of fries that have been barely dusted in a bit of flour, making them extra crispy on the outside with insides that kind of melt in your mouth. They're finished with a sprinkle of kosher salt, and are some of the best fries in PTown.
This plate filled me up, which doesn't always happen with the average lobster roll, which generally has 4 ounces of lobster, so at $21, this is a strong contender for the title of best lobster roll, at a good price for a filling meal. Open seasonally for lunch and dinner at 371 Commercial Street, Pepe's Wharf has table service indoors and out, on two decks right at the edge of magnificent Provincetown Harbor.

The Canteen's lobster roll on brioche bun, with slaw and pickle.

The Canteen makes their lobster roll with 4 ounces of impeccably fresh lobster meat mixed with a little mayo and a bit of chopped celery, served on a brioche roll, sprinkled with fresh chives snipped from their garden. It's served alongside their herby Asian slaw and a house made pickle spear. They'll also serve it hot, just the naked lobster meat drizzled with butter.
You can taste how fresh the lobster is. At the height of the summer, The Canteen has been known to have live lobsters delivered to them twice a day, steaming and shucking a batch in time to keep up with demand for this popular plate, which will cost you $18.99. Many folks name this one as their favorite lobster roll. Read my first blog about The Canteen on their opening day last year. The Canteen is a walk-up, counter service restaurant with seating indoors and out, with a new deck looking out over the harbor, open seasonally 11 AM till about 11 PM daily at 225 Commercial Street.

Mac's lobster roll has the barest little bit of dressing so far.

Mac's makes their cold lobster roll with 4 ounces of hand picked lobster dressed with barely any lemon aioli, a little shallot and a little celery. It's served on a crisp lettuce leaf in a hot dog style brioche roll, which you can have toasted or not. This is one of the least dressed lobster rolls found in Provincetown, and sooo fresh. It comes with a lemon wedge, a pickle spear, and a pile of their medium-thin, crispy fries for $19, and it filled me up.

At $27, this is still not the costliest lobster roll in PTown.

Mac's also makes a hot version of their lobster roll, with a whopping 6 ounces of lobster sautéed in garlic butter with lemon and parsley. It comes with that huge pile of fries and will set you back $27, not quite the most expensive lobster roll in town.
Mac's has a firm policy of buying as much of their seafood as possible from small, independent, local fishermen who each practice sustainable methods of harvesting the catch, so they're likely to spend a little more to bring you seafood of this quality and conscience.
Mac's is found at 85 Shank Painter Road, with table service indoors and out, and a busy takeout window as well. I got each of these orders to go. Mac's has plenty of free parking, open daily for lunch and dinner all summer.

Vorelli's great lobster roll is big, and a bargain at $18.95.

Vorelli's makes their excellent lobster roll with 5 ounces of lobster chunks tossed with a lemon infused mayo. It's served on crisp lettuce leaves in a big fluffy roll that's been toasted in the oven, with a pickle spear and a bag of chips for $18.95.
This sandwich has 25% more lobster than the average 4 ounce serving, and somehow more flavor than others I've tried. The texture of the bun is also part of the reason that this is among my favorite lobster rolls in PTown. Vorelli's is located in a charming, historic building at 226 Commercial Street, open daily for lunch and dinner in season.

So there's the first chapter in our search for PTown's best Lobster roll. Next week we'll visit The Red Shack, which serves lobster rolls five different ways. Call TheYearRounder at 424•23P•TOWN, or e-mail me at theyearrounder@gmail.com with your favorites, so I can try each one for future chapters. Soon we'll also make the rounds for PTown's best breakfast sandwiches, so call, textl or e-mail with your faves.

Happy 25th Anniversary to The Coffee Pot

The Coffee Pot's ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich is a PTown favorite.

The Coffee Pot, at Lopes Square, opened April 1st for its 25th season in Provincetown. I was there on opening day for my first ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich of this chilly spring. It’s one of my very favorite quick breakfasts anywhere in PTown. I like this one served on their toasted bulky roll. Another favorite is made with sausage on a croissant fresh from The Coffee Pot ovens.

You can get just about any kind of breakfast sandwich you want, served however you’d like it. You can even get shaved steak with grilled onions and cheese served on a roll, croissant, bagel, sweet bread English muffin, or on wheat or white Bread. There’s also a breakfast burrito with eggs, cheese and salsa rolled into a tortilla, and, of course, you can add any meat, if you’d like.

Fresh pastries, brownies, cookies, bagels, croissants, muffins and countless tasty treats roll out of the oven each morning during the height of the summer season, perfect with a dark roast coffee or a vanilla chai, or hot chocolate, cappuccino or a latte. Maybe you’d rather have juice. Whatever you’d like is ready to grab and go, and if you call in your order at 508 487-2580 they can have your meal ready for you to take out. Or you can relax with your breakfast in the dining room and watch the people going by this busy little spot. I ran into a woman there early on opening day who said she wasn’t even hungry, but couldn’t help coming in for breakfast at her usual table looking out on Lopes Square, the very heart of Provincetown.

Of course, you can get lunch as well, with a variety of sandwiches available, including a big lobster roll with more morsels of lobster by weight than you’ll find anywhere else in town. And as the season picks up, there will be fruit and yogurt parfaits, and a variety of salads and daily specials for lunch or supper as their hours begin to extend into the evening once the summer crowds are here.

For now The Coffee Pot is open just for breakfast and lunch, but it gives us a sense of the season’s beginning, and a favorite spot to chat with friends as we start the day. We’re happy to see Linda and Nelson back at it, starting off the 2014 season in Provincetown, and we wish them a happy 25th anniversary.

Twisted Pizza Reopens… Can PTown Spring Be Far Behind?

Twisted welcomes the spring, and visitors, to Provincetown.

There's more to eat on Commercial Street these days, at least Thursdays through Sundays, when Twisted is open to serve you thin crust, New York style pizza, their specialty, along with the occasional deep dish Sicilian pie, fresh salads, subs, wings and ice cream. From noon till closing you can get delivery, too, even ice cream. Dial 508 487-6973. It's easy to remember; Most of the town is still 508 487 - just add the NYPD (That's New York Pizza Delivery.)
They have a variety of subs on the menu (or create your own) and great salads, but my favorite here is the Meatball Parmigiana Hero Roll, a hot sandwich baked in the oven with hand tossed pizza dough wrapped around meatballs, tomato sauce and cheese. Ask for a little extra sauce to dip your sandwich in as you eat it.
It's great to see Commercial Street come back to life every spring, with restaurants and shops slowly reopening one by one. It's nice to have more choices when we're hungry, too. And even if you're not hungry, Julie invites you to stop in, at 293 Commercial Street, and just say hi. Visit Twisted's Facebook page and scroll down for a very funny video featuring pizza and the Dalai Lama.

Chach's Blueberry Pancakes are a Best Bite

Chach's giant blueberry pancake, with genuine maple syrup,
is chosen by TheYearRounder as a Best Bite. Add a side of bacon
and you've got one of my all-time favorite Provincetown breakfasts.

Chach is a terrific little diner style restaurant out on Shank Painter Road, serving up a wonderful breakfast or lunch, either one, from opening until about 2 PM, when they close for the day, so don't get there late.
The menu is full of comfort food and favorites such as pancakes, omelets, soup, sandwiches and chili, and there's a blackboard full of choices that are a bit more upscale, too, changing daily at the whim of your chefs, Chach and Sharon. There's always something interesting coming out of the kitchen, whether it's in the vein of simple, traditional comfort foods or something a bit more sophisticated.
On any given day you may find a breakfast dish like a smoked oyster benedict or maybe a creative omelet special on the blackboard, and there's usually a daily scramble, like the ham, swiss and onion, sprucing up your basic plate of scrambled eggs. You may find a French toast special with raspberries and lemon curd, and another day it might be made with pecans, caramel and bananas. There's often a pancake du jour, like the recent pecan pancake w/ bananas and whipped cream.
I'm a real sucker for Chach's stellar blueberry pancakes, a staple found on the regular menu, but I order just a single pancake since these overstuffed beauties are roughly the size of the plate, fluffy and golden and absolutely clobbered with blueberries, and actual New England maple syrup completes the dish. These are quite likely the best blueberry pancakes you'll ever taste, and that is how they come to earn a Best Bite award from TheYearRounder. Just throw a smoky side of bacon right on the top and I am as happy as the proverbial clam.
Chach was recognized by Cape Cod Life magazine not long ago, too, winning their award for "Best Breakfast on the Outer Cape," and many Townies will tell you this is their favorite PTown breakfast spot, but Chach also has a great lunch menu. There's a choice of daily lunch specials on the board as well, like a prosciutto, brie and tomato sandwich served on ciabatta, or perhaps a special salad of the day. Chef Chach's Mexican heritage might land a shrimp tostada w/ guacamole on the blackboard, or any number of other tasty Mexican-influenced selections to tempt you.
Each day as many as half-a-dozen freshly baked muffin choices roll out of the oven as well, like banana bread, pistachio, blueberry buckle and many others. They're perfect with a robust cup of Chach's excellent coffee.
Chach is found at 73 Shank Painter Road, with parking on site. In the summer they're open nearly every day, but they close a few days of the week in the shoulder and off-seasons. Right now they're open Friday and Monday at 10 AM, and 8 AM on Saturday and Sunday, but after Saint Patrick's Day they'll be closed for vacation before re-opening in the spring, so drop everything and get to Chach before they go on hiatus. Remember, they close at 2 o'clock, so don't be late.

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.

3 Under 35 - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in PTown for About $35 for All Three

Portuguese Bakery has simple, inexpensive breakfasts.

It's been a while since we worked our way around the town to a whole day of meals for less than $35, so here we go. We'll start with breakfast at the Provincetown Portuguese Bakery. This is not a fancy breakfast with a parsley sprig and a cantaloupe sliver garnishing the plate. This is a simple ham and cheese omelet served with a couple of slices of hearty multigrain toast with butter and jelly. Other bread choices are available, too.

The famous Portuguese Bakery, at 299 Commercial Street, has been there for well over a hundred years, selling not only wholesale Portuguese breads, which gave the shop its start, along with the huge selection of pastries that were later offered to the  public, but for the last many years they've also operated a tiny, no-frills café for breakfast and lunch as well, with a grill and a small kitchen in the front corner of the shop. They make fried eggs, French toast, omelets and breakfast sandwiches. My omelet was $5.85, and with tax and tip it cost me $6.85. Some folks don't tip at a counter-service restaurant where no one actually serves food to you at a table, but I generally leave around 10% for the folks who take my order and hand me the food, whether I'm eating-in or ordering takeout.

You are asked to bus your own table here, so just sweep your crumbs onto your paper plate and toss it into the trash bin. There's also a recycling bin for soda bottles and cans at lunchtime. Clearing your own table keeps prices low here, so your omelet isn't $8 to $10 as it is in a little fancier place.

Vorelli's has many choices within our lunch budget.

For lunch, we're off to Vorelli's, at 226 Commercial Street, where the sign out front announces three lunch specials for less than $9. How about the 6 ounce Black Angus Burger, served with steak fries, for $8.25? I like my burger medium-rare, and at Vorelli's, it always comes out juicy and flavorful and just as I ordered it.

Besides the BBQ pulled pork sandwich served with cole slaw, and the the soup & sandwich special mentioned on the sign, there are other menu choices like a variety of sandwiches that fit our budget for this meal, and when I last checked their lunch menu there was also an artichoke and spinach quiche and small salad for $8.95.

You'll always find someone helpful in front of Vorelli's, ready to show you the menu and make suggestions, and the service is always prompt and friendly. With tax and a 20% tip on our delicious burger and fries, we're out the door with a big smile for just $10.48.

You can't beat the early dinner specials at the Seafood Grille.

Dinner takes us to the Seafood Grille at the Waterford Inn, at 386 Commercial Street. They continue to offer a complete three-course early bird dinner special for just $14 as long as your order is in by 7 PM. Dinner starts with your choice of a lovely garden salad or a cup of clam chowder, followed your choice of four entrées, including Cape Cod fish and chips, broiled cod with Lobster Newburg sauce, grilled lemon pepper chicken breast with rice, or steamed mussels over Asian vegetables and linguini, which is what I invariably order because I can't just can't help it. This is one of my very favorite seafood dishes in Provincetown at any price. Your meal also includes a great crusty sour dough bread, and the dessert of the day, often ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce. This early dinner special is a great meal, whatever entrée you choose. at the eminently affordable price of $17.78 including a 20% tip and state and local meals taxes, and that has earned it TheYearRounder's Best Bite award for the second year.

We've had 3 good meals and left a decent tip for a total of $35.10 for the day. More posts will follow soon in our "3 Under 35" series as we roam through Provincetown and find many more ways to enjoy three good meals for about $35 or less for the entire day.