Jimmy's HideAway Brings Winter Tavern Menu to PTown

Jimmy's HideAway is worth looking for.

Jimmy's HideAway begins offering their winter tavern menu this week, available Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays through February 18th. They're shifting to seasonal hours, taking Mondays and Tuesdays off.
The tavern menu features casual favorites at a good price, like the HideAway Burger (Angus beef) with hand cut fries, for $12.95. There's also a Pale Ale Battered Haddock, with cole slaw and fries.
The Shrimp Florentine combines baby spinach, capers, garlic, lemon and white wine, all tossed with linguine. The Spicy BBQ Ribs are roasted long and slow, served with cole slaw and your choice of French fries or Jimmy's amazing Smoked Gouda Corn Bread Pudding, my personal favorite. If you find yourself really ravenous, order the fries with your ribs, and a side of that corn bread pudding.
It's always tough to choose what to order at Jimmy's. I try to eat something different wherever I go, so I can tell you about more great dishes, but it's so hard not to order, for example, the mini Beef Wellingtons, every time I'm there, because that's one of the really great appetizers of Provincetown, served in portions that are meant to be shared. There are ten more salads and appetizers.
Among Jimmy's selection of entrées, ranging from $22 to $38, you'll find French Citrus Bouillabaisse, Grilled Fillet Mignon Au Poivre, Portuguese Cod, and a half-dozen others, including another favorite of mine: Pork Tenderloin is roasted with onion, mushroom, white wine, lemon and rosemary, all of which make for a delightful, savory pan gravy ladled over mashed potatoes, served with sautéed vegetables.
Find Jimmy's HideAway at 179 Commercial Street in Provincetown, tucked away down a charming little brick path, then down a few stairs, to this cozy, garden level restaurant, with a view of the harbor through the tall seagrass surrounding the back dining room. Call 508•487•1011 for reservations (recommended,) though seating is sometimes available at the bar, where Jimmy himself will pour you a beer or whip you up a delightful cocktail.

Couples Day on the Breakwater?

Provincetown's breakwater offers couples a romantic stroll across
the west end of this spectacular harbor, and perhaps a picnic along the way.

On one of these glorious spring days we've had recently (although the date on the calendar insists that it's now summer) it almost looked like couples day out on the west end breakwater.
With calm waters near high tide, and the charm of the Wood End Light in the distance, the stroll out onto the granite breakwater can have a certain romance to it, especially for those who are taking in this breathtaking sight for the first time. On this particular afternoon, everyone I could spot out on the breakwater was paired up in a couple of one sort or another, and that gave me a smile.

Native Cape Cod Seafood Does it Again With Their New Portuguese Stew

This mildly spicy fisherman's Stew is a great new PTown dish.

I had been trying to get to Native Cape Cod Seafood, in the Aquarium Marketplace, since they opened. I'd been looking forward to having their amazing lobster scampi all winter, along with their succulent fried clams, fish pockets, and basically anything that comes out of their kitchen. I ended up putting off my scampi fix, though, because Andrew, the owner, was so excited as he was telling me about their new Portuguese fisherman's stew.
I ordered this new dish instead of my favorite, and it was wonderful. Damn! Another really good dish makes it that much harder to choose what to eat on my next visit to Native Cape Cod Seafood. Will I ever get back to that killer scampi that started my romance with this little takeout joint?
The fisherman's stew shown above is made with impeccably fresh scallops, squid, mussels and shrimp, with fingerling potatoes. It gets its Portuguese flavor from a generous helping of choriço (say cho•ree•soh,) a traditional, slightly spicy Portuguese sausage with just a bit of heat to it, simmered in a delicate tomato-based broth. The result is a delectable dish that's hearty and satisfying, and a bargain as well.
Find Native Cape Cod Seafood at 209 Commercial Street, tucked away inside the old Aquarium, where you can have your meal on the deck at the edge of Provincetown's majestic harbor, along with an icy cold beer from the Aqua Bar. Life just doesn't get much better than that!
For its flavor, quality and value, the Portuguese Fisherman's Stew wins Native Cape Cod Seafood its third Best Bite award from TheYearRounder's Guide to Provincetown.

El Mundo's Chicken Fajita Platter Makes TheYearRounder's "Best Bite" List

Fresh ingredients shine in El Mundo's chicken fajitas; a Best Bite.

My quest to traverse the entire menu at El Mundo led me one day last week to their fajita al mojo de ajo, which means "with garlic," with each of your filling choices smothered in slow-roasted garlic. Choose from a coffee & chili-rubbed flat iron steak, Mexican BBQ shrimp, or chicken breast, each grilled to perfection. You have to be hungry to order this dish, though, because it comes as a huge platter of fixings for you to assemble into three fajitas, however you like 'em.
Here's what's on the platter, starting at 6 o'clock, at the bottom edge of the plate: First, I unfolded a warm, soft, flour tortilla to begin making my first fajita. Clockwise from there I found beautiful, fresh field greens, then a mound of Monteray Jack cheese, followed by
El Mundo's chunky salsa fresca. At the top of the platter, at 12 o'clock, there was lovely, fresh guacamole. Next was a scoop of mildly seasoned black beans (El Mundo makes a spicy black bean and chipotle dip, too,) followed by a mound of Mexican style rice. In the center of the plate was the star of the dish, a generous portion of nicely seasoned, grilled chicken breast, with a wonderful flavor from that slow-roased garlic, sliced and ready to pile into my tortilla. I ate the beans and rice on the side, between munching down my fajitas, but I think next time I might slip a few beans into a fajita or two as well.
This dish has a lot of flavor, and it's a decent value at $16.95. This was the best meal I'd eaten all week long, a real stand-out among the various foods and treats I had tasted all around Provincetown that week, and that's what makes it a Best Bite.
Find El Mundo right across the street from Town Hall, at 269 Commercial Street, with a lively bar serving a dozen different margaritas, Mexican beers and a number of specialty cocktails, along with two dining rooms, a nice water view, and outdoor seating looking out over the beach and the harbor.

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.

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.