6/14/11

spring 2011 on cape cod

I thought I would switch things around and give you some photos of what's happening over here in my world. It's finally spring, soon to be summer on cape cod, which means things are coming back to life. No more snow! Typically spring on cape cod means lots of rain and clouds with short surprises of 70 degrees sunny days.

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I could easily live here....have
my morning coffee sitting right there


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water temp 58 degrees, not quite ready....yet.

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Pretty soon the charter fishing boats with be slammed with business.

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Dingy had a bad winter.

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Isn't that peach color fabulous?

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Someone's rustic office

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west dennis

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east dennis


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A good place to sit and do nothing

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Hello, can I live with you? I'll cook for you.

One of my favorite places to go and chill out on cape cod when my life gets stressful is cape cod national seashore. The sound of the waves are empowering and massive. Once there you forget there is another world; it feels as though this is the only place on the earth--it's magical.
"A man may stand there and put all America behind him." Henry David Thoreau (his quote describing the CC National Seashore)

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beach time 10
You can walk for miles uninterrupted


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and miles....

Another place I love is provincetown. Ptown is a world of it's own. It's perfect, has some of the nicest people; everyone is always happy; always something going on, never a dull moment with tons of great places
to eat. It is one of the places hubby and I wanted to live, but his commute would have been brutal during the wintertime on the ferry's. The ride up along scenic Rt. 6A is breathtaking. There are so many little beaches and some of the cutest places to stay overnight, but you have to look for them and you have to call early! I have to also give a HUGE shout out to my favorite radio station WOMR. This is the radio of Ptown. Has the best jazz around and the sweetest DJ's ever. If you're coming to Ptwon please tune into WOMR radio.

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Now that's a view. To the right is the tip of provincetown, about 5-7 miles down the road.

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See the tower of provincetown?


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Little inn on truro that I'm dying to stay at. Look at that view?

Let's get to the food already.

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I go to twin acres in sandwich, a lot. It's a bad habit of mine to eat a ton of ice cream in the summer. It's all I crave, and they really have good ice cream: ice cream filled with lots of stuff in it. Like this one: pb chunk chocolate ice cream.

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Or a soft serve with that crazy coconut hard shell stuff. Man that's good.

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My favorite is the mint oreo chocolate chunk. Obviously I never order a small anything.

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There is a french bakery that is fairly decent. It's cafe boulangerie owned by pain d'avignon. I was not so impressed with their croissants, they were ok, not quite authentic. The almond croissant was very close to being the real thing. Ham and cheese was tasty, but had a trace amount of ham and cheese. I will say they do have fabulous breads. They had horrid customer service when I was there--all the help was over talking at the bar and could care less that people were in line. Sad. But it happens.

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Almond was the best tasting. Chocolate was bad, just a tiny piece of chocolate in there, but one could tell they used high quality chocolate. Ham & cheese ok.

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Ahh the infamous Marions Pie Shop. A well known landmark of cape cod located in Chatham. This place has grown from just a few pies to now well over 50 sweet and savory types of pies. It's a small hole in the wall joint with large impressive menu's. Display cases are kind of empty and may have muffins or other sweet rolls. I was hoping their cases would be filled and overflowing with fruit filled pies, slices of pies to tease and wet the appetite of customers, but all the pies are in the back stored in fridges sadly.

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One wall of the pie menu--it's huge.

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The bacon quiche. Very good, the crust was fabulous. Each little or big pie comes with directions for reheating. Love that.

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Shepards pie. Fabulous. Lots of cheese on top,ground beef could have used a bit more seasoning.

Hands down the best seafood at reasonable prices with huge portions is Lindsey's Restaurant in Wareham. Not the best cape cod town, but well worth the drive. The food is exceptional, high quality, big portions, reasonable prices and always fresh. Hubby and I go there a lot. It's gets packed there so go early. The waitstaff is the nicest around. They do have impeccable takeout service too. When I do do the takeout, I sit in the back part of the kitchen where the diner part is and I always see the big pencil sketch drawing of the owner prominently displayed in the middle of the kitchen. IN the drawing is the owner with the saying "keep everyone happy". So true. And he never ever steered away from that, even when his kids took over. If you go, get the infamous seafood bisque, it has the perfect amount of sherry, filled to the brim with seafood; a bowl is a meal (and I mean that). Broiled, stuffed scallops are highly recommended too.

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lindseys restaurant

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Yes, you get all that for a meal. Amazing.

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Some of the best pizza that comes very very close to NYC pizza is found not on cape cod but off at Mamma Mia's in Plymouth. Another little hole in the wall joint that has undoubtedly the best crust ever. I swear they must import the water in from NYC to make this the tastiest crust ever. If you do visit cape cod, on the way, stop in plymouth to make a stop at Mamma Mia's and get a large cheese pizza. Even the photo says it all.

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Best place for breakfast is Keltic Kitchen. A place where you can get a real Irish breakfast or not. Either way it's like diner food but way better, and they have daily specials where they kick things up. The chef/owner is very creative (I love that) no same old same old with him, he's known to really kick things up a notch. You have to go there and see what his daily creation is. Last I saw there was a marshmallow pb Elvis french toast with bacon inside. Crazy good. It's gets packed. Get there early on the weekends--for real.

keltic kitchen

keltic kitchen

Other good eats that are not to miss on cape cod:

Emack & Bolio's of Orleans. Now this is homemade ice cream at it's finest with really foodie flavors like: peanut butter ice cream with HUGE chunks of Oreo's. And Mud Pie--don't get me started on the Mud Pie.

Bonatt's Bakery of Harwichport. Home of the infamous meltaway. You literally have to get there early to get meltaways, they only make a few batches for the mornings and then it's gone baby gone. Definitely worth the wait in line. They don't have a website only facebook page. They are on 537 main st in harwichport.

Jo Mama's of Orleans. Who's your mama? Best bagels on cape cod. Exactly like NYC bagels. Cofffee is pretty good too.

PB Boulangerie of south wellfleet. The most authentic bakery I've been to outside of france. I know that's a huge statement right there but it's true. If you go there you will see why. It's right on the way to provincetown on Rt 6. Has gotten rave reviews all around. Both owners are from france, classically trained, worked under some of the best chefs in the country, such as Daniel Boulud. Their bio is impressive, but more importantly their creations are extraordinary.

Did you have a favorite place on Cape Cod? Or better yet, is there a place on the cape (or close by) that you are curious about? Let me know--I love discovering new food joints.

34 comments:

  1. i LOVED this post. abe and i often went to cape cod off season, it was our thing during college and when we lived in nyc. if you ever get to woods hole stop by the woods hole inn - our friend beth is the owner.

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  2. You're making me homesick! I used to live in S. Yarmouth. Miss the Cape, especially falling asleep at night listening to the ocean! Ooh, miss the Blueberry Peach Pie from Marion's too. ;)

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  3. Gorgeous part of the US and the food looks damn'skippy too!

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  4. I love the Cape. My grandparents have a house in South Yarmouth so I always spend a week there in August. I definitely have to try Twin Acres this year - we've gone all up and down the Cape for ice cream but have never tried that. The coconut shell and mint cookie look amazing!!

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  5. Such awesome pictures! Love the cape in the summer :) Provincetown is definitely a unique spot! And I want the soft serve with coconut hard shell- that looks freaking amazing. The water up there does stay crazy cold for a while. When we first moved to NE from California, I got pneumonia in the summer from being in the water!

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  6. You know, we were in P-town last year at this time (it's where I got my tattoo) and how is it possible that we did not hook up? I love this post, so many great shots. Your part of the country looks so different than mine. Love it.

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  7. Thank you for sharing your trip with us.

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  8. Aww fun! It's like I get a little piece of your world.

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  9. Holy cow! Cape Cod is my most favorite place on earth! Love your pictures. Thank you so much for posting them. Now I am dying for ice cream and pie :)

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  10. Love this. Makes me want to go there now. Never been, but I'm heading to Martha's Vineyard this August---hope it's just as fabulous!

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  11. I'll have to visit Cape Cod again someday. Love that place. Thanks for the pics.

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  12. I absolutely love all of these photos! THank you for sharing. Now I want some good quality, homemade ice cream. :)

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  13. think i'm going to be down that way for the fourth :) i'll have to remember some of these spots!

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  14. Thanks for sharing. I love Cape Cod- love it! We stayed there ... 6 years ago...wow has it really been that long. I use to go there a lot when I was young.

    Love that sign- well behaved children welcome, all others will be turned into pies. Ha!

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  15. You've managed to make me cry... in a good way, though. I had my kids in CT. and we went to Hyannis every summer and stayed at The Dunphys for a week. That was 40 years ago and I miss that place a lot!!! I would give a finger for a fresh lobster. But sadly, I live in CA now and I will probably never see the Cape again. Thanks for taking the photos and letting me remember my early years. By the way, I loved Provencetown too! I remember my daughter got her ears pierced there. Isn't funny what you remember? Have fun and keep baking! Linda

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  16. Haha! I kept scrolling through the gorgeous seaside photos, secretly hoping for some food porn... And you never disappoint! Looks like you've got a pretty good summer coming :)

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  17. Okay, now I am hungry and I am craving a walk on the beach - all because of this post. Love the coconut ice cream - it has me drooling. I want a bowl of seafood bisque and a fat slice of that quiche, but man oh man, does that plate of onion rings have mouth watering. YUM!

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  18. Beautiful photos - can't wait to get down there this summer....

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  19. What gorgeous photos. I've never been to PTown and really need to change that - I'm bookmarking this post so I remember your recommendations - thanks Dawn :)

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  20. Ok..for realz....I am ready to move. PRONTO. I love love love the CAPE and you made me miss it sooo much with those photos!

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  21. What a beautiful place! I really love the dramatic skies.

    Your post made me hungry! Now I crave cupcakes, chowder and ice cream.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  22. Fantastic post!!! I can't wait to get out to the Cape in about a month - long beach walks, good food, and great family memories, here I come :).

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  23. You make me want to go on vacay

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  24. Ah, this post kills me! I used to LOVE vacations at the Cape Cod National Seashore - that's by far the best beach on Cape Cod, in my opinion. I haven't been back in years but it looks just as I remember it - untouched!

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  25. Well I thank you for the lovely tour, Yes a cup of coffee early in the morning! I am with you...

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  26. Visiting Cape Cod is on my bucket list. Gorgeous!!

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  27. I just got so homesick for the east coast and it's wonders. Now I need to hear the ocean and have some ice cream. But yes - only the good kind. I love the quiet of the photos - before the summer rush.

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  28. omg i'm drooling and now i want to go there sooo badly!

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  29. Wow you really make me want to go there. That pizza looked fabulous, although I have never heard of coconut shell before! I have only ever seen chocolate, cherry, and butterscotch. Interesting, I want to try that now.

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  30. It all looks so beautiful & there is good food to boot!

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  31. Marvelous post, Dawn. We used to rent a cottage on Nantucket every summer so this really brought back memories.

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  32. LOVE the pics Dawn. Totally making me wish I was there right now.

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  33. That sign about misbehaving children is way hilarious!
    Mmm, that ice cream and the savory pies look to die for. I've only been to Cape Cod once -- which is definitely not near often enough to get my food fix there.

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  34. PB is located of of rt 6, not 6a.

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