This submit initially appeared within the August 5, 2023 version of Eater’s Journey publication, a spot for Eater’s editors and writers to share their ideas for navigating the world’s most scrumptious locations. Subscribe now.
Though I began going to Cape Cod only some years in the past, it didn’t take me lengthy to search out the eating places, ice cream outlets, and markets I needed to maintain returning to as ceaselessly as potential. And on a current go to, I did simply that.
On the high of my listing is the Beachcomber in Wellfleet. Positioned at Cahoon Hole Seaside in a former lifesaving station constructed on the finish of the nineteenth century, it’s a restaurant, bar, and all-around scene. Whereas the inevitable crowds is usually a little bit of a drag, each the meals and very environment friendly service justify the await a desk: Few issues are extra pleasurable than sitting on the exterior bar and scarfing a platter of ice-cold oysters, adopted by some fats steamers dredged in melted butter and a crispy fried clam roll or two.
Just like the Beachcomber, Arnold’s in Eastham is as busy as it’s environment friendly and is residence to a whole lot of out of doors seating. My standing order there may be the fishwich, served sizzling and bountiful with fish fried crispy on the surface and falling-apart-tender on the within. I order mine with a slice of American cheese, then slather it with tartar sauce and attempt to eat all of it earlier than the bun disintegrates between my fingers. I all the time get it with two facet orders of coleslaw — Arnold’s makes its slaw with dried cranberry and apple, which might be controversial to some of us, however I adore it and simply don’t care.
As a self-avowed ice cream freak, Cape Cod is my earthly paradise — there’s at the very least one respectable ice cream store per virtually each sq. mile of it, and as such, it’s exhausting to decide on a favourite. That stated, I’ll all the time stand in line for Sundae College, which has areas in Harwich Port and Dennisport. It serves one of many two greatest variations of grasshopper pie ice cream that I’ve ever tasted (the opposite is at Mitchell’s in San Francisco). The cookie-to-cream ratio is perfection, that means that it’s principally a bunch of mashed-up Oreos pasted along with mint ice cream, each daring and refreshing.
Lastly, I all the time appear to finish up in Provincetown simply when lunch rolls round, which suggests I head straight down Industrial Road to Pop + Dutch. This can be a sandwich store that really grasps that making a sandwich is as a lot an artwork as a talent, and as a pescatarian, I admire the stability and breadth of its vegetarian varieties. One in every of my favorites is the Oh You Fancy, Huh, which is smashed avocado and chile flakes on multigrain bread. The store additionally doubles as a small grocery retailer — you’ll find salads and baked items right here, but additionally lube, canine treats, sunscreen, and classic cookbooks, making it an ideal one-stop store for nearly any conceivable want you may need throughout a day in Ptown.
