Cape Cod Restaurants/"Baahs"

[MikeUSMC]

"Land Ho!"
38 Main Street (Route 6A) in Orleans, MA (Cape Cod)

Great food and drink!

"The Cape Cod Reuben." I guess they're pretty well known for this sandwich, and I can see why! It was absolutely fantastic!
Fried fish, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, coleslaw on pumpernickel. Served with a bag of chips and a pickle

Washed down with (local) Hog Island IPA

Haven't been here in almost 15 years, but the food and atmosphere are still great. Really laid back. Tank top and board shorts to slacks and a Polo shirt, they don't care. License plates and signs and stuff all over the walls and ceiling. A little pricey though. Me, my wife and 3 kids: 4 beers, 2 glasses of wine, 6 glasses of milk (for the kiddos ), 3 entrees, 2 kid's meals, and a "Land Ho!" T shirt ($20) = $175

http://www.land-ho.com/

 

[cone9]

My older son will be honeymooning at Cape Cod come October (I tried to talk them into Bar Harbor where I know the lay of the land).  
 
I'll mention Land Ho to him.  More places you'd recommend?

 

[MikeUSMC]

My older son will be honeymooning at Cape Cod come October (I tried to talk them into Bar Harbor where I know the lay of the land).  
 
I'll mention Land Ho to him.  More places you'd recommend?

Sure, Cone! Some of these places, I haven't been to in a long time, but hopefully they're still good. (I also went back and put the link for "Land Ho!" at the bottom of the first post)

Also in Orleans are:
"Sir Cricket's" (Fish and Chips) Best fried clam strips around
http://nausetfishandlobster.com/

"Lost Dog Pub" (never been there, but heard it's good)
https://www.lostdogpubs.com/

"Hog Island Brewery" Brewery tour (I've heard its kid friendly too), and they make a great IPA
http://www.hogislandbeerco.com/age-verification/

"The Jailhouse Tavern" Nice restaurant with a nice bar. First place I ever tried a Maker's Mark Manhattan
http://jailhousetavern.com/

"The Yardarm" (pronounced "Yaaahhdaaahhm" )
http://the-yardarm.com/

"Double Dragon" Chinese restaurant. Only thing I remember (barely) about this place is the "Scorpion Bowls"
http://doubledragonorleans.com/



In Wellfleet, MA
"The Beachcomber"- cool bar, directly on the beach
https://www.thebeachcomber.com/

"Wellfleet Bookstore & Restaurant" This is a nicer (not too) "fancy plate" restaurant, with an actual bookstore attached to the restaurant. But, the REAL gem in this place is the dive bar in the basement of this restaurant called "The Bomb Shelter," haha. Pool, darts, etc.
http://www.wellfleetoyster.com/



Eastham, MA
"The Red Barn Pizza & More" This is supposed to be THE place to get pizza in Cape Cod. I know I DID eat there back in about '04, but honestly don't remember that much about it. The locals love this place though.
http://www.theredbarnpizza.com/



South Yarmouth, MA
"Gerardi's Cafe" Supposed to have some of the best Italian food around here. My uncle raves about this place, but I've never eaten there
https://www.gerardiscafe.com/



Hope this post helps, man. I'll try to keep updating this if I hear about any other great places that the locals "approve" of. I'll be up here for a couple more days. I passed a BBQ joint the other day, only to find out that it was INSIDE of a bowling alley, haha Anyway, I've been asking around, and supposedly the food is "legit BBQ." I heard they remodeled the inside and put in a craft beer bar though. Supposed to rain here Friday, so I think we might take the kids bowling I'll keep you posted!

 

[MikeUSMC]

"Sesuit Harbor Cafe"
Dennis, MA (Northern shore of Cape Cod)
http://sesuit-harbor-cafe.com/

BYOB. Really nice outdoor atmosphere (picnic tables w/ umbrellas), tucked away in a small marina, right on the water in the bay. You have to actually walk through a boat yard to get to it. Nothing fancy. The place was a tiny little shack w/ paper plates, etc.

ALL the restaurants up here claim it, but supposedly this place (according to the internet AND the locals) has THE BEST lobster roll on Cape Cod. Period. $25 a piece, but they were damn good. I had 2, hahaha. You have to eat at least half of the lobster meat with a fork first, just to get it to fit into the bun. These are the style served COLD, tossed in mayonnaise and spices. NOT the style served hot w/ melted butter

My wife got their version of the Cape Cod Reuben. Not nearly as good as the one I had at "Land Ho!" though. Still a great sandwich, but they've got no business calling it a "Reuben." It was pretty much just a toasted kaiser roll with a piece of fried cod, topped with coleslaw

FWIW, my 5 year old daughter says they had "the BEST peanut butter and jelly sandwich she's ever had"

 

[MikeUSMC]

"PJ's Family Restaurant"
Wellfleet, MA (Cape Cod)
http://www.pjscapecod.com/default.aspx?flash=false&desktop=1

Place was (and supposedly is always) packed. Walk up to the window, place your order, find a table, then they'll call you on the loudspeaker. Great food, and a pretty diverse menu too. Everything from seafood to burgers to wings to sashimi to Mexican. BYOB

My wife got the Taco Salad, which was pretty good!

I got the Grilled Cajun Swordfish tacos, and MAN am I glad I did! These were awesome!

 

[MikeUSMC]

"Native Cape Cod Seafood"
Provincetown, MA (Cape Cod)
http://www.nativecapecodseafood.com/

Quite the "cultural" experience to visit Provincetown, to say the least, but great seafood at this place

Tucked away in a little strip of other (grab your food and go) restaurants. Outside picnic table dining on a huge deck (that has a bar), with a 180* view of Provincetown Harbor (the very very end tip of Cape Cod).

Fish Tacos were great. They had grilled or fried; I opted for fried (Cod). First time I've ever had a fish taco that came with tartar sauce on it, but it definitely worked, haha. Really, really good. And, I'll tell you what; the frijoles negros that came with it were some of the best I've ever had!

Forgot to take a pic of the Mexican street corn, but that was fantastic too

This place was very reasonably priced too

 

[cone9]

Thanks, Mike.  
 
I'm looking over all this at the office, at the end of the day, before I go home - you are making me sooooo damn hungry!  All kinds of "YES" to that lobster roll - If I could click "Like This" more than once it would be done!
 
I'll get a link to this thread to my son.  He'll be all over those fish tacos for sure!
 
Dave

 

[MikeUSMC]

Thanks, Mike. I'll get a link to this thread to my son.
 
Dave

 No problem at all, Dave! Believe me, it was my pleasure! Hell, I'm the one who got to eat all the food, haha

All kinds of "YES" to that lobster roll - He'll be all over those fish tacos for sure!

I don't blame him, haha! They were absolutely fantastic at both places. If I absolutely HAD TO give one an edge over the other, I'd give it to the Cajun Swordfish tacos at PJ's. That'd be really tough to decide on though; one was grilled, the other fried
Also, he's gonna pass 1,000 different places with a "Best Lobster Roll on the Cape" sign out front But, I'm tellin' ya, the best ones are at Sesuit Harbor Cafe in Dennis

"The Red Barn Pizza & More" This is supposed to be THE place to get pizza in Cape Cod. I know I DID eat there back in about '04, but honestly don't remember that much about it. The locals love this place though.http://www.theredbarnpizza.com/

"Lost Dog Pub" (never been there, but heard it's good)https://www.lostdogpubs.com/

RE: Red Barn. Went there for dinner last night with the kids (12, 7, and 5) and another couple with their son (6). The food's definitely not all it's cracked up to be. So much cheese on the pizza that it was WAY too much. To the point where you had to eat half of it with a fork because it was literally piled so high that it was falling off the sides of the slices. Very, very oily too. I might be being over critical about this since I live so close to New Haven, CT pizza though

RE: Lost Dog Pub. Went there for lunch today; first time I'd been there. GREAT pub grub! Right on the main drag in downtown Orleans. Can't miss it

Appetizer I got

My Main course for lunch (House favorite)

Dipped in the French Onion au jus

The only town up here I really know is Orleans. I used to frame houses for my uncle, and he bought a lot and built a house up here (in Orleans) back in 2003 that he owns and rents out to vacationers in the Summertime. The following year, he and my stepfather bought another lot (again in Orleans), built a spec house and sold it. My uncle was smart enough to build them in the Winter, because he knew that our crew would probably have had a hard time getting to work the next day if it was Summertime while we were up here. We'd be at the bar all night, every night, "chasing tail" hahaha He made us come up here from Dec-Feb, both times This place is like a ghost town at that time of year. Not to mention the fact that I was only 22-23 and fresh out of the Marines back then

Any idea what town(s) your son's staying in? And congrats!

 

[cone9]

You live in New Haven but drive over to Cape Cod to eat a lot?  I assume you've been collecting meal pics for a while.
 
Of course, looking at all your food porn I can't blame you.  We're going to have to get there sometime.  That's a lot of fine looking food.  I suspect the area has Bar Harbor beat.
 

 

[MikeUSMC]

You live in New Haven but drive over to Cape Cod to eat a lot?

No, it's like a 3 hour ride All these pics were taken this week, up here with my family on vacation. My wife's never been to the Cape, and I haven't been here since '04. I'm just taking them out to places I'd been to before

I was only planning on sharing that Reuben pic in the first post because it was so freakin' good! Then, you said your son was coming, so I just kept it going

My wife's been asking me all week, "Why the hell do you keep taking pictures of all of your food?"

 

[cone9]

My wife's been asking me all week, "Why the hell do you keep taking pictures of all of your food?"

 
LMAF ... and here I thought I was actually talking to Bobby Flay!