Travel Eats: Cape Cod

So if you know me, you know I love to eat. If you’ve been a long time follower on here you could probably have already guessed. One thing I always look forward to when I go away on vacation is trying new restaurants and eating (hopefully) good food. Today I’m sharing with you the food I ate (minus breakfast because that was the same continental buffet every day) while on my trip to Cape Cod this past week!

Day 1

After a long day of driving, we got to Cape Cod in time for dinner. Cape Cod (Hyannis) is about 300 miles away from me, so not too terrible but it was 4th of July weekend so there was a ton of traffic. We ate dinner at The Black Cat Tavern. This restaurant was recommended to us and it is incredibly popular. There is always a crowd outside the door waiting! This restaurant is located on Ocean St. in Hyannis and was an area I frequented a lot during the week as it’s where the fireworks were and where I got onto the ferry for Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

My family and I shared a sampler appetizer which had stuffed mushrooms, clams casino, oysters, and bacon wrapped scallops. For my entree I ordered the seared tuna tacos which were so fresh and delicious! And for dessert – chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.

Day 2

The next day we went to Provincetown for whale watching. I didn’t have much of a lunch – just some chicken fingers at the snack bar on the whale watching boat. We had an early dinner at Mistralino in the town before heading back to Hyannis.

My dad and I shared the escargot bourguinone which was escargot in a lemon butter sauce and was quite tasty. We all shared the portobello mushroom special, which was good too. You can’t tell from the picture but there were finely sliced potatoes underneath the mushrooms. For my entree, I got the lobster ravioli special which had a light cognac cream sauce and shrimp overtop.

Day 3

On Day 3 we went to Nantucket and ate lunch at B-ACK Yard BBQ. Sidenote – I don’t know why people call Nantucket, ACK. Does anyone know?

Instead of all ordering our own entree we decided to do one of their combo meals. We chose the one that’s meant for 3-5 people – The Feedbag – and allows you to choose 3 meats, 4 sides, and is served with warm rolls. For meats, we got the brisket, burnt ends, and ribs. For sides we got cornbread, mac & cheese, potato salad, and cole slaw. It was yummy and all that BBQ hit the spot!

Since we were pretty tired after taking the ferry back to Hyannis from Nantucket, we decided to just eat at the hotel restaurant, Vesta, which has a really pretty outdoor section with a fire pit. Their pizzas there are all made in a wood burning oven so I got the bbq chicken pizza. It was so good but it was so big! A 12 inch pie! I may have been able to eat an extra slice or two if I hadn’t ordered the New England clam chowder as an appetizer, but I really wanted chowder!

Day 4

On Day 4, we stayed on Cape Cod as it was 4th of July. After visiting the Lavender Farm, we went to lunch at Pain d’Avignon Cafe Boulangerie which was so good we went back again! This cafe is a little hidden gem and I’m glad we found it because the food is so fresh and delicious. You can actually see them making the bread in the back. On this first visit there, I got the falafel salad. 

For dinner before the fireworks, we thought about going back to The Black Cat Tavern, but the wait was over 70 minutes! So we walked over to Main St. and got a table at Alberto’s, which ended up being a great choice. For appetizers to share we ordered the mussels fra diavolo and the Farcite Napoletana which is eggplant stuffed with ricotta, parmigiano, and romano cheese topped with plum tomato sauce and melted cheese. So good and surprisingly not heavy at all! For my entree, I got the pork osso buco which came with risotto. Yum!

Day 5

Day 5 was Martha’s Vineyard and our lunch had to be super quick as we only had 45 minutes before our full island tour. We went to Martha’s Vineyard Chowder Company and I got the bacon caesar salad because I’m a slow eater so I wanted something that I could eat quick! That piece of lobster was not included in the salad – it’s just a bit of lobster from my brother’s lobster roll.

The salad was really refreshing. I have to give props to the restaurant and our awesome waitress because we told them we were in a rush and they made sure to take care of us quickly! When my mom ordered her burger, the waitress even told her how many minutes it would take to cook it to medium so that she could change her mind if she wanted. That would be 12 minutes in case you’re wondering!

After a day in Martha’s Vineyard, we got back to Cape Cod and went for a late dinner to Misaki a local Japanese restaurant that ended up being really good. Being by the ocean we figured the seafood would be fresh and we wanted something different than the normal fried fish, oysters, and lobster we’d been consuming. I always love to get seaweed salad and edamame when I go to Japanese restaurants. I ordered two different rolls (the top ones are my brothers).

Day 6

Our last full day in Cape Cod. We went back to Pain d’Avignon Cafe-Boulangerie and this time I got the Curry Chicken Sandwich which is chunks of grilled chicken with cashews, raisins & curried mayonnaise, on a house-made croissant. So good and light. This curried chicken isn’t spicy plus the mix was cold so it was almost like a curry chicken salad. I think I may try to recreate this! They ran out of croissants by the time we got there for lunch so they served me mine on a brioche bun. We also ordered pomme frites (french fries) and got a flourless chocolate cake.

For dinner, we went to Mattakeese Wharf. It was very crowded as I’m sure it is regularly for dinner because of the amazing sunset views! Luckily we got a reservation and even luckier we got a table with a view. I ordered the shrimp cocktail as a appetizer as I’d been craving it all week. For my entree, I decided to steer away from seafood and got the steak frites which was served with herb butter and truffle fries. For dessert we shared the ice cream puff – so good! The food was pretty good but the views were better. See my post from earlier today for shots of the sunset!

That wraps up my foodie adventures in Cape Cod! I loved all the fresh seafood and even the non-seafood items like my salads and sandwiches were scrumptious too. Hopefully I didn’t make you too hungry!