Malcolm Wilson's Ratings Per Entree
Inexpensive
|
I
|
Below $15
|
Medium
|
M
|
$15 - $25
|
Expensive
|
E
|
$25 - $50
|
Very Expensive
|
VE
|
Over $50
|
Whitman House Restaurant
County Road, North Truro
(508) 487-1740
Chef-Owner Robert Rice's two-story Colonial-style, white clapboard restaurant has both
the charming atmosphere and good food to make it among the best places to eat on the Cape.
Recommendations include: Portuguese Kale Soup, New England Clam Chowder and grilled Loin
Lamb Chops.
M to E
Chatham Bars Inn
Shore Road, Chatham
(508) 945-0096
The Chatham Bars Inn is one of the last of the grand seaside resort hotels in this
area, its curving window serenely facing the sea. Always a benchmark for high quality,
service and elegance it still maintains very high standards. At the height of the season
it manages to retain the cool that's lost in other equally busy places on theCape. Among
appetizers, the salmon seviche and the grilled eggplant terrine are excellent. Other
recommendations include the grilled breast of duck served over Eastham turnips and the
swordfish. Desserts include the old-fashioned crème brulee with its thick crackling top
of caramelized sugar. Check out the wine list.
E
Betsy's Diner
457 Main Street, Falmouth
(508) 540-4446
This is a visitation back to the glory days of diners, when they were the focal points
for both young and old in most American towns and cities. Their Beef Barley soup rates a
cheer, but the mousse-like chowder was light in clams. Home fries are nicely crisp and
brown, and the roast beef hash is not to be missed and entrees are big enough for even the
hungriest of diners. Meat Loaf was served with high school cafeteria overcooked green
beans and a hill of good, gravy-covered mashed potatoes that stick to your fork and your
ribs. Try the fried clams, they're properly cooked and sweet-tasting things. The Blueberry
Pie and the Boston Cream Pie are both excellent.
I
The Boat House
88 Scranton Avenue, Falmouth
(508) 548-7800
On Falmouth's Inner Harbor and one very busy place. The one-story, elongated building
is almost smack dab on the water. The wine list offers California labels by the glass or
the bottle. The menu is short and features the usual hamburgers and tuna salad roll for
nibblers and for bigger appetites the tried-and-true entrees of baked scallops, New York
Sirloin, prime rib, baked stuffed shrimp and shrimp scampi. There are also specials.
Recommendations are the fried calamari, Boat House chili and the Caesar salad.
M
Chart Room
Off Shipyard Lane in the Cataumet Marina, Cataumet
(508) 563-5350
As part of the marina complex the well-patronized Chart Room is right on the water amid
a jumble of warehouses looking out over tall-masted sailboats and sleek power craft in the
harbor. The informal interior has port and starboard lights, thick plank floors, heavy
Captain's chairs and geodetic map-covered tables. Stuffed quahog has a spicy authority and
an impeccably fresh quality and is one of the best recipes on the Cape. The house
dressings are excellent, the salads crisp and fresh. Fish and shellfish (after all it's
right there almost in the water) are as fresh as can be had, next to catching them
yourself. There's an excellent selection of light, snacky foods which ,of course, includes
hot dogs and burgers. All the pies are good.
I to M
Captain Scott's
40 North Main Street, Falmouth
(508) 495-1600
Captain Scott's, nicely ensconced in the Ramada Inn on Main Street Square, offers top
quality food at the same wonderfully low prices found in his hugely successful,
family-oriented restaurant on the other side of the Cape on the Bay in Sandwich. Fish and
clam chowders are big here (the seafood stew is a must order dish) and the Greek
Salad will be your idea of ideal Greek greens, you know the one with the perfect tart,
acidic back-of-the-tongue bite of vinegar and crumbly feta cheese. Captain Scott's onion
rings ring a bell as well. The general menu features fish, something they have always
managed with a certain elegant panache, in addition to good quality steaks, chicken and
pork dishes to satisfy the savage hunger for meat streak in your past ancestry. Don't miss
the Fried Oyster Louisiana, another high-flavor dish, or the Broiled Swordfish, brightly
sharpened with lemon and dill and thoroughly flavorsome.
I
Land Ho!
Route 6A, Orleans
(508) 255-5265
A comfortable, noisy, crowded, sometimes hectic and very entertaining gathering place.
John Murphy's kitchen turns out some filling, tasty food for people on the run and for
people who like to take their time. Clam chowder is the sea-salty, old-fashioned kind.
Entrees are large and larger. Kale Soup, the Portuguese meal in a bowl, is as good as
found anywhere, the burgers are larger, sandwiches so big they can't be finished and
there's the some good pub food... chicken wings, fish 'n chips and onion rings, solid with
flavor. If you still have room, try the fried oysters or the crab cakes and if you're still
hungry, Land Ho's apple pie rates with the best.
M
Old Jailhouse Tavern
28 West Road, Orleans
(508) 255-5245
Bill and Leslie Hirst's busy place is marvelously elegant in decor with a wide range of
menu items served in a delightful atmosphere. Clam Pie, an excellent starter, is an almost
custardy-smooth dish and don't miss the super onion soup. Entrees are large and larger,
the Prime Rib au jus is carefully cooked and a superior piece of beef. Stuffed
Flounder-Cape Cod are fillets of white, flaky fish wrapped around a savory mix of spinach,
mushrooms and crabmeat along with a side of good rice pilaf. For dessert the tavern has a
great bread pudding plumped up with fat raisins.
M
Captain Linnell House
Skaket Road, Orleans
(508) 255-3400
The Captain Linnell House is a very special place - an authentic period house built in
the neo-classic style in 1840 with elegant furnishings from Europe and with food and
service to match. Decor is sedate, with watercolors, English chintz and an abundance of
fresh flowers. The lounge, a handsome place, used to be the original carriage house. The
wine list is extensive, selective and appropriately priced. Appetizers include a regal
bourbon lobster bisque, an excellent clam chowder and Maine Crab Cakes that can't be beat.
Swordfish is served with a tomato, red onion and basil relish, and the roast duckling as a
raspberry, clove and marmalade demi-glaze, Desserts are all made in the restaurant's
kitchen and include Esther's Chocolate Cake, a black-beauty layer cake with a hefty dollop
of rich whipped cream.
M to E
Cape Sea Grille
31 Sea Street, Harwich Port
(508) 432-4745
The name implies a fast-crowd impression but the place is sedate and classically
elegant. A two-story Colonial structure with sober black blinds, a softening of pretty
plantings, carefully clipped lawns, it has a glassed-in front porch and a series of
additions spread out to the rear.
M to E
Brewster Inn and Chowder House
1993 Main Street, Brewste(508) 896-7771
Quietly laid back and serving a steady local clientele, this place turns out good home
cooking, at inexpensive prices. The menu includes daily specials, entrees and sandwiches
and there is a simple wine list. The restaurant serves one of the best clam chowders on
the Cape, the old-fashioned kind with plenty of honest sea clam in the making. Beef
Vegetable Soup with its dark, beefy broth was excellent. Stuffed Quahog has forthright
flavor with just the right amount of hots in it. Entreesare above average, check out the
Yankee Pot Roast and the broiled Chatham Scrod. Sides of crispy, steamy French fries hit
the spot. For dessert, the apple pie flavored well with cinnamon and basting a good, flaky
buttery crust can't be beat.
I to M
Giardino's Family RestaurantRoute 28, West Yarmouth
(508) 775-0333
The Giardino's, owners for a quarter century, have assured the success of this once
all-Italian food place with the addition of Mexican fajitas, Japanese chicken teriyaki,
Southern baby back ribs and New York Sirloin. There's a roomy bar and lounge with sports
TV; and two dining rooms, decorated with style and warmth. Wine and beer are available.
Among starters, stuffed quahog and the chicken noodle soupwere excellent, as was a side
of roasted Italian sausages. There are all kinds of pizzas and pasta dishes, the Chicken
Cacciatore is a don't miss dish and the Mexican and Linguica pizzas are very tasty.
I
The Paddock
West End Rotary, Hyannis
(508) 775-7677
For good food and service and an inviting combination big city/art deco atmosphere, the
Paddock, as a long-running success story, deserves more than just one rose thrown at it.
The traditional Continental-American menu emphasizes regional New England fish specialties
and the stylish wine list (it has consistently won Wine Spectator awards) offers something
for even the most discriminating. Appetizers and entrees are elegantly presented. Garden
Vegetable Soup, a hefty, herb-flavored mix packed in a fragrant tomato broth would have
just been minestra in a less classy restaurant and the chilled Shrimp and Scallop Bombay
made with sweet meaty scallops, crunchy shrimp and the textures of nuts, bananas,
blueberries and sprouts is an event. Baked Clams Casino are elegantly prepared, the salads
exceptional. Roast Long Island Duckling and fresh Nantucket Swordfish arerecommended
among the many equally good entrees. Desserts are not to be missed. The Rice Pudding is my
favorite.
M to E
Pate's
Main Street, Chatham
(508) 945-9777
Pate's is a slick little restaurant whose culinary expertise belies its country
location. The main dining room, a well-put-together place of dark paneling and heavy beams
has the rich tint of burgundy and maroon everywhere. The wine list has the look of careful
choices about it. A starter, Vichyssoise, was a delicious, velvety preparation of the
traditional cold soup and Clams Casino, barely cooked littlenecks in pools of butter, were
crusted with bread crumbs and sizzled on their ceramic platter. TheClam Chowder was rich
and creamy and successful. Chatham Haddock (You're right in the middle of Chatham, right!)
is super. The quality of Pate's beef is almost legendary and the top sirloin rump steak, a
house specialty. For dessert hit the Key Lime Pie you won't get better any where outside
of the Deep South.
M
