Chowing Down Clam Chowder in Cape Cod

Although Traveling Alpacas has the beautiful California beaches at his disposal, he is always craving a new experience. So he coupled his desire to see the world and his love of clam chowder into one delicious trip to Cape Cod. Yum.

The long weekend started with a flight to the east coast and a drive into Cape Cod. Although it was summer (and the middle of the summer in August, no less!), it poured and poured rain the day we arrived. We slicked, swished and hydroplaned on the roads en route. We stopped at the very helpful Cape Cod Visitor Center (http://www.capecodvisit.net/), where we delighted to the number of brochures available to us. We collected them to our heart's content, then continued on to the Yarmouth Resort (http://www.yarmouthresort.com/), where we would stay. Since we arrived on a red eye on a full flight, we did not have space to stretch out and get restful sleep. Also, due to the lousy weather in the midwest and northeast, there was significant turbulance. Didn't make for a restful night of pseudo-sleep. So, by the time we arrived at the hotel, we were exhausted and took a little nap. Then, as if by magic, the rain stopped when we woke up. Just in time.

Alpaca had heard great things about Captain Parker's Pub (http://www.captainparkers.com/, pictured above), winners of the 2006 Chowderfest Competition. Captain Parkers is no stranger to awards, and this is really only one of many awards their clam chowder has claimed. So we deemed it necessary to put them to the test. Good stuff. Probably the best on the Cape, but probably not the best we've ever had. The calamari was also delicious, fresh and perfectly fried.

Alpaca also heard a number of people rave about the Roadhouse Cafe (http://www.roadhousecafe.com/), which is neither a roadhouse nor a cafe. To the contrary, it is a popular higher end restaurant frequented by everyone who shops at Brooks Brothers with a menu full of regional seafood classics and what we call "California fare" on the West Coast - roasted beet salads, etc. We had the crab cakes with mango salsa (a delight, and very crabby), the beet salad with goat cheese and toasted walnuts (as wonderful as it sounds) and a mango sorbet with fresh berries, which was served in a huge martini glass. Delicious. And very reasonably-priced.

The Daisy Gift Shop near Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable has a little shop to the side that sells candy, fudge and other edibles. The candy was very typically what you would find at the grocery store but the spicy artichoke-spinach dip, the delightful cranberry-based jellies and the fudge were a real treat! We savored every last morsel of the sweet, rich panoche, chocolate, chocolate-peanut butter and kahlua fudge squares.

Gone are the days of waitstaff hurling insults at Jack's Outback in Yarmouthport (no website, but located at 161 Main Street, Yarmouthport, 508.362.6690), but the food is supposed to be just as good. If that's the case, Alpaca can't understand what the rage is all about. The egg salad BLT wrap was tasty, but all it is served with is a bag of chips. For $7.50. The fruit salad the Alpaca ordered was far too small for the price, and was not full of particularly good fruit, despite them being in season. All in all, the Alpaca rates this a rip-off.

The Clam Shack in Falmouth (http://www.falmouthvisitor.com/TheClamShack.htm) boasts the best fried food on the upper Cape. One thing is for sure: all of their food (except the clam chowder) was fried. The chowder was just okay - too many potatoes, not enough clams. The fried shrimp was very good. The fries were tasty and perfectly fried. The fried zucchini was good but just didn't taste right without the accompanying ranch dressing - which they did not have (who doesn't have ranch dressing?!), and the tartar sauce they suggested with it proved a poor substitute. Also disappointing (and a little surprising) was that instead of using their own cocktail sauce, they used little packages of mass-produced (and not particularly well-produced) Ken's Steakhouse cocktail sauce. A bit hit and miss in that respect, but the views from the rooftop deck were terrific and we enjoyed watching the sun set from there.

Suckerpunched by Abbott's Lobster in the Rough

I'm not moving to Noank anymore. In fact, if I can find a city named Ank, I'll move there, because the lack of ank is apparently BAD. And BAD is what Abbott's Lobster Roll was when Alpaca, Pookie and I eagerly went to Noank today. You can see the disappointment in Pookie's expression as she sat there, suckerpunched by Abbott's (this is a candid photo - it was not at all posed, and her eyes weren't closed - she was looking at the BAD Lobster Roll with that look of disappointment). It was just sad.

Poop.

New Haven's Me N U Means Me and Bacon

A lovely restaurant recently opened in New Haven called Me N U (ha, get it?, http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=4579, 970 State Street, 203.789.1833). This place is for bacon fiends. They put bacon in everything, and/or stack bacon high on every plate. Wild horses couldn't keep Alpaca away. He savored every morsel of the enormous three-egg omelette (with tomatoes, cheese and bacon, of course) and the hearty crab cake benedict and enjoyed the prompt, friendly service of the fantastic waitstaff. And they deliver for free, so you can have breakfast in bed on rainy days. A winner.