Category Archives: Fun Finds

Cafe Edwige

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With another show under our belt, and the night still early, we decided a later dinner at one of our favorite finds in P’town for the last several years was eating at Cafe Edwige. While pretty outstanding for breakfast/brunch – dinners offer a solid flavor profile with a simple and straight forward menu of options.

Not being overly hungry I went with the Cure All Kale Salad. Dressed with bacon and fresh toppings, this well portioned dish was good, but lacked sharpness in the dressing. Kale, being what it is, can often be a hard “nut to crack” raw. So my tastes run towards adding sharpness like lemons, limes or even hot pepper flakes or chili infused oils to balance to denseness of the leaves. I think it also lacked salt and pepper to my tastes. But I would still suggest you give it a try..

For our entrees, I opted for the Local Board; with an assortment of olives, cheese liver pate and bread. This was perfect for my dinner, but I would warn – the pate’s is hearty “liver” flavor and doesn’t disguise itself. Our other dish was the Filet Mignon.

OK – now this is where Edwige excels. It was literally, “melt in your mouth” good. Perfectly cooked, tender and well seasoned- this was the meat eaters orgasm of flavor.

More on them

333 Commercial Street  •  Upstairs
Provincetown, MA  02657
edwigerestaurant@yahoo.com     Contact:  508 . 487 . 4020

 

Cafe Heaven

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While always a good standard when we visit, Cafe Heaven with it’s new Bar area, has a new vibe to it, that definitely works. We stopped by for dinner one night and couldn’t have been happier. The food was dead on. We started with my favorite dish in most resturant’s – but one that I know is big enough here to serve as lunch or a lite supper. The Antipasto, nothing on it feels tossed on, cheap or low end. For dinner we went to basics with my having the Shrimp  & Grits; with aa sweet, sour, sticky glaze meets sauce spicy with chorizo and Paul jumped in with a broccoli & chicken penne pasta. Now Paul being Paul, the only comment I heard was; “it could use more broccoli”. Him and that green stuff.

I can honestly say these shots don’t do the dishes credit – so get you butt over to find out!

For more on Cafe Heaven:

199 Commercial St, Unit 10, Provincetown, MA 02657-2126, (508) 487-9639

 

Is it Thursday already?

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While the weather overall of the first week has been good – Thursday was one of the ones that started and ended with the sun yet not so overwhelmingly humid or hot.

But it did mean we had a few activities that would be perfect; the ride out to Race Point on the bikes, beach & Ssun time and of course then obligatory “Ice Cream” walk after dinner and yes – for those of you who follow me on Swarm, will notice that we did indeed eat again at Local 186. Paul opted for the El Guano Burger (hint -it had as egg on on, go figure) and I went with the Tuna, severed reformulated as a burger seared and laid on top of a scallion pancake. But were good – but El Guapo still takes the win for that meal.

But first – it all started with a little homemade breakfast.. in the “hmm what kitchen tools do I have to fake it with” kitchen. Part of the vacation fun is figuring out how to repurpose leftovers at the same time also use what ever utensils happen to be around. on some occasions – its been a real “how-dunnit”. But this yesterday mornings as well as this morning seemed to work. the secrete to the eggs with our lots of butter or cooking spray on a pan that has seen better years and no spatula is low heat. add what little butter you have, add the eggs first to form your layer, then add the toppings. Then let it heat  through slow. Once you notice it start to brown on the bottom – it should form a thin crust; bump the pan against your palm to loosen it and do the “flip”. The end result is it should do a flip of the entire “omelet”  and let it cook for a few more minutes and its done!

Later that night we walked down to the Nut House for an ice cream sunday (for Paul) and got presented with a new flavor; Burnt Carmel. One little sample had me, and I knew my reserve about eating dairy via ice cream which I almost always avoid was going on the window. Thank good need for my lactose pills. Of course I did use some moderation and went with the “kids cone” size and only had enough to satisfy my taste..

It ain’ t always pretty.. but it hits the spot!

 

Ptown date 08.01.16

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Sorting out our “must sees” this am; already top on the list is my pal, Varla Jean Merman’s “A Little White Music” and Varla & Ryan’s “Brown is the new Pink“. Last night, we took in Dina Martini’s show, to a full crowd at the Crown & Anchor.

Also on the list is several new shows & restaurants we had wanted to check out is Saints & Strangers (a take on the book, Saints and Strangers – Being the Lives of the Pilgrim Fathers & Their Families, with Their Friends & Foes: & and Account of Their Posthumous Wanderings in Limbo, Their Final Resurrection & Rise to Glory, & the Strange Pilgrimages of Plymouth Rock),  as well as  a few old favorites like a grown up date night  at Jimmy’s Hideaway and hopefully next week dinner at the Red Inn

One we won’t be able to see is The Calamari sisters  at the Sage Inn, as we found out they had been cancelled for the summer due to health issues.

Capped off last night with one of our favorite Monday night activities by hitting the Showgirls show at the A-House. While you never know what will happen – even tonight took the cake when a “sword swallower” came up on stage…

Getting down to the business of vacation.

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After a truly crazy last few months; traveling between San Francisco and Washington DC on the assignment I am on for the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues the last week of getting ready for our annual Provincetown vacation almost put me over the edge. Luckily the knowing that in a few short days we would once again be in one of our favorite places to essentially do little else than relax, eat, ride bikes, catch up for pals and in Paul’s case, sleep. But before I could leave; finish a few work projects, get the house cleaned, Dino had to be taken to Hightail, finished laundry, write the “house rules” up for a guest house-sitter and pack.

Getting an early start on Friday, I took off out of SFO on a 7:00 am Virgin flight, and while a crowded flight, it was essentially uneventful. I made sure I have my treats for the ride and enough juice on the Kindle Oasis that I recently acquired, with its extended batter cover – I was all set to go.

The nice thing about the west coast to east coast flight is that if you leave early enough, you can get in mid afternoon and have enough time to settle in. After getting my bag, I grabbed a cab over to meet Paul at the Residence Inn Marriott’s Downtown/Seaport facility. The renovated urban building, is clean, bright and well worth its hefty night fee – but its no more expensive than other hotels in the area. Figured I earned all those points, might as well get some use of them. We also found that by staying in Boston overnight – we can take the Saturday afternoon ferry to P’town and already be on the way to relaxing.

Once we got settled – the unspoken plan, is pizza! One of our favorites is Regina’s Pizza. This little, mad-house is not for the “faint of heart”. It’s busy, the wait staff robust and full of personality and the pies rock. The other best part is after, you get to walk the neighborhoods and hit some of the older Italian pastry shops for some regional fav’s I miss, not to mention the occasional “on no they didn’t” item…

One that we often stop at is Brova’s Bakery, with it’s wide assortment of cookies, cakes, and cannoli’s as well as savory treats like stromboli’s.

 

Waking up early, had a lazy morning with breakfast at Flour, and I stopped next door to check out the Bees Knees Supply company, we packed up and took a nice walk over to the ferry. Couldn’t ask for a better travel day – the weather in the east coast has been hot and sticky but it broke the other day and we lucked out with sunny, humidity in the 60’s and temps in the 80’s.

Once getting getting into P’town and checking in at the Fisherman’s Cove, our home away from home” for the next two weeks; we were unpacked, sorted out and “living” as if we hadn’t ever left. After running a few errands, like getting some “hair of the dog” coffee at Wired Puppy; we figured it a good time to eat before the crowds hit and we went with our old standard, Local 186 for burgers. Eating early meant that “someone” would be ready for an evening walk that was sure to include ice cream.

 

If you are interested in my  actual comments on the actual places; I generally review them in greater detail on my Yelp page and/or on Trip Advisor and when I can remember, I cross post here.

East Coast “Market Mall” meets Market Street

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Seems that Myriad Market Hall’s first vendors are in place and open for business. I stopped by on my way to Joe’s Barbershop for my usual saturday morning shave and had some extra time and (more importantly I found parking in front) so stopped in to check it out. 

Loved the space; it’s open and industrial meets an urban trendy type thing. Sorta reminds me of the old school classic  “indoor flea market stalls” gone hip (or hipster if you prefer). 

According to Inside Scoop , “the team behind the Myriad is Jordan Langer, Pete Glikshtern and Jeff Whitmore (Jones, Oddjob, Empire Room, the Midway). Rather than a glorified food hall, the inspiration for the project comes from places like New York’s Chelsea Market and market halls of Europe, where one can find a variety of small businesses under one roof.” Being a former east coaster; I got it immediately. 

The coffee offered at Cro was rich & dark, the crepes across the way were getting freshly wisked up as the coffee brewed. 

They have on deck craft cocktails (or take home cocktail kit) at Mrs. Jones and healthy snack options at it’s RAW Juice Bar, with more rolling in from Antonik’s BBQ, Church Street Flowers, and Gambrel and Co. Butcher opening in the coming weeks.

I’ll agree with the 2175 Market’s website on this; “Come, relax and enjoy the market hall vibe.”  Note: The do have a web site , but still seems to be under revision. 

Myriad Market Hall
2175 Market Street, San Francisco
Http://www.themyriad.com
http://www.2175market.com/

Sons Of Italy

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OSIA creates a space for bringing the past into the present of our blended experiences past & present in its Italian America publication. The clever thinking behind it manages to create a reader to appeal on levels as complex as the 12-hour sunday “sauce” (or “gravy” depending on your region). The writing is clean and accessable without being dumbdowned. So the multi-generational readers will find it equally useful, funny, bittersweet and forward thinking. This issue from fall 2015 is a perfect example.

 

A crowd sourced multi-media portrait of 24 Hours of Life in Provincetown #Ptown24 ; over 2oo hundred photos, 48 videos all in the same 24 hours.

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Each year we head back to Provincetown for a few weeks to see old friends and chill. We usually go when the big events have passed and before the last big theme party hits. This past summer Provincetown TV (PTV) launched its own version of a crowd-source “day in the life” called #Ptown24 asking for folks to share images from throughout a 24 hour period using the hashtag #Ptown24 (which happened to occur while we were in town).  Below is the summer version and happy to say several of my shots made it.

A crowd sourced multi-media portrait of 24 Hours of Life in Provincetown; over 2oo hundred photos, 48 videos all in the same 24 hours. Heather Reed of Provincetown Television got the ball started.. and I’m hearing a winter version of #Ptown24  is brewing now too. See the message post below.

You can see some of the great work of PTV on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/provincetowntv/ or visit the website http://www.provincetowntv.org

Below is the summer version and happy to say several of my shots made it. 

 #Ptown24

In fact – are you going to be in Ptown in February? Help document 24 hours of life in the winter in Provincetown!

Everyone who lives here in the winter gets asked (like a million times) “What do you DO all winter?” It’s time to stand together and ANSWER BACK! With beautiful little videos and photographs of our lives in our beautiful town when most people are elsewhere.

From 6 am 2/24 to 6 am on 2/25, PTV and LIPTV ask EVERYONE in Provincetown to shoot and post short videos and photos of your day to the first WINTER #Ptown24! Invite your friends to join the #PTown24 Facebook group and contribute videos and photos or follow along as the day unfolds.
facebook.com/groups/ptown24

We encourage you to post and tag your posts with #Ptown24 everywhere on this day, but we learned A LOT about Facebook and Instagram’s privacy settings last time. That’s why this time we’re asking everyone to join the #Ptown24 group and post contributions here. That way your beautiful post doesn’t show up as a white box that says “Attachment Unavailable.”

Questions? Contact info@provincetowntv.org.

PTV is a 501(c)(3) non-profit contracted by the Town of Provincetown to provide a community media center for local residents, and non-profit and educational institutions. PTV is also contracted to provide unbiased cable and webcasts of all Provincetown Regulatory Board Meetings. (Follow PTV GOV here to stay up to date on the latest Government video postings: https://www.facebook.com/ptvgov)

PTV Members have free access to cameras, editing bays, lights, microphones, studio space, and hands-on training classes and workshops. Join or renew your membership here: http://provincetowntv.org/membership/

PTV cablecasts on Provincetown’s Comcast channels 18 (Government) and 99 (Public), with selected programs available on our Vimeo channel www.vimeo.com/provincetowntv.

via @TouchofModern; GOAT STORY, Mugs Engineered For Your Commute

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From the folks at GOAT STORY, Mugs Engineered For Your Commute.

So they re-invented it from top to bottom, with unique detailing like an ergonomic handle, a sleeve that doubles as a stand, and an array of straps so you can sip while you check your phone. It’s the best commuter coffee mug you’ll find out there.
Not bad for $30 on sale at touchofmodern.com:  https://www.touchofmodern.com/sales/goat-story-f8e7d2ae-112c-480a-9120-a48fa93c0c0f