Cape Cod Insider

The Wellfleet Beachcomber

The Wellfleet Beachcomber

Cahoon Hollow Road
Wellfleet, MA
508.349.6055
www.thebeachcomber.com

Despite having arguably the worst radio jingle in the history of humanity, the Beachcomber is a must when visiting the lower (outer) Cape. Depending on where you are staying it could be a tricky and lengthy drive. In the summer months, it could take a little over an hour from the Hyannis area to make your way to northern Wellfleet. Check out the website for the “official” directions. However, I find that a slightly different route gives you one of the most scenic stretches of road on the Cape. (if you are not interested, skip to paragraph 3)

If you follow Route 6 into South Wellfleet, look for Lecount’s Hollow Road on your right. It’s about a mile or so after you cross into Wellfleet (if there is only one lane going in each direction, you are in Wellfleet). Follow this to the end and there will be a beach parking area (LeCount’s Hollow Beach), bear left before the parking area entrance and you will be paralleling the coastline. As you look to the right, the Atlantic Ocean spreads out before you in impressive fashion as you are high above it on rolling dunes. The Beachcomber is approximately two to three miles up on the right.

There are really two shifts of visitors at the Beachcomber, the day and evening crowds. There is definitely limited parking so if you are going to spend the day on the beach, and eat lunch at the ‘Combah, plan on getting there early, around 9am should suffice. Many people do spend the whole day on the beach since it is the National Seashore and no other beach in the area has a full service restaurant steps from the beach. 

WARNING: The dune down to the beach is extremely steep and long. If you have older adults or young children, they will need assistance. On the upside, the cooler should not be as heavy on the way up.

If you do make it back up the dune to the restaurant, the atmosphere is just beachy, pardon the pun, as you might expect. Bathing suits are acceptable and are the norm at lunchtime. There is an outdoor deck and bar as well as a raw bar serving all the New England classics: oysters, little necks, shrimp, etc. The prices are upper mid-range. The rest of the menu has something for everyone, from burgers to broiled seafood. The food is good, but the view doesn’t get any better, and somehow the seafood is more delicious and the beer is more refreshing on a gorgeous July afternoon looking out over the Atlantic. 

Many of the day shift folk start moving on around 4-5 pm. There is a residual “happy hour” crowd that hangs around. If you thinking about dinner, I would go earlier than later to enjoy the view as much as possible. It does cool off significantly as it tends to do by the ocean, so dress appropriately. Also, the restaurant closes from 8 to 9pm to clear out tables and shoo out any minors for the evening’s entertainment. 

The Beachcomber does have great live music. I have seen many bands there, and they are consistently high quality.  If you are looking for alt-rock covers or Jimmy Buffett, you will not find it at the Beachcomber. Most of the bands are regionally or nationally touring acts that play mostly original music. On any given night, there may be bands that span reggae, blues, bluegrass rock-a-billy, or jazz funk. They usually have live music 7 nights a week. Always a great, relaxed scene, seldom any punks or thugs starting trouble.

Another note: be careful of your libation intake, as there is only one road back from the Beachcomber to Route 6 and Wellfleet’s finest know it well. 

One of the best spots on the Cape, hands down. I highly recommend a trip to the ‘Comber at some point on your trip to the lower Cape.

Love Japanese cuisine? Come to the Cape!

You can’t call it a well-kept secret, because the place is almost always packed. But what a nice surprise awaits fans of sushi and other Japanese specialties at Inaho on Route 6A in Yarmouthport.

The restaurant is a converted Cape house, and although it was recently renovated to add some seating capacity, it’s still not a large place at all. Call for a reservation. You’ll need it. And even then, you may be waiting for a bit. But you will be well rewarded for your patience.

My wife and I discovered sushi later in life, but we are making up for lost time. We normally enjoy it about once a week, and a visit to Inaho has become one of our most important reasons to visit the Cape. Well, we also like to visit our son and his wife who live there.

Inaho features a pretty complete Japanese menu, and nothing we’ve had there is anything short of spectacular. Before we learned how to prepare it ourselves at home, ordering the salmon salad there was automatic. Good-sized, succulent slices of salmon sashimi sharing a plate with fresh greens drizzled with a dressing that combines sushi vinegar and sesame oil. Yummy.

Then order other delicacies from the sushi bar. If you can, get a booth in the sushi bar area, or sit right at the bar. If you look hungry or pathetic enough, sometimes you’ll get a free sample!
Try the spicy scallop hand roll. Oh, my goodness, it’s good!
Even normal nigiri sushi such as unagi (lightly brazed eel) is way better at Inaho than anywhere else. All the fish just seems fresher, more moist and more flavorful. If you’re a sushi connoisseur and know how much you usually order, you can probably back off a bit, since the portion sizes are unusually generous.

Among the various maki sushi choices (cut rolls), the caterpillar
roll is a favorite of ours. Instead of the typical seaweed wrap, Inaho uses fresh avocado. Outstanding! And don’t worry, no caterpillars were harmed in the making of this menu item.

Move on to some tempura, something you probably can’t or shouldn’t even try to do at home. Gently fried with an extremely light batter and served with a soy seasoned dipping sauce. Get all shrimp or a mix of shrimp and veggie tempura.
So good it will make your glass eye water!

And let’s say there’s one wack job in your party who doesn’t like “none of that fishy Japanese food.” No problem. Just place a order for Inaho’s beef or chicken teriyaki. You’ll never
be satisfied with “ordinary” teriyaki again. The beef, especially, virtually melts in your mouth.

Those are just a few suggestions, but by all means, experiment! If you love Japanese food, you’ll be in culinary heaven. If you’re not that familiar with Japanese food, this is the place to take a test drive. Trouble is, after this, other Japanese restaurants may be somewhat disappointing. Here's a quick review from the NY Times as well as other reviews from Yahoo Travel.  At Yahoo Travel scroll down through all the ads until you find the reviews.  Some of them are quite enlightening!

Inaho also has a full bar featuring several tasty imported Japanese beers.

One last tip: while it’s true the ample portions mean you can order less, don’t expect to get off cheap. Inaho knows what they’ve got and charges accordingly. But holy moley, it’s worth every penny.

Chapin's Restaurant

Chapin’s Restaurant
Taunton Ave.
Dennis
Chapin's Restaurant

If your goal is to dine in a unique location with good values, look no further than Chapin’s Restaurant in Dennis. Located “off the beaten path” near Chapin Beach, Chapin’s offers an eclectic yet straight forward menu. Chapin’s offers the usual suspects: broiled and fried seafood, chicken dishes and burgers. As well as specialties like lobster quesadillas and pesto salmon. There is truly something for everyone.

The atmosphere is “beach casual”. A very open format to restaurant is inviting and relaxing. It can get a bit loud during the early dinner hours in the main dining room as many families with small children are present. A good sized bar is located in the back of the restaurant with draught beer, a decent wine list and full liquor selection.

In the summer months Chapin’s also offers a good sized deck for outdoor dining. The best feature on the deck is the raw bar. Fresh oysters and little necks on the half shell as well as crab legs are delicious on the deck with the sun setting over the bay in the distance.

Prices are reasonable, entrée’s from $12 to $22. Chapin’s is located North of Route 6A in the northwestern part of Dennis. It can be a little tricky to find, but all you really need to do is follow the signs for Chapin Beach. It is one of our personal favorites because of it’s location, quality, cost and friendly staff. Enjoy!

Also, there is a separate take out window so you do not have to go inside and wait.  You can even call ahead and then pick up your order.  If you have a cottage on the beach, your take out experience would be called water front dining. 

The Most Scrumptious Fried Clams and Seafood

There is no doubt about it.  I am a fried clam aficionado.  The quality of fried clams varies tremendously on Cape Cod and I am extremely finicky about my fried clams. 

In my humble opinion, the best fried clams (light batter, large, juicy, full belly) are at the Sesuit Café in East Dennis. In fact all of their food is excellent. You can't go wrong. Since they do not serve beer or wine, you are welcome to bring your own beer or wine to have with your meal. It doesn't get any better than this! This is a place not to be missed.

This place is so well hidden and so off the beaten track that you have to know where you are going to ever get there.  However, a lot of people seem to know how to get there because it is certainly crowded.  If you go at peak times, be prepared to wait.

The restaurant is located right on the water on Sesuit Harbor.  You put your order in, pay for it and you are given a number.  When your order is ready, they will call out your number and deliver it to your table.  Most of the seating is outside on picnic tables under umbrellas that overlook the water.  It is incredibly scenic to watch the boats coming in.  Para sailing also operates out of this harbor.  What a great place to relax and enjoy a summer day. 

Here’s how to get there:

• From Brewster, go West on 6A to the intersection of 6A and Rte. 134. 
• At the light, take a right onto Bridge Street.  (You will go past the Marshside Restaurant which is also very good)
• Take your first right onto Sesuit Neck Road.
• When the road forks, stay right.
• Go past your first right – Town of  Dennis Municipal Marina and Town Landing.
• Take your second right into the Northside Marina.  Although it seems that you are just pulling into a boat yard (boats piled up high), drive through the boats, staying to the left of the large building that is there.
• Up on the left, at the water’s edge, is a small building, Sesuit Café.
• Find a parking space and enjoy!!!

Brewster Inn and Chowder House

Rte 6A (just East of the Brewster General Store)

This is a great place for good food at a reasonable price.  It is a small place that has been a part of Brewster for a long time.  It is certainly a locals’ restaurant and that tells you a lot about the quality.  Even on a Friday night in January, it does a lively business. They have a variety of entrees for all tastes.  Check out the specials which could include such choices as: fried clams, swordfish steak, prime rib, veal saltanbacca …

On this particular night, I had the fish and chips, a meal that every so often I just have to have.  The fish was flaky and moist and very tasty.  The fries and cole slaw were good too.  It cost $14.95.  Jim had the broiled salmon special and thought it also was excellent.  That cost $12.95.  It also came with a green salad and choice of potato.

You can even get a glass of wine there for under $5.00.  One of my pet peeves is the extravagant price some restaurants charge for a glass of wine. 

Jim is much more familiar with the restaurant than I am.  Many Wednesday nights, after the Brewster Whitecaps monthly meeting, he and some of his friends continue the meeting at the Chowder House.  He always feels that the food is very good and the price can’t be beat! 

To the best of my recollection, the Chowder House does not raise its prices in the summer.

If you are new to the area and want the place where the locals go, this is it!!!