Southerners on Cape Cod: The Eats

I did an inordinate amount of research about food before our trip. This was partially because I like research and partially because we knew we'd be limited in what food we could prepare in our hotel. In the city of West Yarmouth (and perhaps other cities on the Cape...I didn't look into that), visitors aren't allowed to cook (as in, using an oven or a stove) in hotel units. This definitely limited our options for lower-key (read: cheap) meals, but we did what we could with what we had to work with. We ate cereal and granola bars in our room for breakfast (thank you, mini-fridge). We took sandwich lunches with us on our beach days, and we actually made BLT's in the room a couple of times, microwaving the bacon. We make it work, y'all.

But, for meals that we ate out, I wanted to know where the best places were so that we got the biggest bang for our buck and time. I took a few minutes to check out this page of Cape Cod "Top Tens," and boy, was that a great idea! We found many of our restaurants that way, and we ate really well. In Yarmouth, we loved The Skipper, Captain Parker's, and Taki's. We loved LOVED The Keltic Kitchen.

Every one of us really liked what we had at The Skipper's, and we had quite a smattering: baked stuffed sole, fried clams, lobster bisque, clam chowder, and French onion soup (that one was me). We had to wait for about 40 minutes, but it wasn't too bad. And, if Claire had been older, there was a playground right across the street that we totally would have utilized!

Bear was really excited about the restaurant!

I'm not a seafood fan, generally speaking (i.e. I pretty much never eat it ever), but I even tried the clam chowder at Captain Parker's, and it was goooood. Brad got a huge thing of shrimp that I couldn't look at (still not over my pregnancy-induced shrimp aversion), and I don't remember what my in-laws got...Claire got fussy, and I ended up eating quickly and taking her out. Bless us. We waited about 45 minutes for a table (which seemed to be pretty average for the 5:30/6:00 eating hour around Yarmouth. It was really busy and noisy, but the food was great. And, there was a family bathroom with a changing table. Winner.

We actually got Taki's pizza twice. A) It was quite good (we got the veggie both times) and B) we needed something take out on two occasions. Decent prices, quick, and yummy.

The Keltic Kitchen was a dream. It was literally across the street from our hotel, and we went for brunch the day we left. I could have eaten there every day! They had awesome French toast, Irish bacon, sausage, eggs, scones...de-lightful! We waited about 20 minutes at peak brunch time, which I thought was quite reasonable. Our waitress was fantastic. Can't say enough good things about it. If you're on Cape Cod: you MUST eat there!

Look how happy Bear looks about Keltic Kitchen!

We also ate at a place in Hyannis (town over from West Yarmouth) called Cooke's, which seems to be a Cape Cod chain. It was sort of like short-order seafood. It was pretty good and quick. Kid-friendly and not too crowded.

My in-laws tried a restaurant called Salty's that they were underwhelmed with, so no recommendations for Salty's from us.

The Cape Cod Creamery was, without a doubt, one of the best things we did on our trip. It's in Yarmouth, and it's seriously some of the best ice cream of my life! It was PACKED (at 8:00 pm!), and it was full of both tourists and locals, which we saw as a great sign. Each of the flavors is named after a Cape Cod town. We got the Chatham Chocolate and Craigville Caramel Crunch. Wowzers. DE-LISH. Highly recommend! If you're on Cape Cod, go right now!

On our trip up the length of the Cape, we ate at The Doghouse in Dennis. It's a laid back hot dog stand that was well worth the stop. Brad and I both got the Junkyard Dog and did not regret it. When I looked up "hot dogs" on the Top Ten list, this was the only place even listed. For good reason.

At The Doghouse.

We liked it a lot.

The Junkyard Dog.

In Wellfleet, we ate dinner at Mac's on the Pier, which was hoppin'! It's on a pier, but not a pier like we think of in the South. The tables are outside, and the view is nice, but it's not exactly on the water...like "on the pier" suggests. The menu was vast, and it was definitely child/baby-friendly. Also, in the summer, there is free square dancing on Wednesday nights! We stayed and watched for a few minutes, and it looked like fun for the whole family! (Did that sound like a commercial or what??)

At Mac's on the Pier.

We also stopped for ice cream at Arnold's in Eastham. Quite good! Definitely worth a stop on your drive up the Cape.

We're Brassart-Boswells, and we really really enjoy our food. I probably should have taken more pictures...but I was way more into what was on my plate, folks. With the exception of Salty's, every out-to-eat venture we undertook was a winner for us. Look what a little neurotic pre-trip research will get ya!