This year's vacation was a little crazy, but we had a blast. We were supposed to spend a week in Maine, but our plans changed at the last minute. We did, however, drive from PA to Maine, and here's the lunch to prove it:
Whole belly fried clams from the Lobster Cooker in Freeport, just a few blocks from the L.L. Bean store. The clams were briny and delicious, perfect with the salty fries and tangy coleslaw.
Next up, clam chowder from Gilbert's Chowder House in Portland:
Rich and thick, perfect with oyster crackers. And speaking of oysters, here are some fried ones:
These were a disappointment. The cracker coating overwhelmed the brininess of the oysters. We still ate them all, though.
The remains of my lobster dinner, which was also a disappointment. Not GCH's fault, but the lobster had recently molted, which meant thin, watery meat (and not much of it).
SP tackled his corn first, leaving the lobster for last.
In my quest for more lobster I ordered a lobster "roll" at Persy's Place in Plymouth, MA.
Another disappointment. Notice how this is on a bun, not a roll? They also mixed the lobster meat with some kind of spicy mayo, which is just all wrong. I wish these details had been mentioned on the menu so I could have ordered breakfast, which is apparently Persy's specialty.
We ended up in West Yarmouth, MA for the remainder of our vacation and our first night we dined at Salty's. I started with the lobster and corn chowder, which was delicious:
...while SP got the shrimp cocktail, which surprised him by being an actual cocktail:
I think the waitress misheard him and gave him the Shrimp Cocktail Bloody Mary, which is one of their signature drinks. We also ordered two fried platters to share, whole belly clams:
... and more fried oysters. Both were served with both fries and onion rings.
Our favorite restaurant on the Cape turned out to be DiParma. We ate here twice and we were only on the Cape for four nights. I ordered the same thing both nights, the shrimp scampi:
... which was ridiculously, craveably delicious. I still think about this dish and it's been over a month since we we ate here. SP ordered one of the combination dinners that included chicken parm, two meatballs and fettuccine alfredo. He asked them to include sliced sausage with his alfredo.
One of our day trips was into Provincetown, where we ate at Pepe's Wharf. The view was almost as good as the food. I started with (what else) clam chowder:
... and finally succeeded in enjoying a lobster roll. They use a special Portuguese roll from a local baker and it was divine.
SP ordered a special, haddock almondine with rice pilaf and green beans. The sauce with the fish was drinkably good.
We can't wait to go back to DiParma's and try some of the other restaurants on the Cape. There certainly are a lot to choose from!
