Tips for Tops’n

By John S. Kelemen

Table for Three resumes its west to east restaurant advance across Provincetown with a turn toward a faithful old standby known as Tips for Tops’n, which supposedly signifies the tip of the cape for tops in service, and does not have some esoteric nautical significance as I always believed. Last Thursday evening, as the annual Portuguese Festival got under way, five of us gathered for dinner at a place we best knew heretofore as a breakfast favorite. This time the group actually included a Michael (the blogger one) along with his nephew Mark, and Gino and Chris, two guests from St. Louis.

Tips for Tops’n is a diner type eatery that has been run by three generations of the same family and, unfortunately, recently experienced the loss of its founder, Edward C. Carreiro, who bought the restaurant in 1966. The standard menu, as well as nightly specials, provides a variety of Portuguese dishes. The décor has a spare no nonsense nautical motif. Those looking for a fancy presentation of nouvelle cuisine are in the wrong place and better continue their search on Commercial Street. 

Most dinners come with soup or salad. You can’t go wrong with either the clam chowder or the kale soup with linguica which are both excellent. Warm bread already prepared in butter was quickly consumed only to be replenished immediately by another basketful. Our entrees included the special marinated pork filet with two starches (potatoes and rice), fried pork with potatoes and littleneck clams, baked filet of sole, stuffed sole, and stuffed scrod. We were all more than pleased with our choices. Stuffed was the optimum word. That did not deter anyone from ordering dessert. Desserts included bread pudding, grapenut custard pudding, rice pudding, and hot apple crisp all of which were topped with soft serve vanilla ice cream. 

For those with a hankering to try some local Portuguese flavor or just eat humongous amounts, Tips for Tops’n offers good portions of comfort food at a reasonable price with fast friendly service. Ambience remains just fine for what it is. We give Tips for Tops’n four out of a possible five Provincetown monuments, (IV) or (IIII), whichever you like better.

Tips for Tops’n
31 Bradford St.
508 487-1811

Café Edwige

By John S. Kelemen

Table for Three will once again deviate from its west to east Provincetown progression to discuss a dinner at Café Edwige (At night *) that took place on a recent Saturday evening. Table for Three became table for six with two weekend visitors from NYC, two from the old sod (New Jersey), and as an ex-Jerseyite I do mean sod, and two townies one of which was sober. The original perpetrating Michaels of Tfor3 were, of course, nowhere to be found.

Café Edwige has been at its 2nd floor location on central/east Commercial Street for more than a quarter of a century and has remained successful in pleasing the more discerning of the tourist crowd palates. Outdoor dining is available on the entry deck. The interior is nicely appointed but tables are crowded together so don’t expect a quiet intimate restaurant experience at Edwige. Indeed, the main dining room was filled with tables of small to large groups all of which seemed to thrive in a party-like loud atmosphere. My favorite seating at Café Edwige has always been along the Commercial Street side that is a little quieter and offers a great people watching view of the street and the Patio restaurant across the way as well as a full view of the dining room crowd for those who like to both see and be seen.

Service was remarkably excellent given how busy the tables were. Our server was adept at handling our one semi-inebriate who raved about his ginger martini. Café Edwige offers a good selection of special martinis. The wine drinkers were also well pleased with their choice and the server made sure the wine was properly chilled at the taster’s request. Cubes of a very good warm bread were brought to the table which started us off on an olive oil dipping frenzy. We shared a variety of appetizers and salads all which were very good. I ordered the mushroom/bay scallop soup which was outstanding. For entrees everyone stayed with a variety of seafood including a halibut special, cod, and red snapper. Portions were generous and the presentations all very appetizing. Red snapper, my favorite, was particularly well prepared. We ended the meal with several shared desserts all of which were fine but not given their proper due by the members of our very stuffed group.

In summation: service was excellent, atmosphere was very good, pricing was fair and very much in keeping with the level of dining, presentation was excellent, and the food ranged from very good to exceptional. Just an opinion, but Café Edwige at Night is off to a great seasonal start and rates four and a half monuments out of a possible five (IV ½).

Café Edwige
333 Commercial St.
508 487-2008

* Note: This is a review of the Café Edwige at Night only; the brunch menu is handled by a different entity.

Sal's Place

By John S. Kelemen

This past week Table for Three became a table for two as the original two Michaels of our townie trio did a disappearing act and left yours truly holding the proverbial bag. A good friend was in town from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey and we decided to dine at an old west end favorite, Sal’s Place. As we approached the entry court on the first steamy Friday of the new season a deep feeling of déjà vu took hold. It was the summer of 1982 once more and we were being seated on the outdoor deck of a bayside restaurant while experiencing the great odors of homemade Italian cooking and being treated to a magnificent view of Long Point and the west side of the Provincetown Harbor. 

As I shook myself free from romantic nostalgia it became apparent that, indeed, nothing much had changed in over a quarter of a century. A quick peek at the indoor dining rooms revealed that they were also very much as first remembered. Oh well, I guess the tightly packed old wood tables and plywood floor boards all lend themselves to a certain old fishing village charm that we may be losing too rapidly. My friend and I were both feeling the warmth and friendliness of an old Italian neighborhood restaurant somewhere in Union County, New Jersey.

Service was prompt and friendly. We started with salad; the Italian salad for my friend and mozzarella with tomato salad for myself. Both salads were good. We were told that they were out of our first selections for entrees, the baked eggplant and mussels in wine sauce and herbs. I had been told that Sal’s mussel dish was superb which added to the disappointment. Disappointment led to annoyance when I noticed a nice fat plate of mussels being served to a table that had been seated after ours. Hopefully, they had been ordered in advance and were not part of secret stash set aside for the privileged cognoscente.

I chose the salmon entrée with balsamic vinegar and capers which turned out to be okay. My friend received a copious portion of the spaghetti with mushrooms which is noted on the menu as being made with fresh mushrooms, however, he felt they tasted more like the processed canned fungi. Dinner was followed by desserts which included tiramisu and small biscotti type almond cookies served with wine. My friend did not care for the wine.

In summation: service was good, atmosphere was very good, pricing was very good, presentation was fair, and the food was fair. Just an opinion, but that old Provincetown favorite, Sal’s Place has seen better days and only rates two and a half monuments out of a possible five (II ½).

Sal’s Place
99 Commercial Street
508 487-1278

Karoo Kafe

By John S. Kelemen

This past week Table for Three broke its west to east sequence to take part in ‘Chefs Table 2008’ which many restaurants and patrons throughout the cape celebrated on behalf of the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod. Six of us had the pleasure of dining at the Karoo Kafe which generally promotes itself as an eating establishment specializing in fast casual South African fare. The evening of fine dining offered up by our hostess and host, Sanette and Michael, was of a caliber comparable to any of the fine dining establishments in Provincetown. The Karoo Kafe is located in the center east part of town just off Commercial Street and next door to the Pilgrim House.

Each course of our dinner was made up of selections taken from the Karoo’s everyday dinner fare. The South African flavors were explained to us by Sanette as a blend of the influences of Indian, Malay, and Portuguese cooking. The splendid mélange of spices and sauces included sesame, coconut, curry, banana, and ginger all prepared in a manner that enhanced but never overwhelmed the dish.

Dinner started with the West African Peanut Soup followed by two outstanding appetizers from the Karoo menu; grilled steak and sesame noodles and the salmon cakes.
This was followed by a palate cleansing watermelon and feta salad. Our entrée was the Cape Malay Seafood Stew which consisted of shrimp, mussels, bay scallops, and Tilapia
Cooked in a curry and coconut sauce and served with bananas and rice. Not that any of us needed more, but we were then treated to a dessert of Mr. Brown’s Ginger Cheese Cake topped off with an excellent cup of coffee.

A review of the Karoo Kafe’s menu indicated very reasonable pricing. It is hard to imagine a place other than Provincetown where one could enjoy this type of unique cuisine either as casual indoor/outdoor dining or takeout. In a time of financial crunch an establishment of this type is a delight to have available for vacationers and townies alike.

Sanette’s Karoo Kafe has been part of the Provincetown street scene for the better part of a decade and we all hope it sticks around for many more seasons. Our dining room was cozy and exuded a West African ambiance. Even though we did not experience Karoo Kafe as one of our regular Thursday night dining sojourns, Table for Three found this to be one of Provincetown’s incomparable dining experiences and awards Karoo Kafe four and one-half monuments out of a possible five. (IV ½)

Karoo Kafe
338 Commercial Street
(508) 487-6630.

Victor's

By John S. Kelemen

Last week Table for Three reviewed one of Provincetown’s oldest and most established landmarks of dining, The Red Inn. This week we went to the opposite end of the spectrum and dined at Victor’s, the newest kid in town. Victor’s is located in the West End on the Bradford Street Extension. Many of us remember this site as the old Dairy Queen which was along our trek to Herring Cove Beach.

We’ve all heard the expression about it being impossible to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Owner, Victor Depoalo has gone a long way in trying to disprove that old adage. Provincetown owes a debt of gratitude to Victor for an esthetic and tasteful new construction project.

Table for Three included a fourth person in our small group in order to take full advantage of the small plate dining specials that are designed to be shared by each member at the dining party table. The dinner menu is quite varied and innovative; we chose a succession of plates that included the barbequed oysters, a quesadilla dish, a scallop special, and a ribbon pasta plate. The ribbon pasta was definitely everyone’s favorite with the scallop special a close second. Dinner was topped off by a great cup of free trade coffee and excellent desserts. Rhubarb and strawberry cobbler, coconut cream pie, chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and crème brulee. Two of our party happily sampled the specialty cocktails known as the Seven Sins of Summer. Enhancements include beautiful interior and handsome exterior as well as welcoming site landscaping.

The food was interesting and tasty. Presentation and Service were excellent. The atmosphere was comfortable and airy and enhanced by cathedral ceilings and high windows. Those looking for a more quiet or cozy dining experience probably won’t find it in Victor’s main dining room and should request a corner table or try locating in the more intimate bar lounge. Pricing was fair and reasonable.

By all indications, Victor’s can expect a very successful first season. It’s just our opinion but Table for Three awards Victor’s three and one-half monuments out of a possible five (III ½).

Victor’s
175 Bradford Street
(508) 487-1777
victorsptown.com