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