Fanizzi’s Restaurant By The Sea

By John S. Kelemen

As the summer of ’08 reaches its mid point it has become clear that our slow weekly trajectory from west to east through the eateries of Provincetown will fail to provide any fair scrutiny of the restaurants on the east end before the guillotine of Labor Day falls. We will, therefore, flip flop like all good liberals when logic interferes with planning and switch between the establishments on the east end of town and those more in the center.

Sunday night found Table for Three at an old reliable of the east end, Fanizzi’s. For those of us who refuse to leave town when the snow flies Fannizi’s is a favorite because it stays open (lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch) when everything else is locked tight. Among the four diners in tow was Michael the Rubber (MR) one of the perpetrators of Tfor3, who finally made his debut halfway through the summer, also present was Michael the Blogger (MB), Meat and Potatoes Rich (MPR) and yours truly (JSK).

We were seated in the cozy dining room with its great view of the harbor. The atmosphere was enhanced by a spectacular lightning display from an approaching thunderstorm. The room was packed with a lively crowd, which is to be expected at this time of the year. Service was correspondingly somewhat slower than our spoiled townie group is used to with our waiter deftly handling more than his fair share of tables.

Appetizers were finally ordered and included two menu favorites, ‘Ultimate Nachos’ covered with chili and P.E.I. mussels. Both appetizers were excellent. The chosen entrees were Grilled Salmon (MB), ‘Secret Recipe’ Fried Chicken (MPR), Baked Cod with Puttanesca sauce (MR) and Seared Scallops Provencal (JSK). Everyone was okay with their meal except MPR who found his chicken quite dry. As for the side vegetable, MB enjoyed his asparagus while the rest of us left our green string beans largely untouched. For a restaurant which specializes in comfort food it is probably not wise to overdo the al dente craze. Mama always made sure the veggies were cooked. The beans tasted raw and just barely kissed by a tepid summer breeze. Three of us had wild rice with our entrees, which was quite good. Dinner was topped off with coffee and a dessert of apple/blueberry crisp and vanilla ice cream. Only MB chose a more sensibly dietetic desert of grape sorbet. The apple/blueberry crisp portions were huge and the taste excessively sweet. They made a nice take home gift for MB’s nephew. We love Fanizzi’s but all of us have had better meals there than this one. 

In summary: service was only fair through no fault of the waiter; food was good for the most part but not at its best; presentation okay; atmosphere pleasant as usual; and prices still decent in comparison to many places. This time around it’s three out of five monuments for Fanizzi’s (III).

Fanizzi’s by the Sea
539 Commercial Street
508 487-7964

The Caribbean Corner Café

By John S. Kelemen

Provincetown is fortunate to have several sidewalk eateries on Commercial Street and the streets leading to the wharfs. The quick and affordable take out meal, elsewhere symbolized by the big worldwide franchises, remain for the most part, local small business enterprises. Speaking only for myself, I hope it will remain that way during my lifetime

The Caribbean Corner Café has survived for several competitive summer seasons indicating new diversity in tastes and demographics. There is no indoor dining space provided, however, a pleasant outdoor courtyard faces the street and former Aquarium Plaza across the way. Tables and benches are provided and shaded by umbrellas. Additional seating is provided on the porch level where meals are ordered. The CCC is now open for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. Orders are taken at the counter which is open to the food prep area. Selections are made from the menu posted on the blackboard. Each item is freshly prepared including the freshly squeezed tropical juice drinks. It’s not Burger King so don’t expect instant gratification.

Table for three at the CCC ended up as table for two with only Michael the Blogger joining me to sample the fare. Meat and Potatoes Rich and Nephew Mark ran across the street for Big Daddy’s Burritos. Michael ordered a chicken taco meal with black beans and rice while I went for the pork on saffron rice. Both meals were served with salad and plantains all neatly compartmentalized in a practical styrofoam container. Both of us found our meals and juice drinks quite good at the price and wouldn’t hesitate to visit the CCC again.

It is unfair to try and rate The Caribbean Corner Café by the usual standards since there is no waiter service, presentation, or indoor ambiance; however, in this time of financial crunch this type of quality food provided without frills but at a fair price is a good break for the non affluent. The Caribbean Corner Café deserves an A+ for effort and three and one half Provincetown Monuments (III ½).

The Caribbean Corner Cafe
206 Commercial Street
508 487-2023
Tfor3#9

Note:

For those who may be venturing outside of our hometown sanctuary.
If your going to Hyannis, by all means try Embargo on Main Street which specializes in Spanish and American tapas. Prior to the Linda Eder concert, we decided to give it a try and definitely had no regrets. Dinner for two including Kobe beef sliders, sautéed wild mushrooms with truffle oil and goat cheese, garlic shrimp and P.E.I. mussels in curry sauce was consumed for under $50. Embargo also touts a good martini selection, affordable wines, and homemade sangria. The food was fantastic, décor beautiful, service excellent and presentation okay (who cares?). If this restaurant were in Provincetown it would be closing in on that five monument mark.

Embargo
453 Main Street, Hyannis
508 771-9700

Café Heaven

By John S. Kelemen

Café Heaven occupies one of those prime Commercial Street restaurant spots that has survived over the decades through several name transformations. I first remember it as Alice’s Restaurant when it still evoked the laid back 60’s era of free loving and living and Arlo Guthrie’s quasi-folk song lyrics. This was my first trip to Café Heaven in several seasons. Our Tfor3 group of four included Michael the Blogger (MtheB) with nephew Mark and friend Luis.

Our preconceived notion of Café Heaven as a tourist only eatery was quickly belied as we entered and found representatives of the all-year community already enjoying dinner. The op-pop free spirited wall paintings and no nonsense spare décor recalls a less polished but more happy-go-lucky era in Provincetown. Café Heaven does not accept reservations but we were early enough to be seated immediately and quickly served our drinks. For those who may choose to forgo alcohol, for a change, try the Italian style sodas which are different and quite good.

Our lovely young waitress from Moldova was attentive and charming. She definitely enhanced Mark’s appreciation of the meal. The experience was the exact opposite of Enzo’s where special requests were treated unfavorably. At Café Heaven the creative opportunity is presented of combining ingredients for burgers and pasta dishes, which are featured prominently on the menu, there are additional choices for appetizers, soups, entrees and desserts featured daily on the blackboard.

After an excellent house salad I chose the cod fish special which was served with steamed spinach and a Tuscan bean stew with Italian sausage. It was excellent and affordable (but definitely not cheap). MtheB couldn’t get enough pasta; first enjoying a gnocchi appetizer and then creating his own pasta dish with feta cheese, spinach and caramelized onions. Mark started off with the cream of broccoli soup and then had a pasta dish with salmon and spinach. Luis kept to his diet with only a salad but was well pleased. No one was disappointed with their choice and we all expect to make return visits.

As usual dinner was topped off with an excellent cup of coffee. We chose two of the blackboard featured desserts, a chocolate cake and a lemon cheesecake, both were okay. Café Heaven is fine for a good unpretentious meal at affordable prices. In summation, food was very good, service was very good, atmosphere is good and enjoyable and a little loud and a little funky, don’t look for a fancy nouvelle presentation. Good quick summertime food is what this place is about and for that it deserves four out of a five big Ptown (IIII) monuments.

Café Heaven
199 Commercial Street
508 487-9639

Enzo

By John S. Kelemen

On the eve of the Fourth we headed out on Commercial Street for an early dinner combined with people watching at Enzo. Enzo occupies a large Victorian structure on the corner of Court St. across from its more modest, but always busy, sister restaurant known as Bubala’s by the Bay. There are very comfortable and nicely appointed interior dining rooms away from the maddening crowd, however, nosy parkers that we be, outdoor dining in the dust and wind while sitting on stackable plastic chairs was our choice for the holiday eve. Our primary aim was to sample the cooking of new chef, Jeremiah Reardon. Enzo has been advertising the chef’s classical training. The rotating weekly menus reflect selections and prices with a definite aura of fine dining several steps above ordinary tourist fare.

Despite some mix-up in our reservations we were quickly accommodated on the porch level with a great view of the street and Bubala’s patio. There were five for dinner including Michael the Blogger, Rich, Mark, Bill and myself plus two other guests who stayed just long enough to share a salad and shrimp appetizer before running off to see a show. By all indications the salad and shrimp were excellent. In addition to those opting for salads the rest of us shared two appetizers, Sea Scallops with Seared Foie Gras and Wellfleet Oyster Tartare with American Osetra Caviar, both of which were quite good despite their pretentious names.

My favorite fish was on the menu and I couldn’t resist ordering the ‘Sundried Tomato Crusted Halibut’. This entrée turned out to be beautiful in presentation, big in price, and small in portion, although it was quite tasty. Our meat and potatoes man, Rich, wanted the Kobe Steak but inquired as to whether he could substitute potatoes for the featured asparagus. The wonderfully accommodating waitress reported that Chef Reardon’s reply was an emphatic no and Rich settled for the Guinea Hen with caramelized onion potatoes, thus saving $14 on his entree. Bill ordered the Kobe Beef with Michael and Mark opting for the Grilled Dayboat Scallops. The presentation of all entrees were picture book examples of appetizing nouvelle cuisine art. Food satisfaction level was good but in no way extraordinary.

Dinner was topped off with coffee and two shared desserts, ‘Barnstable Strawberry Shortcake’ and ‘Milk Chocolate Pots de crème with fresh berries and stone fruit’. I found the shortcake somewhat dry but the milk chocolate pots de crème was delicious.

In summation, we found Enzo a somewhat mixed bag as far as rating is concerned. Service was excellent and food presentation wonderful. Food level and atmosphere fall somewhat short of fine dining while prices are, as can be expected, high. Apparently special requests are not appreciated and will not be accommodated by the chef even at an early hour when the restaurant is almost empty. We give Enzo three monuments out of a possible five (III).

Enzo
186 Commercial Street
508 487-7555

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