vip in the city

Labor Day eating on the Cape

Our last day in Cape Cod. Last night, the town experienced a brief power outage, causing all the alarm clocks at the Cove to reset. As a result, we slept through our planned deep-sea fishing trip on Nantucket Sound. Ah well, there’s always next year…

After catching up on a couple more installments of 24, the five of us set out to explore some of the other Cape towns. J’s and my previous day’s work studying Chowhound’s New England boards seemed to pay off when we were able to suggest the widely recommended Brewster Fish House for lunch (after being denied a table over the phone the night before.)

We arrived, fully expecting a peak-lunchtime crowd at the popular no-reservations eatery. As we pulled into the near empty parking lot, though, we realized pretty quickly that something was amiss. Sure enough: a fellow would-be diner informed us that the restaurant was closed for Labor Day. Boo.

On to our fallback: The Impudent Oyster – another recommendation from the foodie boards, located just off Chatham’s main thoroughfare. Steamers (slightly gritty), still more fish and chips (“London style,” i.e., thickly battered), scallop sandwiches and shrimp wraps – all fresh and all tasty.

Afterwards the five of us strolled through the center of the picturesque Cape Cod town, which took all of fifteen minutes. We happened upon a book-signing in progress at the Yellow Umbrella bookstore, and I chatted briefly with local author Dorothy Leone, an interesting older woman who was there promoting her book, “Where the Herring Run,” a historical fiction based on the life of Albert Crosby. Leone worked in the Brewster town clerk’s office for many years and used to lead tours of the 1888 Crosby Mansion, which provides the setting for her novel.

On Chatham’s Main Street, two of the fifty-eight whales on The Whale Trail, Cape Cod’s summer public art project. Mr. Whalevedere…

… and Dr. Wellbe. (“Whale-be” would have been punnier.) With caption: “Get Whale Soon!”

For dessert, we rounded out our list of eating recommendations with mixed-to-order soft serve cones — 24 flavor choices: I had the Creme de Menthe — from old timey Kream N’ Kone, home of the self-proclaimed “Best Fried Seafood Anywhere.”

Another afternoon of shop-hopping, and then dinner at Lobster Boat, per family tradition, before J, J and I set out on the hour and half ride back to Cambridge. As usual, my luggage had expanded considerably during the trip, and I had no choice but to leave behind my new towels and dirty laundry for Mom and Dad to cart home later in the week.