City Style Article |
Robert Duffy’s Provincetown
One insider’s guide to the best of this increasingly stylish coastal enclave.
By Rachel Baker
- BEACH CHIC Duffy in the new P-town Marc by Marc Jacobs store.
Robert Duffy, international tastemaker and Marc Jacobs’s longtime business partner, has been a Provincetown habitué for over three decades. “I think of it as my soul,” he says. Now the duo has unveiled a Marc by Marc Jacobs outpost in the seaside town, packed with casual clothing and beachy accessories. “I want Provincetown to be more of a year-round community,” Duffy says. “So I’m putting my money where my mouth is.” Here are his tips on enjoying the paradise.
EAT: For lunch, I’ll hit Clem and Ursies (85 Shankpainter Rd., 508-487-2333, clemandursies.com)—try the swordfish. Front Street (230 Commercial St., 508-487-9715, frontsteetrestaurant.com) has amazing pasta and veal. And the Mews (429 Commercial St., 508-487-1500, mews.com) is as good as anywhere else in the world.
STAY: I send friends to the Red Inn (15 Commercial St., 508-487-7334, theredinn.com) or to Land’s End Inn (22 Commercial St., 508-487-0706, landsendinn.com)—both really cute. The Brass Key (67 Bradford St., 508-487-9005, brasskey.com) is also nice. There’s something about the guesthouses here; they’re all so charming.
SHOP: For clothes, go straight to Map (141 Commercial St., 508-487-4900). Owner Pauline Fisher stocks great jeans, wallets, and accessories. I have friends who live in New York but shop only at this store. For gifts, Small Pleasures (359 Commercial St., 508-487-3712) has incredible antique jewelry. I probably spend the most money there.
HANG: Everything closes at 1 a.m. If I eat dinner around 9, afterward I’ll stop and shoot pool at the Porchside Bar (9 Carver St., 508-487-0688, giffordhouse.com). You can just play and there’s nobody there to bother you. Then I’ll drop by Spiritus Pizza (190 Commercial St., 508-487-2808, spirituspizza.com) for a late slice on the way home.
DO: I’ve lived everywhere, but never seen as vibrant an art community—from Rothko to Milton Avery. My father used to take me to the Provincetown Art Association (460 Commercial St., 508-487-1750, paam.org) as a kid. Now I buy art at the Berta Walker Gallery (208 Bradford St., 508-487-6411, bertawalkergallery.com). She gets some serious things from the old masters, like Charles Hawthorne and Hans Hofmann. Also, the Julie Heller Gallery (2 Gosnold St., 508-487-2169, juliehellergallery.com) has Avery dry-point prints that make great gifts. For relaxing, nearby Longnook [in Truro] is the most beautiful beach, bar none. There’s nothing else like it. My Wheaten terrier, Hudson, and I will sit and watch the seals and whales. You can walk for miles and never see anyone else.
EAT: For lunch, I’ll hit Clem and Ursies (85 Shankpainter Rd., 508-487-2333, clemandursies.com)—try the swordfish. Front Street (230 Commercial St., 508-487-9715, frontsteetrestaurant.com) has amazing pasta and veal. And the Mews (429 Commercial St., 508-487-1500, mews.com) is as good as anywhere else in the world.
STAY: I send friends to the Red Inn (15 Commercial St., 508-487-7334, theredinn.com) or to Land’s End Inn (22 Commercial St., 508-487-0706, landsendinn.com)—both really cute. The Brass Key (67 Bradford St., 508-487-9005, brasskey.com) is also nice. There’s something about the guesthouses here; they’re all so charming.
SHOP: For clothes, go straight to Map (141 Commercial St., 508-487-4900). Owner Pauline Fisher stocks great jeans, wallets, and accessories. I have friends who live in New York but shop only at this store. For gifts, Small Pleasures (359 Commercial St., 508-487-3712) has incredible antique jewelry. I probably spend the most money there.
HANG: Everything closes at 1 a.m. If I eat dinner around 9, afterward I’ll stop and shoot pool at the Porchside Bar (9 Carver St., 508-487-0688, giffordhouse.com). You can just play and there’s nobody there to bother you. Then I’ll drop by Spiritus Pizza (190 Commercial St., 508-487-2808, spirituspizza.com) for a late slice on the way home.
DO: I’ve lived everywhere, but never seen as vibrant an art community—from Rothko to Milton Avery. My father used to take me to the Provincetown Art Association (460 Commercial St., 508-487-1750, paam.org) as a kid. Now I buy art at the Berta Walker Gallery (208 Bradford St., 508-487-6411, bertawalkergallery.com). She gets some serious things from the old masters, like Charles Hawthorne and Hans Hofmann. Also, the Julie Heller Gallery (2 Gosnold St., 508-487-2169, juliehellergallery.com) has Avery dry-point prints that make great gifts. For relaxing, nearby Longnook [in Truro] is the most beautiful beach, bar none. There’s nothing else like it. My Wheaten terrier, Hudson, and I will sit and watch the seals and whales. You can walk for miles and never see anyone else.
Originally published in Boston magazine, June 2007
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