Chowder Road Trip: Provincetown

With all of this summer’s restaurant events and openings, it’s safe to say that I could use a little exercise. So this weekend, my s.o. and I grabbed our bikes and headed to Provincetown by ferry for a car-free Cape weekend. (The goal: Burn calories, not gas.)

Of course, working up a sweat and gorging ourselves on the town’s best eats are not mutually exclusive endeavors. For a late dinner on Friday, we hit Patio, a newish addition to this year’s P-Town scene; we noshed on cool gazpacho with almonds, shared a lovely five-spice rubbed pork loin, and sipped dangerously potent passionfruit margaritas.

Saturday night found us at the always crowded Mews, with amazing views of the harbor and, more important, New England’s largest vodka selection. (A mind-boggling 256 vodkas from 29 countries, to be exact.)

While some of the more oddball offerings were tempting to try—a molasses-distilled one from Israel, for instance—we went with the good ol’ Russian stuff (Jewel of Russia for martini No. 1 and Cristall for No. 2). Afterward, we hit the Squealing Pig, the Cape sibling of the Brigham Circle pub, for beers and live blues.

And then there was the the gelato, the taffy, and the fudge—none of which has anything to do with the sea, yet for some reason become must-eats when you’re within walking distance of the beach.

Of course, trying to decide which of the hundreds of eateries to hit is no easy task, especially when you’re on a steady diet of Sam Adams Summer Ale. The places we hit were no-brainers (we were hungry, and they were in front of us.)

I was hoping to try Victor’s, a new boite with an eclectic, seafood-heavy menu, but never made it all that far off Commercial Street. South African joint Karoo Kafe was on my list, too, but I wasn’t able to make it past the noisy mob at the front door. (“Look, Bertie, they have wild boar! Boar!”)

And so we boarded the ferry back, tired and full and yet hungry for more. Next time we’re in Provincetown, where should we go?