New towns mean tasting new food.
Whenever Benjamin and I stay somewhere for more than a day or two, we usually find a favorite restaurant and eat there for frequent meals.
On our latest trip to Cape Cod, we found Encore in the little village of Dennis. This lovely restaurant was tucked near Dennis’s theater and art museum. Elizabeth, the nice woman who worked at our B&B, warned us it might be a little tricky to find, but she said it was totally worth it. We liked the idea of eating somewhere off the beaten path, so we ventured out. Encore was so good that we ate there for three lunches and our anniversary dinner. With each visit, we tried different delights. Here are our top five:
1. Lobster and Mango Tower…with avocado and a lemongrass vinaigrette..Yes, Ma’am!
2. Clam Chowder… little neck clams with Yukon gold potatoes…Yes, please!
3. Baked Cod with sweet corn puree, pan burst tomatoes, and herbed rice … as our lovely waitress Hannah said, “Oh my cod!”
4. Butter Baked Scallops with sautéed mushrooms, roasted cauliflower, grilled corn, rice, in a pomegranate glaze…so delicious we cried.
5. Bread Pudding with a Rum Glaze…sweet Hannah made this extra special by writing “Happy 14th” in chocolate on our plate.
Delicious!
Writing all of this made me hungry and nostalgic for some other favorite restaurants we visited on different trips.
In Prague, we went to breakfast every morning at Cukrkavalimonada. Here is a link to my original post on our experience there: http://funnyduchess.com/page/9/
And here is their website: http://cukrkavalimonada.com
In Lewes, Delaware, we fell in love with Striper Bites for seafood lunches and Half Full for pizza and wine dinners.
In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a local beachcomber recommended a roadside fish shack called Petey’s where we ate possibly one of the best fried fish sandwiches ever!
http://www.peteys.com/index.html
And I would be remiss not to mention another favorite place for fish, beer, and live music…Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa, Florida. I started going to Skippie’s in college for Wednesday night reggae and Red Stripes. I won a limbo contest there one New Year’s Eve, and throughout the years, I’ve seen some of the best shows—Jess Klein and Voices on the Verge, The Be Good Tanyas, and Nervous Turkey to name just a few. Skipper’s is also off the path, but it’s home in many ways to me. Check it out here: http://skipperssmokehouse.com/menu/
Here’s to good food and good times with friends and family in this holiday season. Salute! Prost! Cheers!
