Edible Travel: The Cape Cod Road Trip

Join us on our summer road trip to Cape Cod as we explore the food and culture in some of the 15 towns that make up the Cape. Our guest and guide is Dianne Langeland, who along with her husband Doug, has been publishing Edible Cape Cod since July 2004. We’ll start at the end of the Cape in Provincetown where we are introduced to a Portuguese bakery in operation for more than 100 years. Then we head west with stops along the way to taste all the Cape has to offer -- everything from harvesting and shucking our own oysters to a real New England Clam Bake on the beach!

Mentioned in the Podcast

Provincetown

Learn about the tides and tidal flats at Provincetown’s only working aquaculture grant, Cape Native Secrets. Given the right tide conditions, they’ll take groups of 2 to 32 out to the tidal flats to harvest your own oysters and clams, fish for lobsters, or catch a breathtaking sunsets aboard their 34’ sailboat. 

The Portuguese Bakery has been in business from more than 100 years, owned by the same family since the 1970s. Get the bifana sandwich made with tender pork shoulder that has been marinated in fresh garlic, paprika, secret herbs, and white wine for 24 hours.

Aquarium Mall was an aquarium in the 1960s, but now it’s an arcade of small storefronts that leads to a deck overlooking the harbor. Options abound for a relatively inexpensive lunch or dinner: Southern BBQ, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, and Native Cape Cod Seafood owned by a shell fisherman.

Truro

Chequessett Chocolate handcrafts small batches of chocolate at their workshop in North Truro using sustainably grown cacao beans. The store sells bars, barks, confections, custom cakes, drinking chocolate, coffee, smoothies, and fresh juice. Open daily in the summer.

Truro Vineyards pioneered the art of maritime grape growing on the Cape. A green winery, with a commitment to environmentally responsible practices and green building principles, sells their own red, wine, and rosé wines. In 2014 they launched Cape Cod’s first craft distillery since Prohibition, making rum and gin. Tastings available seven days a week.

Orleans

At The Local Scoop you can create your own homemade sundae or grab handcrafted Cape Cod Pops. At the core is organic ice cream and yogurt, some made with local Cape Cod Beer, Truro Vineyards wines, or Twenty Boat Spiced Rum. Toppings include the best that Cape Cod artisan chefs and farmers have to offer: peanut brittle, chocolate covered coffee beans, sea salt, caramel, or granola.

Chatham

Located inside the Chatham Municipal Airport, Hangar B Eatery serves up breakfast and lunch while you watch the planes take off and land. Chef Brian Erskine makes an assortment of baked goods daily, and be sure to pick up a jar of house-made jam.

Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance and edible Cape Cod sponsor the Pier Host program at the Fish Pier at Chatham Harbor. Seasoned fishermen describe their experiences on the water and what's being unloaded at the pier. It’s a great way to understand the Cape’s commercial fishing industry and the importance of protecting this traditional way of life.

Right up the street is the 102-year old Chatham Bars Inn, originally developed as a semi-private hunting lodge for wealthy Boston vacationers. Enjoy a cold drink or a locally sourced meal on the wide veranda overlooking Pleasant Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Hyannis

There are over 40 family-owned and operated restaurants on Main Street serving cuisines from around of the globe. Look for the F.O.O.D. (Fabulous Owner Operated Dining) logo signifying the owner’s commitment to being on site daily to ensure they offer the best and freshest dining in the area. A great way to sample the village is to take the Cape Cod Foodie Tour, which is also a 3-hour mini-history lesson.

Cape Cod Beer launched in 2004 with only a few brews and a handful of accounts, but today you can find them at over 350 bars and restaurants from Plymouth to Provincetown. Guided and self-guided tours are available Monday through Saturday, and in the summer there’s a hot dog truck in the beer garden. Friday afternoons from 3-6 they host a farmers' market.

Woods Hole

Woods Hole is a magnet for scientists and sailors, bikers and beach bums. Families appreciate the Woods Hole Science Aquarium and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Ocean Science Exhibit Center for a fun yet educational taste of the village’s oceanography and fisheries science.

Pie in the Sky is a mecca for comfort food fans. The fresh baked goods, homemade soups, and desserts are so big that you’ll plan to share…but so good that you won’t want to. Even the coffee is roasted in house.

Quicks Hole Tavern is the perfect place to grab a bite before hopping on a bus or a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. Their farm-to-table menu changes with the seasons and offers an extensive craft beer list, plus wine and a full bar.

Falmouth          

Coonamessett Farm is a 20-acre farming and research enterprise where you can pick your own seasonal produce, visit the farm’s animals, and eat at the café. This year, a pop-up restaurant called The Buffalo Jump features Native American-inspired cuisine using produce from three local farms and foraged ingredients.

Sandwich

The Belfry Inn & Bistro operates in the oldest town on the Cape, surrounded by the history of the region. Dine in a converted 1901 church built by sailors, the confessional transformed into a wine cellar. Menu options include the predictable (clam chowder, fish & chips) and the unexpected (duck Bolognese, chicken-fried pork loin). The patio makes a wonderful setting for an afternoon glass of wine.