By: John Cranford
A few weeks back, Lindsay and I traveled by car, plane and boat to the very end of Cape Cod, to Provincetown, Massachusetts, to attend the wedding of our good friends, the Greders. New England certainly hadn’t been on my travel destination short list, and the only things I had heard about Provincetown came from Anthony Bourdain’s mentioning of this strange locale. Anticipation was high as we headed to one of America’s oldest party towns.
To get to P-Town, as the locals call it, the quickest route is the fast ferry from Boston Harbor. After touching down at Logan International, the ferry terminal is only a ten minute Uber ride away. We boarded and sat ourselves and our luggage on the bow of the boat, next to a friendly golden retriever and his dad. It was pretty brisk out on the open water, even for me, so we only lasted about 15 minutes before retreating to the main cabin. Inside the 200 person capacity boat, we headed to the bar for some relief where you could score a beer and a shot for $10. Round Trip per person came in at 90 bucks, really the cheapest and most scenic way to travel out to the Cape’s most popular travel destination.
I’ll admit I had no idea what to expect upon docking at Provincetown’s McMillan Wharf. As soon as we got off the dock it was pretty obvious this place was quintessentially New England, yet decidedly different from the rest of the US, especially the South. P-Town is loud and proud in its support of LGBT culture. Rainbow flags fly in the wind up and down Commercial Street. Drag Queens ride unicycles around town promoting their stand up and burlesque acts. The LGBT community flocks to P-Town to live and visit because it’s accepted and celebrated to simply be themselves, They get to feel a part of the majority instead of the minority.
When we travel, we eat. A lot. So our first mission was oysters. We love oysters. And this part of the Cape offered a new species to add to our list – Wellfleets. These little dudes are delicious. Harvested down the Cape from Wellfleet Harbor’s cold water and super salty, fast moving tides, make these oysters sought after worldwide. We immediately found some at Waydowntown, a bohemian joint right on the water. We sat on the deck, basked in the mid-70s sun, continued to feed our buzzes and slurped down a dozen.
Great views and cheap whiskey always appeal to me, and seemed to be a recurring theme throughout Provincetown. At the advice of the Greders, P-Town locals, and Tony Bourdain, we also dined at P-Town establishments The Lobster Pot and Spiritus Pizza. The pizza is so good I even had a slice after a full lunch! Even the wedding food was delicious, and that’s a rarity. The Canteen, where the bride and groom hosted us for the reception, literally had a quick path right to the ocean. We laughed as the Minnesotan wedding guests (I met the groom in college at the University of Minnesota, Duluth) approached the all-you-can-eat raw bar with apprehension and a greenish tint on their face, but I was able to down about 20 more Wellfleet oysters pre-dinner without anyone minding. Delicious. They served classic lobster rolls for dinner – your choice of hot or cold. The wife went with the hot version, I went with the cold and neither of us was disappointed. The biggest hit at The Canteen were the brussel sprouts. They were deep fried and tossed with fish sauce and Mai Ploy (read sweet thai chilli sauce). Holy shit, they were so good we went back the following night for more.
Between meals and catching up on sleep, we wandering the quaint streets admiring the pristine gardens, vibrant front door colors, and smiling pedestrians. We souvenir shopped, and thrifted through the Marine Specialties surplus store. Provincetown truly did not disappoint. We enjoyed so much good food, and many great bars like the A-House (one of the oldest gay clubs in the country, though skeptical of my jukebox choices, treated us excellently). The Jameson flowed freely, and everyone was friendly and happy. I suggest a long weekend to the Cape anytime. My one regret is not getting out of downtown Provincetown. The Cape seems to have a ton more to offer besides good food and a great bar scene. Maybe next time…
