This week, another trip to the “end of the world” and an embarrassment of riches in the form of Sichuan specialties. We also welcome Guest Gulletier Bethany Caliaro to the table.
An Annual Affair
by Kitty
I’m fresh off a week at the salty shores—the tip of the Cape to be exact. I began visiting Provincetown in the summer of 2011 and have crawled back every summer since. Like the tides, my group of travel companions has swelled, surged, and receded, but the spirit of the trip remains the same—to bask, float, eat, shimmy1, repeat.
There’s a particular type of ease and nostalgia that comes with being a seasoned visitor. The pressure to fill your days is off—there’s no rush to unlock an entirely new experience. Instead, you stroll through town looking for familiar faces, and clocking changes to the landscape that might go unnoticed by excited newcomers. In between stops for morning coffee and biscuits, afternoon libations, and evenings of indulgent dinners and desserts are bike rides down Commercial Street, and dips in the refreshing waters of Herring Cove. There’s even time to stop and admire the grandeur of abundant, overgrown hydrangea and fragrant garden lilies.
As seasons pass (and dunes erode), there’s one thing I can count on. Provincetown has some damn good food. I’ve got an inventory of must-visits that covers everything from lattes, to turkey sandwiches, to fish and chips. The best part is discovering new items that appear on the menus of tried and true favorites.
The Canteen is an establishment on everyone’s hit list. It’s fresh, it’s fast, and it’s in the ideal center-of-town location. What began as a modest seafood-style shack with a handful of indoor tables and the crispiest shoestring fries, has expanded to become an immersive beach-front experience complete with thick, battered spuds. If you’re lucky, you’ll run into the cutie you just ogled at Tea Dance. If not, you’ll likely risk being hit with sand from a kid throwing a tantrum over a giant Connect Four set. To my delight, they recently debuted a new fish sandwich: a buttery brioche bun with charred grill marks, a thick piece of delicately breaded cod, vinegary coleslaw, and a generous portion of dilly, garlicky, homemade pickles. The tartar sauce was a pleasant departure from the typical stark white mayo peppered with relish, and instead teetered on aioli territory. The side dish that’s been on my plate since day one? Their crispy, fish-sauce fried brussels sprouts. I love ‘em so much, I plastered a “Canteen Brussels Sprouts” sticker on my Hydroflask.
Another P-town anchor is Strangers & Saints, a Mediterranean-style tapas spot housed in a former sea captain’s home. It’s decked out with upscale nautical touches, plush leather chairs, and custom toile wallpaper that fills me with decorator’s envy. Their menu has changed significantly over the last few summers. What began as a space to devour dozens of dishes over the course of an entire evening has been reduced to enjoying a curated collection of dips, spreads, and breads when you pop in for a bougie espresso martini. Last season, I felt a tinge of disappointment when I came upon their more limited menu. "Hmm, not what I wanted," I thought. But I’m always willing to let go and let P-town tell me what I need. I left dazzled by a bowl of pork and beef salsa verde meatballs with cucumber kimchi and their pulled pork and ham pizza with a Swiss cheese and Dijon mustard béchamel sauce. It, too, had pickles on top. While this dish made me long for the days of decadence, it also spoke to the value of simplicity. I guess that’s part of what getting older is all about.
Each car ride back home provides an opportunity to reflect on what’s changed, and to catalog this year’s highlights. And while the post P-town blues always linger for a while, I know that this place will welcome me back next summer to bask, to float, and of course, to eat.
Name drops: The Canteen, Strangers & Saints
Working Through the Menu
by Bethany Caliaro2
Typically, a vast and meandering menu is a red flag for me. I don’t often need seven pages of a menu to find something worth eating; simplicity belies confidence. Specificity often implies quality. Though I will admit, there is one restaurant with a menu so extensive, that despite my regular visits and frequent attempts, I feel I've only managed to explore half of it.
Cheng Du Taste, the Sichuan paragon of Providence, delivers time and time again despite its lengthy tome of a menu. I recently ran into a friend and Cehng Du came up in converstation. I realized I was playing it safe and missing out on some choice numbers when we got to talking about our usual orders. When I relayed my go-tos, their eyes widened in agreement for some dishes, and surprise at others. They chimed in with some items I'd only ever glanced over, listing them as stalwarts of their monthly takeout rotation. Before I knew it, we were trading dish descriptions like Pokémon cards and I had an entirely new order planned for my next visit.
I find that this exchange repeats itself each time I hear a friend say, “Oh, we just had Cheng Du last night!”. I'll ask for their favorites, discovering that there's always a new treat to taste next time. No matter the recommendation, each time I try a new (to me) menu item, it’s a slam dunk, and I find myself asking how I hadn't tried it before. It can be hard to justify repeating dishes each visit when there is always something someone recommended that I can't stop thinking about. We always leave Cheng Du Taste with numb tongues, full bellies, and the feeling of satisfaction.
Now of course, I'll share my typical order, and I can't wait to hear yours.
Wok Fried Green Beans
Pork Dumplings in Chili Oil
Cumin Lamb
Chongqing Chicken
My favorite recommendations from friends:
Wonton Soup
Tofu with Garlic Sauce
Candied Sweet Potato & Taro
Mapo Tofu with Minced Pork
Name drops: Cheng Du Taste
A special thank you to this week’s illustrator, Paulo D. Campos3. See his work here.
Some of my friends really like to shake their ass, but a little shimmy is all I have to give.
Bethany Caliaro is the Front of House & Beverage Director at Oberlin and Gift Horse. She's Southern transplant who first found her way to Rhode Island via college. Starting off as Johnson & Wales graduate with experience working in kitchens and dining rooms via various eateries from casual to fine dining, she has collaborated on countless pop-ups with local peers, chefs, and venues around town, and has established herself as a fixture in Rhode Island’s hospitality industry. Through her continued wine and beverage studies and WSET Level 2 certification, she has built a network of small producers rooted in traditional practices, she champions female winemakers as well as local producers of New England. Her interests are ever expanding and further include sake, amaro, and low abv beverages.
Paulo D. Campos is a Brazilian-Portuguese illustrator living and working in Jersey City, New Jersey.