Orleans Farmers Market

21 Old Colony Way
Orleans, MA
Saturday: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Nickerson Fish and Lobster

45 Barcliff Ave (Chatham Fish Pier, Shore Rd)
Chatham, MA
508-945-0145

The fish have to travel all of 50 yards from the boat, so you can imagine how fresh they are. And you don't need a kitchen to partake: They sell homemade quahog (giant clam) chowder (not as good as Dave Corcoran's of course) and precooked frozen entrees to go.

Brewster Fish House

2208 Main St
Brewster, MA
(508) 896-7867

Humble on the outside yet vibrant and flavorful within, the Fish House has carved a niche for itself: Cape Cod standards such as classic scrod and New England boiled dinner share billing with both traditional and more inspired preparations of duck, rack of lamb, Cornish hen, and tenderloin of beef. Locals are known to drive from all points of the Cape to this lovably rickety restaurant for the super-fresh fish. The wine list includes a flavorful selection of by-the-glass offerings.

Yardarm

48 Rte. 28 (just E. of Main St)
Orleans, MA
508-255-4840

This rough and rowdy joint serves the best chowder in town. It's a delectable seafood concoction that comes in three sizes: little predicament, big predicament, and huge dilemma. It's also available frozen in pint and half-pint sizes. Locals also flock to Prime Rib Night (Mon and Thurs), Mexican Night (Tues-Wed), and Steak Night (Fri-Sat). But you will go to watch the colorful characters bellying up to the bar for a burger and a brew.

Afternoon Tea at the Captain's House Inn

369 - 377 Old Harbor Rd
Chatham, MA
800-315-0728

English Afternoon Tea is served in the dining room and on the patio. Tea is available for $18 per person. In addition to the wonderful sweet treats, this includes delicate sandwiches and savory pastries.

Marion's Pie Shop

2022 Rte. 28 (about 1/2 mile E of Rte. 137)
Chatham, MA
508-432-9439

Nearly a 1/2-century's worth of summer visitors have come to depend on this bakery for dinner and dessert pies, from sea clam to lemon meringue. Load up on the fruit breads and sweet rolls, and you can pretend you're having a four-course B&B breakfast--on the beach.

Sundae School

210 Main St
Orleans, MA

A smaller branch of the Dennisport institution (and now in Harwich Port, too), this little ice-cream shop offers some mighty sophisticated flavors, drawing on fruits in season and even the liqueur cabinet.

Hot Chocolate Sparrow

5 Old Colony Way
Orleans, MA
508-240-2230

The Chocolate Sparrow opened in 1989 in North Eastham. It remains a serious coffee and chocolate shop on Route 6. The Cafe in Orleans opened in 1993 and has grown each year into a local institution. Open early morning to late night every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Voted #1 in various local reader surveys, including Best Coffee Shop, Best Desserts, and Best Fudge.

Abba

West Rd. and Old Colony Way (2 blocks from Main St., toward Skaket Beach)
Orleans, MA
508-255-8144

This big-town restaurant is in a little house just outside the heart of Orleans. The house is an old wooden Cape, with wide-board floors and a semi-formal, modern look. It is on the expensive side, but not overpriced for the quality of the food, and especially the efficient service. Abba is open year-round.

Wicked Oyster

50 Main St (just off Rte. 6, close to Wellfleet Center)
Wellfleet, MA
508-349-3455

This restaurant is set in an old house, replete with foot-wide floorboards. The light fixtures might be from Ikea, there is a lively bar scene with the Red Sox game on television, and the mostly hard surfaces seem to amplify noise. The Wicked Oyster is open year-round for breakfast and lunch and is Cape-like. Prices are fair, but this is a real restaurant and priced accordingly.

Box Lunch

Box Lunch has great wraps at inexpensive prices and is a personal favorite of Tom's as he grew up going to the original store in Wellfleet during the summer with his cousins. The Wellfleet store is nestled into a quaint old building where you order at the counter and eat out front on the steps or at a picnic table in the sun. Box Lunch has since expanded and now has eight locations, including North Eastham (closest to Winslow Estate), Dennis and Wellfleet.