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Worst of the Cape?

With so many repeat posts about people's "favorite' places on the Cape, a few names that are on my 'definate to avoid' list keep popping up. What are YOUR most dreadful choices? Mine are:

Captain Frosty's-Dennis Small, overpriced portions of standard fried fare. I've read, you gotta try the lobster roll....small mayonaissey thing with a handful of limp fries and those dreadful clam fritters (errrr...flavorless dough balls). The clam plate's a bad joke. And someone once crowed about how great the ice cream is...c'mon...it's soft-serve!

Clancy's, Olivers, Captain Parkers: - To me, these all seem the same.....all bland and boring, consistantly mediocre, food. Not a great meal to be had at any. Sure the prices are cheap, but these are excellent examples of "you get what you pay for".

Baxters Boathouse, Tugboats. Yes, its nice to sit on the water and its surprising how few places offer this in the mid-Cape. But that's it. Bad food often served by bad waitstaff at often borderline ridiculous prices.

And for those who post about how great the chains are....Unos, Country Buffet, and Olive Garden....PULEEEZE! Don't get me started.

Hmmmm.....guess I must feel cantankerous this morning!

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  1. Ah yes, the worst of the Cape... I've had a few soggy meals but once bitten twice shy, so the names of those places are long gone, but one place that I had to stop every time we returned from The Islands with my mother-in-law (God rest her soul) was Seafood Sams. Only decent the first time, many years ago, the last five or six, forget it. The same bland seafood and/or chicken and/or burgers everytime. And the coleslaw! Yech! My M-I-L flew from this earth this past winter, so SFS's will never see ME again.

    1. How about the Breakfast Room and not really the Cape but the Islands, The Navigator in Edgertown is the worst.

      2 Replies
      1. re: Doug Mc.

        Ah yes, an entire thread could be dedidated to the WORST of the breakfast joints. The Pancake Man in Dennisport and any Percy's Place location are all supremely dreadful.

        1. re: CapeCodGuy

          I actually liked breakfast at the Percy's in Plymouth the one time I went. If you want a bad breakfast in Plymouth, the All American Diner is the poster boy for it -- horribly bland, grossly greasy food and dirty digs. Percy's was miles better.

      2. I prefer not to participate in a negative thread so I switch it to the BEST OF CAPE COD:

        Ocean House (views and great off season menus)
        Mercantile (nice sandwiches in the heart of 6 A)
        Buckie's Biscotti on 6 A (great Biscotti)
        Cape Sea Grille (great food, crowded dining room)
        Vinings (reliable)
        Dunbar Tea Room (cute, not the best food but decent)
        Brewster Fish House (reliable consistent)
        Abba (overall good)
        Friendly Fisherman (lobster rolls)
        to name a few....

        8 Replies
        1. Fine, I will play....Clancy's on Upper County has the worst Nachos..soggy, crappy salsa and yucko...Scargo Cafe is terrible...in all accounts but I DO love their Grapenut Pudding.

          1. re: phelana

            See? That didn't hurt so much did it? Couldn't agree more with Scargo Cafe. How its stayed in business all these years is beyond imagination. Clancy's on Upper County is just as crummy as the one in West Yarmouth and they aren't even owned by the same people! Go figure.

            1. re: CapeCodGuy

              CCG, I was so chipper and bright when I wrote my rebuttal post but as the day grew late, my mood soured..how 'bout this one: Sundancers..phooey...

              1. re: phelana

                Sundancers? Good one! Known mostly as a drinking place at night for the younger crowd, I actually ate there for the first time last season. Had the house sprecialty, a 1/2 pound lobster roll. Lets see, a half pound of shredded lobster with mayo in a hotdog roll that they didn't even bother to grill. Phooey indeed! Another case where the view is far superior to anything coming out of the kitchen.

                1. re: CapeCodGuy

                  How about the Skipper in S. Yarmouth & what about the prices vs the quality (if any) at the Yarmouth House on Rt28 in W.Yarmouth.

                  1. re: Doug Mc.

                    Not familiar with the Skipper. You don't mean Skippy's just off 28 near the Lobster Boat (another awful tourist rip) on 28 do you? Excellent call on the Yarmouth House.

                    1. re: CapeCodGuy

                      No the Skipper is on South Sea Ave, across from Parkers River Beach. Nice view for a cocktail, but thats about it.

              2. re: CapeCodGuy

                The name of course. How can you not like the name?

          2. I've got a couple, on the Upper and Lower Cape. McMenamy's in Falmouth--disgusting fried food, and one of the dirtiest, smelliest places I've ever had the misfortune of eating.

            And Cafe Blase, in Provincetown, is the worst of the number of bad places in the middle part of Commercial St. I think it recently changed names, but it's still terrible.

            1 Reply
            1. re: winedude

              Did you actually try it since the new owners renovated the place and changed everything about it? What did you have? What was terrible about it?

            2. I have a few...

              Cap't Cass in Orleans--is this food legal?

              Seafood Sam's-Harwich--is this food?

              Rosina's in Orleans--so ordinary was very good at one time beware, 18% auto tip for parties of 6 or more. And the service is lousy!

              Bonatt's in Harwich--this place is overrated. Of course were else do you go around here except for Grumpy's

              How about places on the cusp..

              Nonnies in Orleans--very homey but food is just so plain

              Red Cottage-Dennis--food ok however what's with the parking? Right, what parking!

              9 Replies
              1. re: ppmaysa

                I think Cooke's in Orleans is far worse than Cap't Cass.

                1. re: ppmaysa

                  The food at Rosina's in Orleans is delicious. I have eaten there many times. As for the 18% tip for parties of 6 or more it has been that way I think since they opened 10 years ago. Most restaurants have the same tip policy. But the Red Cottage in Dennis charges an automatic 18% tip for parties of 5 or more for breakfast! I have never heard of a breakfast place charging an 18% tip! That makes for an expensive scrambled egg, homefries and toast. Can you name a breakfast place, not a hotel brunch that charges an automatic 18% tip? For lunch the Red Cottage charges an automatic 15% tip for parties of 5 or more for lunch. What if the service is bad? You are automatically paying for the bad service with your tip included in your total meal price.

                  1. re: buffet king

                    I forget the name of the place , but it is a small restaurant that is pretty close to Ocean's Edge Resort (if you went right out of the resort, it would be only a few miles on the left). There is a small bar and only about 10 tables. The ambiance seems nice but the lobster bisque, at $12 a bowl was like pink water with zero lobster. Hopefully the rest of the menu is better............

                    1. re: TonyO

                      Was not aware that the Red Cottage had a policy of an automatic 18% tip. I think the food is just OK but my wife enjoys the "diet" breakfest choices.

                      Regarding Rosina's in Orleans, I don't mind the auto 18% tip if only the service was much better. Also, I haven't seen many changes to their menu over the last 10 years. They also offer the same "specials" over & over.

                      1. re: ppmaysa

                        Wow, looks like the Cape has some pretty good eats. A mere 20 posts here to harp on mediocrity (or worse). Here's a thread from the Worst in LA and it has 378 posts! http://www.chowhound.com/topics/374509

                        Things are looking up on the peninsula!

                  2. re: ppmaysa

                    I have to defend Seafood Sam's, at least the one in Sandwich. If you order carefully, i.e broiled instead of breaded, and pick it up rather than eat there, I think the food is fine.

                    1. re: brendastarlet

                      I'm interested to know why you think the food is better as "to-go" rather than eat-in. It's usually the other way around. What's the difference to you?

                      I think Seafood Sams gets mentioned as many visitors to the Cape want to experience fried seafood of some sort. You're absolutely correct, Sams doesn't do a good job on the fried stuff.

                    2. re: ppmaysa

                      I was waffling between here and "the best of the cape" with a huge dose of caveat; decided on here and tiny caveat. YMMV (Your mileage (experience), may vary) . I had some dining companions who (I believe), thought it quite dandy for breakfast. No disrespect intended.

                      We had two breakfasts at Grumpy's. Not to completely dis this place for breakfast, I still thought it mediocre. Eggs were cooked perfectly when asked for over easy. Omelet was slightly overcooked and had way too much cream cheese in it. I tried this western-style omelet and it was quite ordinary and un-Western, with few fresh (or otherwise), ingredients in it. Hash browns were soggy with oil. English muffins were sodden with fake butter. Home fries were firm and well-browned one day and the next day they were much tastier, because of the cooked onion content, though mushy and virtually no browning. Sausage was a decent, greasy-moist patty; not browned at all. I thought the Portuguese linguica sausage, while flavorful, a little tough to cut and there was a big chunk of soft, casing/organ detritus in the middle.
                      Next day I had blueberry pancakes. They came with a huge scoop of very salty margarine on top. This was added without my asking and I had to scramble and get a paper cup to put it in before it melted any more. The two large pancakes were loaded with the most fresh blueberries I have ever seen, but also loaded down with cheap cooking oil. They almost deep-fried these pancakes and soon my mouth felt like a grease pit. I could not eat but about a third of it before I was totally overwhelmed. I tried the crappy Log Cabin syrup, but didn't help things at all. The coffee was just average for a decent cafe.

                      Service was good even though they were busy both times at 9AM. Tuesday was no wait. We had to wait about twenty minutes or more Wednesday morning, July first, and decided to skip Grumpy's Thursday and go elsewhere when we found the line twenty feet out the door... and it was intermittently raining.
                      There are also lots of children and noise. It is truly an ordinary, business-like cafe and virtually the only game in town.
                      Grumpy's has some unusual items. The baked goods at the register look delicious. Perhaps they are? http://www.grumpyscapecod.com/
                      While we barely scratched the surface, I think I can say Grumpy's is an ordinary greasy spoon that really puts on airs. See menu chalkboard picture.

                      1. re: ppmaysa

                        Nonnie has since passed away and so has her restaurant. They were both mourned by many.

                        Nonnies Country Kitchen
                        Route 6A, Orleans, MA 02653