A non-joke at town meeting yesterday got the biggest laugh of the evening. Wellfleet has been named to a Top-Ten-Foodie-Destinations list by Away.com. When someone at the microphone brought this up, a twitter spread across the school gymnasium, as if people were asking their neighbors, “Did he really say what I think he said?” Then, as the information sank in, a few people let our loud guffaws of incredulity. But I checked just now, and it’s true: Away.com places Wellfleet ninth on its list. I had no idea our restaurants had gained such notoriety. What surprised me was mention of The Bookstore, certainly a good place to eat year-round but hardly the eatery I would place at the front of the pack in summer, which is when the real competition revs up for diners. I sent a lot of folks to Pearl this summer, which could claim the Best View of the Marina, above, if such an award existed, and Winslow’s Tavern, the place to go for a Bloody Mary during Oysterfest.
(If we were giving awards, Mac’s Seafood would win for nighttime exterior, don’t you think?) Many Wellfleetians, feeling the pinch of hard economic times, do not eat out at restaurants, which is totally understandable, considering a meal for two people, with wine, costs $100. Perhaps this is why residents voted the increase of .75%, which will go to the town, rather than the state? Mac Hay was eloquent in explaining why he opposed this tax. Other speakers pointed out that local staff – waiters, waitresses – will be the ones to suffer because tourists will simply lower the amount left as a tip. This was why I voted against the tax. And, speaking of restaurants, I heard this week that the oven delivered to PB Boulangerie Bistro proved defective, so it was sent back. Hence, the new French restaurant and bakery will not be able to open as soon as expected… 
4 comments:
Best foodie destination...argh, Wellfleet needs not for more fame, but foodie??? They must be thinking about the Wellfleet oyster. We don't do restaurants often and usually for breakfast and usually the Wicked Oyster. Always good. Their clam chowder takeout is a tasty dinner. Hmmm...I do look forward to the seafood when we visit, but usually I just buy it to cook....
Am I right in that the tax will mean 75 cents on a 100.00 tab? I really don't think that will affect your servers. We say that if can afford the meal we can afford the tip.
Anyone who can afford to be on the Cape in the summer and eat out can afford to pay the tax and tip well. If, not then picnic.
Zuleme, one of the points Mac made was that there had already been an increase in tax this year, paid to the state, and this second increase would make it 2%.
You would be surprised at how many guests of ours DO choose to picnic, especially for lunch.
From having eaten out in Cambridge I know we pay $30 for two at a local restaurant there, with wine. So, I find the $100 price tab for two excessive myself, but most tourists can afford pricey restaurants, as you commented. It is not as if town restaurants were empty in summer, either. There are always lines to get in. I'd like to see a place like The Juice remain open longer, with affordable menu items, or more affordable options available like the $14 entrees Finely JPs offers Wed. and Thursday this fall ....
I could really go for a bloody mary and some oysters right now. Yum
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