Monday, May 17, 2010

Restaurant News....

You Can Use - by Susan


Timmy B's:

Tim Buchanan, former owner of my summer hang out, Keepers, is at it again.  This time in the former Grill 16, Asa Bearse House location.  I don't know much about the plan here but I understand it will be "fine dining".  This worries me a bit.. I'm not sure how much "fine dining" (price wise) Main Street, Hyannis can handle.  In that price category I'd say Roadhouse, Alberto's, Eclectic Cafe, compete for the same customers and I'm not sure the Main Street crowd does a lot of fine dining.  That being said, I loved, loved, loved, the food at Keepers and was sorry to see it go.  It was decently priced and good food with a casual, laid back atmosphere.  So I'm very interested to see what Tim is going to do with this new place.  I love the bar and outdoor patio at this location!  My sources tell me its opening soon.



Naked Oyster:

Most of you probably know by now that the Naked Oyster is moving to Main Street in Hyannis, they are taking over part of what is now the Puritan store.  I can't wait for this move because I have always liked the restaurant but didn't go often as it just seemed out of the way before.  From a business standpoint I think they will find a new audience on Main Street.  It's an excellent restaurant and they do gluten free very well.  They will be open on June 15th.

Starfish

This place has been open in Mashpee (South Cape Village) in what was formerly Restaurant Heather for a few weeks now.  They didn't make many changes to the space, which certainly was light an airy but for me that didn't define it as it's own place in my head.  I feel like I'm still eating at Heather.  



It is expensive and I think that was one of the problems that did-in Heather.  So it will be interesting to see how it goes for them.  That being said, when I was there the food was excellent and the service even better.  Although the restaurant doesn't have a gluten free menu, the staff was very knowledgeable about gluten and allergy requests and they handled my meal perfectly.  I enjoyed the evening.  This restaruant is run by Cape Cod Restaurants, Inc. which also does Coonamessett Inn, The Flying Bridge, and Tugboats.  If you are looking for excellent seafood give Starfish a try.

Islander

Ok the old Keepers at Crosby Boat Yard, now called Islander, and run by the Island Merchant folks is open again for the summer season.  I still hang there now and then and like the food but it's not terribly gluten friendly.  The waitstaff doesn't seem to have enough knowledge about their dishes to make me feel safe enough to eat there.  I do love their mojito's however!  So if you want a relaxed place, good food, and water views, this is it!

SeaSide Pub

This isn't a new restaurant, its been open - at the corner of Main and Sea Street in Hyannis - for maybe a year.  I never ventured in, it just appeared to "pubby" for me.  But then a reader told me they had a huge vegetarian and gluten free menu.  Say what?  So of course I had to go in.  They happen to have the largest gluten free and vegetarian menu on Cape Cod! 


I've been there 3 times in 3 weeks, so it's safe to say I like it.  Chef Uy Phu is really creative with  the food was very good.  They do pizza (regular and gluten free) and it is very good (I like my crust crispy so I'll ask them to do that next time).  The gluten free fried fish was just over-the-top excellent.  Gluten free means no wheat (flour) so it's really hard to get a batter dipped sort of coating without any gluten because it's the gluten that holds it together.  I don't know how the Chef Phu makes that gluten free batter but I felt like I was eating real batter dipped fish.

My mom was dining with me on my last visit and she had some sort of bouillabaisse, which doesn't seem to be on their online menu (a special maybe?).  She said it was excellent and it looked great with loads of seafood in it, lobster, clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp, fish and more.

So please head in to Seaside for a great casual meal, gluten free or regular!

7 comments:

  1. FYI Siena in Mashpee Commons has a gluten free menu

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  2. I know Sienna does gluten free but do they now have an actual GF menu?

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  3. Seems contradictory that you worry about Tommy B's fitting into Hyannis' Main Street as another high-end restaurant, yet you think Naked Oyster will excel there. I'd say that Tommy B's biggest challenge is becoming the first owner of that location to make money since Bobby Snowden in the late 70s-early 80s.

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  4. Oh it probably is contradictory..... Naked Oyster will be one of the higher end places on Main Street too; however I feel they have a customer base right already and most likely they will take their customers with them.

    Timmy B's doesn't have any customers yet and will have to start from scratch to "prove" themselves... service, food, drink... With Naked we know they do well at "restauranting".

    And certainly part of my worry for Tim is location, I don't really believe in jinx but if it exists at all, it exists there. I like Tim and hope it's a go for him.

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  5. Bobby Snowden ran the Asa Bearse in the late 80's early 90's not the 10 years before that. Grille 16 under Derek Sanderson at that location tried the fine dining bit and failed miserably. It just doesn't work, especially year round.

    Seaside on Main is a very good place to eat, but they confuse me, first they charge me almost $20 for steak tips then offer $6 PBR pitchers. Come on, either be a bargain place or don't be.

    They don't really have entertainment but has anyone tried Db's Surf Bar yet? It used to be La Paz Surf bar but the owners changed the name, best cajun fish tacos I have ever had.

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  6. It appears that Timmy B's barely lasted long enough for you to make more 2 blog entries....Not sure which is a bigger failure.

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  7. Well thanks... I'm doing the best I can given a lot of set backs. I'd welcome your guest post!

    Susan

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