Bake it, steam it, or keep it raw, there are plenty of ways to prepare seafood for a dinner get-together (not all seafood should be raw, of course). How the seafood is prepared is always part of the charm. For some, it is the main adventure of ordering something new and fresh.
Shrimp and seafood boils celebrate the fantastic world of fine coastal eating. What’s better than eating loads and loads of seafood and having a great time on Cape Cod? Not much.
Here is a look at how you can get your hands on some amazing local seafood from various outlets across the cape. Stop by a grocery store, order it ready to go, or grab some raw ingredients and make it happen. There’s no end to your seafood-themed possibilities.
How to Find Fully Prepared Seafood
If you want to ease into the challenges of preparing seafood (or skip them entirely) you can visit a few locales and order seafood fresh and ready to go. The best way to do this is to find an affordable and accommodating restaurant with takeout. The Hyannis restaurant, Spanky’s Clam Shack, is one such place. It provides cost-friendly seafood right on the harbor.
Another popular location is Cooke’s Seafood. Cooke’s actually has multiple locations throughout the region, including one in Orleans and another in Hyannis. It has quick-serve seafood, as well as beer and wine (the latter not available for takeout).
If you want fully prepared seafood, your best bet is a local restaurant. Most offer takeout options with a mild surcharge. You can also consider delivery options, though most only provide sweets, sodas, pizza, and fast-casual sandwiches. Lindsey’s Family Restaurant in East Wareham is a fantastic seafood café, with options for delivery.
How to Find (mostly) Prepared Seafood
Seafood stands are fantastic, affordable, and local-focused. Cape Cod is covered in markets and stands. Seafood has never been more accessible. Depending on your proximity to local restaurants and marinas, you can find numerous markets.
These include George’s Place in Harwich Port. You can dip on over to the Chatham Pier Fish Market to select from fresh finds, including lobster, clams, oysters, and virtually everything in between. The Chatham market is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, with extended hours to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Catch of the Day is a roadside eatery and fish market. Eat a little something while you stop by and take more home if you want to share the love. The Swan River Market in Dennis Port specializes in purely-local lobster and clambakes. The team will cook and crack the lobsters on the spot for no additional charge.
When you order from a shack or market, the fish can be often prepared for you. The markets include some Cape Cod staples, including Wild Salmon, local Bluefish, Mahi Mahi, Swordfish, Yellowfin Tuna, Cod, Flounder, and many more.
You may want to call ahead at one of the local seafood shacks or markets to see what they have in stock. You could always just adventure your way down there and see what happens.
How to Find the Raw Ingredients
If you want to tackle the challenge of preparing seafood entirely on your own, consider a stop at a local grocery store. Firstly, this option is certainly the most affordable. You can acquire pounds of seafood and groceries for a fraction of the price you would pay at a stand, market, or restaurant. The trade-off, of course, is that you have to put it all together.
Fortunately, most grocery stores offer a nice array of options. If you want to completely wing it, you can buy fresh and unprepared fish. Some seafood-making kits can ease you into the preparations. You can request local recipes from the markets. They can then design your order around what you intend to make, giving the correct quantities and measurements.
You can get everything handled for you at a restaurant, delivered fresh to your seat. You can stop by a market or shack to find some quick seafood plates to take home. You can even stop by a grocery store and see what they have holed up in the bins, raw and fresh as can be.
You have all these options available to you. Cape Cod embraces all aspects of fine seafood eating, using the local waters to satiate the people of the region.
