If you’ve been in New England this month, you already know what I’m about to tell you – the weekend weather stunk! And to make matters worse, most of the Tuesdays and Wednesdays were spectacular!
We managed to spend a few nights on the boat and enjoyed a couple of day trips, but this was the first Memorial Day weekend we spent at home doing projects in five years.
So, as the final weekend in May approached, I studied the weather forecasts very closely. I originally planned Provincetown. I love P-Town, but it’s too crazy in the summer for Mrs. Horne. I also booked Marina Bay, but as the weather picture cleared, I canceled both…
The weather forecasts have been generally accurate, but the timing has been off, so I knew that we’d get hit with gale-force north winds sometime around Saturday and wanted to be securely docked somewhere fun when it hit and Slip F7 at Falmouth Town Marina was open on dockwa, so Falmouth was our destination.
Slip F7 is offers a solid floating metal dock and more importantly, when I go bow-in, Amazing Grace is pointed north – into the oncoming gale.
Given my skepticism of the accuracy of the forecast, we stayed on board in Onset Thursday night and had dinner at the 1883 Lounge.
soy-wasabi marinated tuna, furikake, pickled ginger, seaweed salad, avocado, jasmine rice, fried wontons, sriracha aioli
olive oil base, pepperoni, sausage, linguica, onions
Thursday night is Live Music night in the 1883 Lounge featuring Sharon and Kenny…
We got back to the boat and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.
Falmouth Friday
I admit that we hadn’t been giving Falmouth the respect it deserved as a cruising destination. This was probably because it was one of our Dock and Dine destinations when we had the 26’ Whaler and it was a port we could drive to by car.
The other issue was dining; twenty yesrs ago, the restaurant scene in Falmouth was mediocre at best. Over the past five years, this has changed and Falmouth has become a legitimate destination for Foodies.
With that in mind, we set out to try a new restaurant in Falmouth on Friday morning and walked to town.
Tap City Grille
One of the newest additions to the dining scene in Falmouth is the Tap City Grille.
It opened in late 2024 and represents an expansion from their original Hyannis location.
True to its name, TCG offers one of the widest varieties of draft beer on the Cape.
Our excellent server – Lydia, told us the draft list changes frequently.
Mrs. Horne ordered a salad and thanks to Lydia’s suggestion, we split a burger.
roasted beets | burstta cheese | candied pecans
spinach | arugula | champagne vinaigrette
short rib & brisket blend burger | lettuce | tomato | raw onion | house fries add cheese | bleu cheese crumbles
It’s a delicious burger and the shoestring fries were perfect.
Falmouth Shopping
Most seaside ports are flooded with art galleries and women’s clothing stores. Not Falmouth. Falmouth offers a variety of home goods, sports, and even Barbos furniture!
I decided I wanted a good cup of coffee and headed out of town to Coffee Obsession.
I’m generally a dry cappuccino or iced espresso guy, but decided to try a Flat White.
It was pretty good, but I think I prefer the iced espresso.
Back at the boat we met Christian, whose father owns one of the Vikings on the dock – Kristina.
Asia Falmouth
We debated what new restaurant to check out for dinner, but when I mentioned Asian, Mrs. Horne decided for us…
The decor is a little stark…
But the crowd was decent for late May and a lousy weather weekend…
We sat at the bar where I was saddened to see that their draft beer system was down. I asked the bartender how long and he didn’t know.
We ordered a few simple dishes and one that would allow me to see what the chef had for “culinary chops.”
You don’t see Peking Duck on the menu of most Chinese restaurants in New England, so I had to try it.
The food was decent, but nothing special – I think we’re spoiled by Mikado in Oak Bluffs. I doubt I’ll go back, but I might order takeout one day.
The evening ended well when Mts. Horne won $100 on a $20 KENO ticket!
Hither The Gale
The weather forecast for Saturday was truly ominous – 60 MPH gusts, wind chills in the 40’s, and driving rain.
But when I got up, it looked like a pleasant day…
I checked a number of wind forecasts and concluded the gale may be coming off our port side, pushing us hard into the dock.
We had two pilings off our starboard side, but they were too far away to reach by hand. I texted the Harbormaster and he sent down two young men in a boat to help me.
The floating dock was well made, but if the forecast held, we’d have 60 MPH gusts pounding us into it for hours.
Thanks to James and Nick for a job well done!
James is studying to be a captain at Mass Maritime. He asked for a tour of Amazing Grace’s engine room and left very impressed.
Anéjo
Our friends Lauren and Jeff picked us up around noon and took us downtown for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant.
Mrs. Horne isn’t a huge fan of protein on her nachos, so I ordered the Chicken Pastor on the side.
I say this every time we eat here, but this is the best Mexican restaurant I’ve ever eaten in and our winter home is 70 miles north of the border.
As we finished lunch, we could see the wind whipping the trees across the street.
Back on the boat, the wind was howling at 50 MPH, but the storm lines were keeping us from pounding the dock,
As Mrs. Horne and I watched the movie – Stand Your Ground, Bill Randall of the Block Island Nation on Facebook posted this video of a sailboat getting trashed by the gale in New Harbor.
As I was watching the hapless sailors crash into the dock, another alert popped up reporting a sonic boom across most of New England.
It turned out to be a meteorite that crashed into Cape Cod Bay.
Saturday may not have served up great weather, but it was far from boring.
By 5:30, the clouds had blown away and the sun was coming out…
Romeo’s
We were treated once again at dinner when our La Quinta friends – Tom and Kathleen, picked us up and drove us to Romeo’s (my bad – I forgot to take their photos).
Chef Tom waved to us we grabbed the high-top next to the kitchen for another gourmet delight!
Everything was spectacular as usual, but to my palate, two dishes stood out – The Tuna Crudo and the Tots.
In particular, the texture of the Tots was delectable; crispy on the outside and lightly whipped inside, topped with aloili and more.
After dinner, Kathleen told Chef Tom that Romeo’s was the best restaurant in Falmouth. She is a true foodie, so that was high praise.
Sunday Funday
The weathermen were correct about the gale-force winds, but in the end, the cold, wet, and windy conditions lasted only about 6 hours on Saturday. The rest of the weekend turned out to be a typical May weekend (albeit with more early May temperatures).
The air was pushing 70° when I unloaded the bikes for a ride on the Shining Sea Bike Trail.
I planned to have lunch at Water Street Kitchen, but just like the last time, they were closed.
We then headed over the Landfall…
We sat at the bar five feet from two servers who proceeded to ignore us for at least five minutes. Then the bartender treated Mrs. Horne with a little disrespect and we promptly left!
Leeside Pub
Number three was a charm as we ambled up the stairs to the bar at the Leeside Pub.
It’s part of the Quahog Republic, so we knew the food would be good. We weren’t expecting the view, which covered most of Woods Hole…
melted cheddar and mozzarella blend, beer cheese, chopped tomato, lettuce, and red onion, jalapeño, salsa, and sour cream.
1/4 lb. all beef hotdog. best wiener in town
($2 upcharge for fries)
Just like the Quahog Republic in Onset, the hot dog was the best wiener in New England.
After lunch, we rode up the trail toward Buzzards Bay until Mrs. Horne was starting to get sore. I escorted her back to the boat and then headed up town to Coffee Obsession for an iced espresso.
Dinner On Amazing Grace
We had planned to try another new restaurant in town, but I knew Mrs. Horne was tuckered out from the 20-mile bike ride.
On Friday I discovered the Windfall Market. It’s just across the street from the marina and not only is it a full-service grocery store, but also a gourmet market with a lot of homemade takeout items.
I offered to make Mrs. Horne dinner on board and headed over to the Windfall to figure out what I was going to make!
I toyed with a few ideas – pasta, filets – but once I spotted the homemade spicy chicken sausage, I settled on a one-pan dish my friend Kay served me in Northern California.
It’s simple, but very tasty and I start it by searing the sausage in EVOO to add some grill flavor and make it easier to slice.
Next, I cut up a who Russett Potato and toss it in more EVOO, salt, pepper, and granulated garlic,
After 30 minutes at 350°, I toss in the sliced sausage and finish the dish until the potatoes are soft inside.
I finished it with more EVOO and freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano and served it in a bowl…
Very tasty and simple.
Monday was a tad cloudy as we headed back to Onset…
Despite the forecast for calm seas, Buzzards Bay was already serving up 3’ chop at 8:00 AM…
Next Up: America’s 250th Jubilee in Newport