Monday, August 1, 2011

Restaurant Review: Canary Square & Cape Cod

This weekend, my husband and I, along with my brother and his wife, went to our friends' house in Dennis, MA (thanks Laura and Pete!).  Remember we went last year too when Laura was pregnant?

Well, I took the day off of work on Friday because I planned to go down to the Cape early.  But then Dave was traveling for work and my brother got the keys to his new apartment.  So being the good sister  I am, I helped him move. ALL DAY.  I'm not lying when I tell you I am still sore from walking up and down stairs 30X carrying box after box.  But at the end of the day, they were moved in and as a reward- we checked out Canary Square in their new JP neighborhood.
I just read about this place on Elina's blog, so I was psyched to try it out.  The atmosphere was really cool and I liked the vibe.  It was a misty night and the hostess told us it was about a half hour wait at 8pm.  Fortunately she was wrong and we were seated within 15 minutes.  The first order of business was drinks.  I ordered a cider and the boys ordered beers for their hard work.  Natalia, my sister-in-law, ordered a St. Pauli Girl.  Can you guess why?!?!
 I bet you can!!!!!!  Yep, Mike and Natalia are pregnant with their first child!!!!!!!!!!! Oh.  AND.  THEIR SECOND!!  Yep, Mike and Natalia are having twins!!!!!!!!!  Words can't begin to explain how excited I am for them : )

Now to the food.  I was really excited about this place because it specializes in local ingredients with a unique flair.  Canary Square practices sustainability and the owners welcome people to participate in their green initiatives.  Even the chef- Marco Suarez ia a member of Mayor Menino's Urban Agriculture Working Group- which works on the cities green and sustainable practices! The lighting was pretty bad so I didn't take pictures of everyone's food- but I will give you the highlights.
For snacks- we ordered Grilled Corn Con Queso and Yucca Fries.  Both were awesome.  I cannot wait to recreate the corn.  It had this awesome chipotle sauce with a mexican cheese on top that I absolutely loved.  

The salad I got was probably the best dish of the evening.  I ordered the Warm Swiss Chard and Chicken Salad.  It had crunchy chicken, pecans, dried cranberries, warmed but not wilted swiss chard and a poached egg on top with a bacon vinaigrette.  Everything meshed so well in this salad.  My only complaint is that my egg wasn't runny.  I think that would have put this dish over the top.  Either way, I've already recreated this salad at home! (more on that to come)

After our lovely dinner at Canary Square, we headed down to the most beautiful place in the world- Cape Cod.  We arrived late and pretty much went straight to bed.

Saturday we woke up and headed to the beach.  But this year, we had a special little one with us- Lillian!  Last year Laura was pregnant and this year, their 10 month old spent the weekend with us.  And she is AWESOME.  Such an adorable, good baby : )
 I love Cape Cod beaches : )

After the beach, we worked on our menu and headed over to Ring Bros. Marketplace (my friends families store) and got some goodies for our feast. We got oysters and shrimp for appetizers.  The oysters were so fresh!  Mixed with some cocktail and horseradish and a little bit of lemon juice- these oysters were delicious.  And what's better than Oyster shooters?
 After the appetizers, we played with Lillian while Dave cooked up the meat.  How cute is little Lil???
 Dinner was a delicious success- Grilled Corn on the Cob, Panzanella Salad, Sirloin Burgers and Steak Tips.  We were definitely full when we were finished : )
 After dinner we enjoyed some drinks, smore's and our awesome fire pit.  Something about Cape Cod always means s'mores and fire pits to me!
After a restful night sleep (I think we all got close to 10 hours), we all hung out for a few more hours at the house before heading to Captain Frosty's for some fried food.  Because to me, Cape Cod=beaches, seafood, fire pits, s'mores and fried belly clams.  Yep.
Full of delicious food, Dave and I said goodbye to Cape Cod and our friends and headed home.  The Cape holds a special place in my heart and I love going there.  I feel lucky to have TWO friends who have homes there and I cannot wait to go back in just over a month : )

Thanks Pete and Laura for an amazing weekend!

What special things remind you of your local vacation spot?  
As I mentioned- the beach epitomizes Cape Cod to me.  Along with s'mores, lobster rolls, fried belly clams, ice cream and fire pits : )

13 comments:

  1. I loved Elina's review of Canary Square and yours only enforces my need to check the place out someday!

    I grew up on Dennis beaches and eating Captain Frosty's....oh nostalgia!

    and a huge congrats to your bro and sis in law. twins?!? amazing :)

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  2. What a cute baby! And congrats to your brother and Natalia. That's so exciting!!

    We are thinking about moving to JP so it's nice to know there are some good restaurants over there.

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  3. Thanks for the review. I loved the Alchemist - Canary Square's predecessor in that space - and have been curious about this restaurant. The yucca fries look awesome!

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  4. Congratulations to your friend! I've been to Canary Square, but I didn't try the yucca fries. I'll check them out next time!

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  5. LIZZY! CONGRATS to Mike, Natalia and the entire family! The world needs more Krashes!

    And another beautiful weekend at the Cape. I'm so glad you can enjoy your time there.

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  6. What a fun weekend! I've been to Canary Square just once and had an awesome experience too, will definitely come back soon! Too bad the egg wasn't runny but I will still probably order that next time ;)

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  7. Fun! And small world, does Natalia work in the Gregory lab at Children's? She's on the ninth floor and I'm on the eighth floor! The twins part caught my eye - our admin just told me that today :)

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  8. How fun that they're expecting twins! You must be so excited for them :)

    It looks like such an amazing beach weekend. Every time you post pics of Cape Cod it just reminds me how much I need to go there.

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  9. Well a huge congrats to your friend!! They must be so excited. You know the weird thing, though - your friend looks so much like you...I mean, you could be related! Hmmmm....

    Anyway...sounds like another amazing weekend! The Cape is such a wonderful place. I think I'm heading up there on Monday (it's a holiday in RI but not MA) and I can't wait!!

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  10. Oh my gosh, congratulations to your brother and your whole family!! That is incredibly exciting! The pictures are amazing - I love the Cape too. Just looking at this post makes me want to go. Good food, family, and sun...nothing better!

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  11. Congrats to your brother and sister in law!! Do twins run in your family? Better be careful girl ;)
    So glad you liked Canary Square! I don't remember seeing that salad last time but will have to check it out. I'm sure I'll be back soon enough (our friends Kyle and Tiffany just moved around the corner!). Thanks for the shout out too :)

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  12. So many things to comment on....
    1) Congrats Mike and Natalia - how special for them!! Those babies are going to have running sneaks on before their 1st birthdays! And you and Dave are going to LOVE being Auntie and Uncle - it truly is one of the best experiences ever!
    2) Your salad looked OFF THE HOOK - you KNOW I love a (properly) poached egg on anything; it looks amaze!
    3) Your Cape post is making me CRY for Cape weekends; in the landlocked Ohio we have no concept of the "Cape Weekend fun" - thank god I'll be home for Labor Day to get my fix. In the meantime; I'll keep living vicariously through you!!!!

    XOXO

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  13. if you like canary square- def check out their new restaurant, the salty pig, in back bay! so good!

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