I can think of no better way to have ended our day “off” than by stopping in Wellfleet to have dinner at Mac’s Shack. By “off” of course, I mean that we had no check-ins at our bed and breakfast on Cape Cod and therefore no need to hurry home from our adventure in Provincetown (see previous blog entry). Located at 95 Commercial Street, Mac’s Shack is one of several establishments owned by two brothers whose commitment to quality is the hallmark of their success.

I had heard about Mac’s Shack and read reviews, but nothing compares with firsthand experience. Judging by the cars in the parking lot when they open their sushi bar at 3:00 in the afternoon, Mac’s is a local favorite. We arrived about 5:30, and there was already a wait for the coveted outside dining tables and some heavy action at the bar as well. We were seated at a nice table in the corner of the restaurant and marveled at how quickly the inside tables filled. By the time we left an hour or so later, all the tables were filled and the wait was considerable. Clearly the early bird gets the worm at Mac’s.

Our waitress was charming and affable, allowing us plenty of time to study the comprehensive dinner menu along with the extensive sushi bill of fare. I nursed a lovely glass of Pinot Noir while I perused the offerings, trying to make the perfect choices from both. I opted to start with the featured appetizer from the sushi menu, which was affectionately called a “hand grenade”. Two perfectly seared scallops topped with shrimp and then finished in the oven with dynamite sauce arrived at the table artfully arranged on a small rectangular platter. They were heavenly. Rich chose the Kamikaze roll, which was barbequed eel with avocado and cucumber and topped with spicy tuna. Though I did not taste it, I could tell from the expression on his face that it was a huge success.

For my entrée, I was wooed by the description of one of the nightly specials–handmade fettuccine with lobster and fennel bathed in a white cream sauce. Though I chose the appetizer portion, it was more than enough to satisfy my appetite due the richness of the sauce. Rich settled on the fish tacos, something we’ve both been wanting to try and it seemed fitting to start with the Mac’s Shack version, as all the fish served in the restaurant comes from Mac’s Seafood, it’s sister company. Served with salpicon slaw, sriracha aioli, avocado puree, and lime, the fish could not have been more fresh. If we hadn’t been out in public I’m convinced that Rich would have picked up his plate and licked it.

The entire meal was absolutely wonderful and we will most certainly return as often as our schedule allows. Open seasonally, Mac’s Shack is a full service restaurant with a sushi bar, raw bar and full liquor license. In addition to the wholesale seafood company, the brothers also operate three retail fish markets located throughout the lower Cape, Mac’s Seafood located on Wellfleet’s commercial pier, plus a full service catering division.

In our never-ending quest to find new places for our guests to explore, we meandered down to Wellfleet a couple of weeks ago to scope out the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Having recently joined Mass Audubon, we are on a mission to visit as many of their properties as is humanly possible for innkeepers on Cape Cod during the spring, summer, and fall.

What we found at Wellfleet Bay is 1,100 acres of conservation land consisting of salt marsh, a sandy beach, pine woods, freshwater pond, and a wide array of wildlife, including song and shorebirds. The Nature Center is a tribute to green technology, featuring passive solar heating, composting toilets, and graywater planter beds. The building hosts a variety of local plant and animal displays, plus two 700-gallon aquariums that captured Rich’s attention. I, of course, was drawn to the gift shop and was pleasantly surprised to see a healthy collection of natural history books for both adults and children, plus the usual selection of note cards, posters, jewelry, toys, and tools for exploring nature.

We chose the Goose Pond Trail for our first expedition of the sanctuary. We were told that it is the most popular trail and the best introduction to what lies within. The trail took us through pine and oak woods, along Goose Pond, and out to the edge of a salt marsh. It was quiet and peaceful, and easy to navigate…a gentle walk for a summer day. Along the way we spied an unusual bird wading in the pond. It is not something we have seen before, and we are hoping to have one of our birdwatcher friends identify it for us.

At the end of that trail we followed the Boardwalk Trail across the salt marsh to a sandy beach and the tidal flats of Cape Cod Bay. Everywhere we looked we saw fiddler crabs and periwinkles scavenging among the mud flats. The tide was incoming, so getting out to the beach itself was not possible due to the large channels that cut through the marsh and the swiftly running current. It was nearly deserted, though and I could envision a wonderfully private picnic someday when we were more prepared.

All-in-all our afternoon at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary was well-spent. We ended the day at Wellfleet Harbor, watching the pleasure boats returning from an afternoon at sea, and enjoying a soft-serve ice cream from Mac’s on the waterfront.