To find out what dad might want for Father's Day, we looked at polls conducted over the past five years.
First on many lists is simple acknowledgement. Make a phone call or send a card and dad likely will be thrilled.
But a close second is to have a chore-free day with no responsibilities.
So instead of having Dad man the grill on his special day, werecommend you take him out for, say, barbecue, burgers and beer. And, as a bonus, we are including details of the Cousins Maine Lobster Food Truck, which launches on Cape Cod on Father's Day weekend.
From the archives:Holy smokes: Poll results show Cape Cod's top 5 BBQ restaurants
Here are a few suggestions for Cape places that fit the bill:
Off The Grid
91 Route 6A, Sandwich, 508-241-8684,https://www.offthegridcapecod.com/
"Father's Day is very busy for us; it always has been," saidChelsea Stathopoulos, who manages the family business Off The Grid at Hillport Gallery, a combination of a food truck, kitchen trailer, bar and gallery.
Stathopoulos said two of the most popular items at the food truck/mobile kitchen are the Pig Lebowski,comprised of "house smoked pulled pork with our painkiller BBQ sauce, pickle fries, coleslaw on a brioche bun," according to the menu, and Mac Daddy described as a "5-ounce burger patty with American cheese, bacon, grilled mac & cheese, truffle aioli and scallions on a brioche bun."
Poll results:3 Cape Cod food trucks worth visiting
Stathopoulos said Off The Grid is open noon to 8 p.m. on Father's Day and there is often a wait, with the best time to come being 3-6 p.m. There is a full bar and diners can enjoy a drink while waiting for their food. Off The Grid serves Wormtown on tap and recently added Cape Cod Beer's summer ale, There are also co*cktails including a signature mai tai and a traditional painkiller, a rum punch that got its start in the U.S. Virgin Islands where Off The Grid got its start.
Graham Hempstead will be playing live music on Father's Day, starting at 4 p.m. The food truck/restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating and is both family-friendly and dog-friendly for dogs that are leashed.
Doggz & Hoggz
781 Main St., Falmouth,508-548-3663, info.orders@doggzhoggz.com\\,https://www.doggzhoggz.com/,opens Sunday at 11 a.m,https://www.doggzhoggz.com/
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Three or four days a week in the busy summer,the back of Doggz & Hoggz smells of the sweetoak and apple wood hardwoods used for smoking. All the meats get a dry rub that is sweet and tangy. The scent and the heat permeate the smokehouse at the back of thesmall restaurant. But it is still cool at the old-fashioned soda fountainand tables.
Smoking in the back are pulled pork, quarter chickens, ribs and more. Out front co-owner Michael Bullard is grilling all-beef hot dogs with all the fixings and burgers. Doggz & Hoggz makes its own low-sugar barbecue sauce and a dozen other condiments for a menu that is all about the meat.
Cleat & Anchor
243 Lower County Road, Dennis Port,508-258-0175;https://www.cleatandanchor.com/, 4 to 10 p.m. daily, plus weekend brunch noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays,https://www.cleatandanchor.com/
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Barbecue is about a third of the menu here, with some interesting choices starting with a smoked vegetable antipasto ($12.95). There is also smoked jerk chicken ($21.95) and a $32.95 barbeque sampler platter with1/4 Rack St. Louis Ribs, half-pound smoked wings, house-made sausage, signature BBQ sauce.
JP's Twisted BBQ
1336 Phinneys Lane, Hyannis (at Cape Cod Beer),774-994-4492;https://capecodbeer.com/event/take-out-thursdays-with-jps-twisted-bbq/
Chef Jay Powell was voted sixth best in the world at theWorld Food Championships in Texasin November 2021 for dishes including Jack Daniels Lobster. Although that is not on the menu regularly, JP's food truck at Cape Cod Beer in Hyannis provides a wide range of barbecue and comfort foods.
One of Powell’s first interactions with Cape Cod Beer came in 2019 at a food festival inHyannis, where he was cooking barbecue and the brewery was selling beer.
“I told them ‘Give me some beer. I will put it in barbecue sauce and then send people over to you to buy the beer,’” he told the Cape Cod Times inMarch. “It worked great. They had to go back to the brewery (for more beer) four times.”
That symbiosis is still at work, as Powell creates dishes that not only pair well with different varieties of Cape Cod Beer, but also uses the local brew as an ingredient. So far, JP’s makes a mustard (“the same as you would find in Germany,” Powell says) and a barbecue sauce.
As for drinking, Cape Cod Beer offers 20 varieties, including the Big DIPA, a double IPA and Fur Missile.
JD's Burger Co & Sushi
280 Route 130 (Heritage Park), Sandwich,774-413-5701;https://www.jdsburgercompany.com/
If Dad prefers a whiskey with his burger, JD's Burger Co. & Sushi is the place. JD’s features 75 to 100 bottles of whiskey from around the world, including the $50-per-shot Pappy Van Winkle at the upper end. The selection makes sense: JD stands for Jack Daniels.
JD's, which has grown from one building to three, is run by Jack and Kristie Neal and their daughter MacKenzie.
The burgers are among the most popular items, the Neals say, especially the Bacon Mac and Cheese ($14.99) variety with macaroni and cheese piled on top, along with Applewood bacon.
Cape Cod Restaurants:Burgers and sushi share a menu at JD's
But the family added sushi during the pandemic, hiring three sushi chefs from New York City to make sushi, includingthe Triple A vegetable roll featuring apple, avocado and asparagus with mango sauce.
If you would like to buy a drink for a veteran, police officer, firefighter or other emergency services workers, you can leave a cash donation for the "pour it forward" program. Each gift is pinned to the bar wall and used to buy a drink or meal for the next person in uniform.
Cousins MaineLobsterFoodTruck
https://www.cousinsmainelobster.com/
The food truck co-founded by Todd Nelson and his family (wife Irene, along with their children Tori, Tara, and TJ) and Jim Tselikis is opening a second truck on Cape Cod and launching it during Father's Day weekend.
Thetruck’s menu will include seafood classics with favorites including Cousins MaineLobster’s signaturelobsterroll, served on a New England roll, as well as clam chowder, andlobstergrilled cheese. There will also be make-your-own-lobster-roll kits on sale to take home.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, the Cousins truck will be atBass River / Smugglers Beach on South Shore Drive in Yarmouth.
From 5 to 8 p.m., the truck will be atCopeland Chevrolet and Subaru, 22 Ridgewood Ave., Hyannis as a preview for the Father's Day Car Show.
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From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, the lobster truck will be back at Smuggler's Beach and from 3 to 7 p.m. at Mocean Surf Shop and Cape Cod Creamery, 708 Main St., Dennis.
The inaugural visit wraps up Sunday, from noon to 6 p.m., just over the bridge at Mayflower Brewing, 12 Resnick Road, #3, Plymouth.
