WE’RE feeling a little adventurous this week, and so our pages come to you via Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The ferry docks — there’s still a little bit of wobble being experienced, and the double dose of Dramamine seems still to be working its way through the system. The strong breeze from both sides of the dock however, coupled with the not-so-subtle smell of the sea wakes us up fully. Lunch is at Clem and Ursie’s Restaurant and Market located at 85-87 Shank Painter Rd, Provincetown, MA.

It’s cosy inside Clem and Ursie’s. Picture a beach atmosphere not too unlike Tobago or Negril, and you should get the general idea and vibe. Patrons are already tucking in, and in the deli section, laden with treasures from the sea: Mussels, crabs, lobster, and oysters; shoppers seem unable to resist the fresh catch.

We settle on comfy benches, and our hosts provide baskets of home-made cornbread and warm mozzarelli sticks. A request for a cup of mint tea reveals actual mint (bush) in a cup. A glance at the chalk-written menu board reveals Jamaican sweet potato pudding. With fresh mint and sweet potato, Jamaicans must be at Cape Cod! We listen keenly to the voices. There’s no disputing the accents coming out of the kitchen. Clem, the owner, smiles, “We have 20 Jamaicans on staff at this restaurant. We would not be able to operate were it not for them.” This is no idle boast, Jamaicans are all over the establishment and in the kitchen. Andrew Hyman and Ovis Stewart are busy sprinkling the final ingredients into the New England clam chowder and preparing a lazy lobster scampi. Both are graduates of the Heart Training School at Whitehouse, Westmoreland and live on the Cape for some seven months out of each year.

Our eyes are now back on the menu, and we listen keenly as Clem Siva tells the story of how it all began. There’s a sparkle in his eyes, and his hands move a lot as he tells Thursday Food the story of a family originally from the Azores; his dad Clem, Snr, who worked for 25 years as a fisherman (and who by the way, still helps to pick the daily catch down at the pier). Clem has been in the business for over 30 years, and is in it with little sister Debra, who like her big brother, displays a love for Cape Cod life, people, and good food.

“The restaurant caters to all,” says Clem and we are popular because we serve the freshest, the best, and great portions. Our food is made from scratch. There are no pretensions here, even though many celebs have broken bread at these tables: Ben Affleck’s mother, Kevin Bacon, Sally Jesse Raphael, Robert Pinsky (USA poet laureate), Debra Messing, and Dustin Hoffman, to name a few. He forgets to add that his aura is as relaxing as the comfort fare.

The dilemma is what to eat. A member of the group finally fulfils a life-long desire to eat clam chowder at Cape Cod. He’s encouraged by fellow diner Boss, to break his saltine biscuits into the soup. He complies; it’s all good. We decide on baked, stuffed lazy lobster, lazy lobster scampi over portabella mushrooms, and Lobster Newburg. As we tuck into the super generous portions we remember Clem’s words: “We will not compromise on the quality of food we serve. Our affiliations with local fishermen guarantee that we get the first catch, the top of the catch. Dealing with smaller boats, and local fishermen who go out on day boats gives us a real connection to the fish and its quality. We know not only where our fish comes from but who’s catching it.”

— Travel to Boston was courtesy of Air Jamaica.