WHO’S IN CHARGE Gloucester-born Doug Papows is passionate about helping to raise the level of the local culinary scene. He’s working farm-to-table magic as executive at the Pigeon Cove Tavern, newly renamed as part of the total renovation of the Emerson Inn in Rockport.
Local foodies know Papows since he opened Foreign Affairs in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Papows’s team includes sous chef Ameer Wahid (“He’s me on days off,’’ Papows said), dessert guru Anthony Burnham (“He’s obsessed with Italian desserts’’), and food and beverage manager Meghan Oakley (“She’s building a great list of local craft beers’’). The result is seasonal menus similar to what you’d find in Boston, with a lot of attention to each plate.
THE LOCALE Ah, the view. Whether you’re sitting inside the tavern or outside on the deck, amid the casual elegance of this historic inn, there’s the Atlantic Ocean, stretching out to the horizon. There’s no elaborate decor and no need. Mother Nature decides the motif.
Wide glass doors replacing the former windows create an unmatched indoor-outdoor alfresco setting. Diners have a choice of more than 100 seats, spread among the tavern, comfy couches in the bar/lounge area, Adirondack chairs on the rolling green lawn, and antique rocking chairs on the deck.
Not an overnight guest? Don’t worry. Pigeon Cove Tavern is open to the public for breakfast and dinner year-round.
ON THE MENU Chilled, raw oysters or meaty cocktail shrimp ($3 each) are a good start. Served with a choice of housemade cocktail sauce and mignonette (vinaigrette) on the side, the oysters had a full briny finish and tasted clean.
Entree choicesappear limited, until you realize that the rotating menu has something for everybody: fish, chicken, pork, seafood, duck, and beef. Vegetables announce the seasons, like the spiraling sautéed fiddlehead ferns accompanying pan-seared scallops ($27).
A light but filling dish, the large scallops from New Bedford were served with a spring quinoa grain punctuated with peas, fiddleheads, and slashes of citrus in orange de creme sauce and a citrus-flavored butter.
Truffled rangoons ($13 is a must-have appetizer, one of Papows’s own creations. The warm, bite-sized pockets melt in your mouth with subtle bursts of flavor. Wonton skins are filled with English peas, fresh thyme, chèvre cheese with charred green garlic aioli, and chive oil. Then the corners are pressed closed and lightly brushed with an egg wash. Hopefully, these never rotate off the menu.
The Sasquatch Smokehouse sampler ($20) covers a wooden platter with smoked salmon, cod, trout, and mussels. Balancing the smokey taste is house mustard and pickles, and crostini from Virgilio’s Italian Bakery in Gloucester. The bakery also supplies the ciabatta table bread and hamburger rolls.
The White Marble bone-in pork chop ($24) was a thick, juicy surprise, a tender slab of pork brined for 48 hours with a mildly salty-sweet solution of local honey, lemon, and fresh thyme that tenderized the meat. Charred green garlic butter, mildly hinting of onion, is melted on top. Buttery, silky mashed potatoes and a melange of vegetables finish the dish.
Faroe Island salmon ($24) — imported from the cluster of tiny islands between Iceland and Norway — was melt-in-your-mouth moist. It was paired with a homemade sweet potato hash and kale with white miso sauce.
We left, eagerly wondering where we’ll sit as Mother Nature rotates her seasons —storms! fall leaves! snow! — and what Papows will whip up next.
Pigeon Cove Tavern, One Cathedral Ave., Rockport. 978-546-6321,pigeoncovetavern.com.
Kathy Shiels Tully can be reached at kathy@kathyshielstully.com.
