In their defense, Cobie's was not our original destination. Poor planning made this a second choice when post Labor Day hours shut us out of our first choice (Kate's). Convenient location and an article in a magazine had us thinking this would be a suitable replacement. The menu had all the Cape Cod standbys, and some local beers so we thought we were safe. My sister was jonesing for a piece of fried fish and we both had been craving onion rings.
She decided on a Cape Cod Reuben, and an order of onion rings. I planned on mooching off her rings, got a beer and clam chowder of my own.
First impression was that the beer was cold and tasty. Steep downhill after that.
The sandwich was on a ciabatta roll, which would have been fine if the fish could stand up to it. The "fish" was an envelope-thin slice of something that was buried inside a thin breading. It was sitting atop a bland, nondescript dollop of slaw. On top of the "fish" was a slice of Swiss (almost the same width as the "fish", and a "tartar sauce" that the ratio of mayonnaise to other ingredients was in the ballpark of 99:1. It would be hard for them to convince us that the "fish" was made on premises. Inexcusable on Cape Cod to serve such drivel.
Sandwich was mostly thrown away.
As a frequent visitor to Cape Cod for 50 years, we have come to crave the unique thin-sliced, subtly seasoned, golden crispy onion rings unique to this region. We have gotten such "rings to rule them all" all over the cape-some better than others but all top-notch and hard to find outside of cape cod (certainly in Virginia where I live).
I assured my sister that of course Cobie's would have such onion rings. The "clam shack" vibe led me to believe we were safe.
Nope.
The onion rings were a thicker variety, cooked well (golden brown) but hadn't been seasoned. After the devastation of discovering we were not to get the rings of our dreams, these had to be outstanding to make up for our disappointment. They were not. While they were far better than the sandwich, they were at best "ok" after a packet of salt was added. Our fault for assuming we would get the rings we wanted. Their fault for no seasoning. Sister thought for sure rings weren't made on premises although the menu called them "hand cut" so who knows.
Clam chowder was not remarkable in any way. As Cape Cod chowders go, it was quite disappointing. Very thick, white base with small bits of potato, limited clam. Had a faint butter taste which I love, but that was where the overall flavor ended.
Best part of the meal was the beer and the large cup of ketchup we were given which helped a lot with the onion rings.
While the onion rings and chowder were disappointing, there is no excuse at all for that sandwich. They should be ashamed of themselves for serving that.
Maybe the other stuff on the menu is better but we will not go back to check read more