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Lorraine’s is a Mexican restaurant located on Commercial Street in the West End of Ptown.  I’ve been coming here for more than a decade and can remember when they were located deep in the East End where the Mews is now located. However, I tend to eat at Lorraine’s less frequently, because while I genuinely enjoy the food, I cannot say the same about the dining experience or the service.

Let’s start with the food, which is the real reason to visit.  The menu has several mouth watering starters ranging from Chile Relleno de Queso for $8.50 to the most expensive option, Lobster & Shrimp Cerviche for $14.50. The main dishes all come with ample portions, smell as good as they look and offer a bit of heat. Dishes range in price from $20 – $28.  On this visit we opted to have the Lobster & Shrimp Fajitas $23.50 and the Blackened Tuna Tacos $21.00 as shown below.

Both meals were cooked perfectly.  The orange ginger yogurt sauce and crisp cabbage in my taco added a sweetish sort of flavoring and crunchy texture to the blackened tuna that made my heart skip a beat.

Click on photos to enlarge

Food aside, dining at Lorraine’s comes at a price and its not the kind that hits your wallet.  This is one of only a few restaurants I can think of without outside dining or a view.  Adding to those detractors, each time we visit its roasting hot and the service is problematic.  Lest you think me unkind, I’ll share two examples from our most recent visit.

– It took more than 15 minutes for our two drinks (iced tea and a beer) to arrive.  Although the restaurant was still full many tables had opened and many more were signing bills rather than ordering or eating and our waiter didn’t appear particularly busy.

– One of our two orders had a substitution because of food allergies, but was delivered without the substition.  When we asked if the item could be removed; the waitresses responded “I told the kitchen“.  We sat there listening to her, expecting she’d take the plate back, but she didn’t. So after an uncomfortable few seconds my dining companion said something to the effect of, “Yes, but would you please bring this back?” She did but she didn’t seem very happy about the return trip.

I suppose my review is best summed up with this advice – give Lorraine’s a try if you like Mexican and the menu appeals to you but assume service will be problematic and if you go in the summer, barely dress to avoid sweating to death.

Lorraine’s is located at 133 Commercial Street / (508) 487-6074.

Local 186 is Provincetown’s best restaurant to grab a burger.  The new restaurant has now been open for a few months and the staff has firmly hit their stride, providing attentive service in a great setting regardless of where you choose to eat on their street side patio, large front deck or indoors.

Local 186 is open for lunch and dinner 7-days a week.  If there is a wait for a table, check out their bar on the first floor and grab a drink.  We were lucky on our most recent visit and snagged a table on the patio when we walked up to have dinner on the 4th of July.  We were hungry so we started with the restaurant’s Grilled Caesar Salad for $12 and two sides, Fried Artichoke Hearts  and Fried Avocado – each $7. The menu consists of ten house burgers including The Old-Fashioned which has bacon and cheddar; The Big-D, a Kobe beef burger with sauteed onions and blue cheese; and The Surf & Turf also with Kobe beef as well as a lump of butter poached lobster.  However, if none of the options appeal you are encouraged to make your own burger from a large selection of traditional and not so traditional ingredients.

For our dinner we opted for The Frenchie an 80z burger topped with onions, smoked gruyere and au jus for dipping $15 and  The El Guapo which comes with fried avocado and chipotle aioli $15. 

If you are not a burger lover this is definitely not the place for you, but if the idea of having a grilled burger for lunch or dinner appeals, give Local 186 a try. I also recommend the house beer which is a light lager style brew made especially for the restaurant.