Roasted Garlic circa 1989

It is summer in 1989 and I am walking west on Commercial St. one evening.  I pass a restaurant with the following written on a sign that runs the entire width of the buidling:

ANNA ANNA ANNA WORLD’S BEST FOOD

So of course I must have dinner there!  As soon as possible, because even if they are exaggerating—and I’m pretty sure they are—I want to go to a place that is confident enough to make this claim!  So the next night I go.  Provincetown is on the very tip of Cape Cod, and caters to a broad selection of vacationers. As a result the restaurant scene there has an equally broad range from the crappy fried food shacks to les trés èlegantes.  Based on the claim of ‘best food’ I was expecting something leaning towards the elegant end of the spectrum, so I was surprised to find a dining room with unmatched oilcloth, checkered tablecloths, mismatched salt and pepper shakers, and paper napkins.  

The menu sounded very promising, and I was still counting on an exceptional meal, and though the ambiance was rustic in the most unfashionable way imaginable, the food lived up to my expectations.  The appetizer I ordered was something I had never heard of before— roasted garlic with feta herb butter. I will remind you that this was 1989.  I lived in Manhattan, I ate at restaurants a lot, and I had never eaten, much less heard of roasted garlic!  I had to have it.   (The first mention of it on Epicurious comes from 1990. ) It was incredible, and when I returned home I recreated that dish to amazed and grateful friends, and started serving it at every possible opportunity.  I do not take credit for bringing it to the NY food scene, though I will say none of my friends had ever had it before.  

During the meal Anna herself came to the table to see how we were enjoying our meal. She was about 5’1″ with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, a gruff demeanor, and a gravelly voice that seemed more truck driver than chef, but she had already won me over with her great food. We told her how much we like the food, and her only reply was ‘Good, come back for breakfast’ then she moved on.  I can’t recall if I did go back for breakfast, but when I returned to Provincetown the next summer Anna Anna Anna was gone.

Roasted garlic is very easy to make, and the feta-herb butter easy as well.  Here is my current version of a now retro appetizer fully worthy of a come-back!