THE CRANBERRY GOOSE/MOOSE
Address: 43 Route 6A, Yarmouth Port
Years Active: 1950–1992
Route 6A runs along the north side of Cape Cod from Sandwich through Orleans and again for a bit in Provincetown. The road is known for traveling through the quaint tree-lined villages of the Cape. It is dotted with historic homes and some fabulous restaurants. In Yarmouth Port, this is particularly evident. The historic sea captains’ homes, shops and restaurants are part of what gives this village its charm. One such restaurant gave visitors and locals alike all of the scenic views and delicious food they could hope for in its forty years in service. This eatery would be known by two names: Cranberry Goose and, later, Cranberry Moose.
The Cranberry Goose opened in 1950 on a curve at 43 Route 6A in Yarmouth Port. Setting up shop in a historic home, the restaurant began under the ownership of Dorothea and Castenzio Fiorenza. The couple summered on Cape Cod for years while living in New York City. Eventually, the call of the Cape was too much, and they decided to make it their home.
The historic home turned restaurant was an immediate hit with its interior of cranberry-colored walls, subtle lighting and rustic country cooking. The exterior was also cranberry-colored, with the side of the building draped in a trumpet vine. The driveway and parking lot was made up of pea stone, allowing each vehicle to softly crunch its way onto the property. The restaurant was shaded by trees and the air in the parking lot filled with the aromas of what was being prepared just on the other side of the kitchen walls. Customers at Cranberry Goose were enthralled before even entering the establishment.
The Fiorenzas retained ownership of the Goose for thirty years. The seasonal restaurant maintained a high level of quality, relying on freshness and creativity. This creativity was validated when Castenzio penned a cookbook in 1966 called Of Passion and Fiddlesticks. This book featured many recipes Cranberry Goose was known for at that time and today serves as a time capsule of how the restaurant was run in its first two decades.
Cranberry Goose gained a measure of notoriety when it hired Reverse Freedom Rider David Harris in 1962. Harris, from Little Rock, Arkansas, came to the Cape on a one-way bus ticket financed by the Segregationist Capital Citizens Council. These “reverse freedom rides” were a hoax perpetrated by southern segregationists trying to rid the South of African Americans with false promises of high-paying jobs waiting for them in cities like Chicago, Cleveland and New York. Sadly, most of those sent north did not find good jobs. The Fiorenzas were one of the few to take a chance and hired David Harris to work in their kitchen.
Dorothea and Castenzio sold their beloved Cranberry Goose in 1980. It was at this point that it would begin an equally impressive second chapter.
The Goose was purchased by Tom Rolland and Jerry Finegold, who would come to be known as “Tom and Jerry.” Their first order of business in making the establishment their own was to change the name from Cranberry Goose to Cranberry Moose. “The Moose,” as it would be affectionately known, gained a measure of acclaim when it commissioned famed writer and illustrator Edward Gorey to create the design of the restaurant’s new menu.
Gorey had gained notoriety from the 1950s through the 1970s in New York City. In 1979, he purchased a home not far from the restaurant on Strawberry Lane; it would go on to become a museum dedicated to his life and work after his death in 2000. In 1980, Gorey illustrated the opening credits to the PBS show Mystery!, hosted by Vincent Price. The menu, which featured a Moose waiter in the classic Gorey Victorian style, gave the Cranberry Moose a new level of cachet.
The new owners prided themselves on the landscape of the exterior and interior design of the establishment. Ed Woelfle, who was the executive chef at Cranberry Moose from 1983 to 1987, remembers their motto being “Flowers, Food, and Friends.” The beautiful floral arrangements were lovingly cared for by gardener Joe Crafey, but they were only part of the charm of the Moose. Tom and Jerry were gracious hosts, making each customer feel warmly welcome to the point that several of them had standing reservations for every Friday and Saturday night throughout the summers.
The menu was simple but exquisite. It began with sourdough bread freshly baked by Katie Tobey. Woelfle prepared such favorites as roast duck, rack of lamb and filet of beef with Rhode Island red wine from the Sakonnet Vineyard in Little Compton, Rhode Island. These dishes would all be garnished with herbs from the garden outside. Dessert was legendary. One could partake in either the cranberry-apple mousse or the amazing cheesecake. These were homemade by Martha Scharffe. She and her husband, Walter, used to own the Cummaquid Inn, located at 2 Route 6A in Yarmouth Port. As of 2016, it is known as Anthony’s Cummaquid Inn. Chef Woelfle remains grateful to this day that Scharffe gave him her cheesecake recipe, as he still has people coming to him to this day remarking on it being the best they had ever had.
Dinner in the three dining rooms was spectacular thanks to the complete effort of the staff and owners. The Yarmouth Port Room was smallest and sat about twelve people; the Tulip Room was white and had pencil drawings of tulips on the walls; and the Gallery featured local art, due to the fact that Tom Rolland was an artist himself. The décor in that dining room was constantly changing.
In 1988, Tom and Jerry sold the Cranberry Moose to Marietta Bombardieri, who had previously owned the spectacular Neptune Room in the Barnstable Airport as well as La Cipolina on Route 6A in Yarmouth Port. Bombardieri kept the Moose running for a few more years, adding touches like live music, a prix fixe menu during the fall and a Mediterranean touch on the menu. In 1992, she changed the name of the restaurant to Abbicci, and the cranberry façade became golden. The restaurant would remain unchanged until 2008, when it became known as Lyric. As of 2016, the historic building at 43 Route 6A in Yarmouth Port is occupied by Primavera Ristorante.