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Tony Pasquale and Terra Luna

Cape Cod Life  /  July 2019 / , ,

Writer: Rob Conery / Photographer: Josh Shortsleeve 

Tony Pasquale and Terra Luna

130px

Cape Cod Life  /  July 2019 / , ,

Writer: Rob Conery / Photographer: Josh Shortsleeve 

SING FOR YOUR SUPPER

Pasquale’s culinary and musical talents alchemize at Terra Luna, adding to an atmosphere of uncommon grace. There is always music playing in the background, from a song list he personally curates, and occasionally a live band—Terra Luna hosted shows by the Spampinato Brothers and the Greenheads in the summer of 2018. Visiting musicians are sometimes encouraged to “sing for their supper.” Case in point: One summer evening, The Ticks, strolling among the tables and filling the air with acoustic music, were mightily rewarded with a chef’s choice, tour-de-force, multi-course feast.  

Chandler Travis cites the “sing for your supper” nights as his personal favorite, with high marks for the blackberry polenta desert, while praising the “home-y and intimate feel of the place.” All of this—the food, the atmosphere, the generosity of spirit—make for a special series of neural stimuli that contribute to a palpable sense of place—that ephemeral and rewarding “be here now” feeling.  

In a demanding, competitive field with a high burnout rate, Pasquale’s enthusiasm is undiminished—his calm control an attribute as valuable as any recipe. His years behind the line have offered a participant’s view of changes in the industry. When he started out, he says, “There was no such thing as a celebrity chef; there wasn’t even the Food Network yet.” Pasquale never met the late Anthony Bourdain (who also paid his dues in kitchens around Provincetown), but he says he admired the man for his “big influence on what the [chef] lifestyle could be like.”  

Rob Conery

Rob Conery writes a weekly fishing column for Cape Cod Times. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, he splits time between a hobo camp in western Maine and his native Cape Cod where he has spent 45 consecutive summers walking distance to Lewis Bay. He has written many articles for Cape Cod LIFE including a recent piece on Cape Cod and Islands divers, and his novel Winterland is available on Strawberry Books.