It’s been a regular ritual to visit Provincetown once a year with a friend. We drive out separately and stay for a few nights. We each do our own thing during the day; the highlights are dinners together.

Many years ago, on our first visit, husband Eric and I ate at Jimmy’s Hideaway on Commercial Street. It was recommended to Eric by the nice folks he was interviewing at Cape Air in Hyannis.

It was busy at Jimmy’s and we couldn’t get a table, but there were a few seats open at the small bar. We each had a bone-in filet mignon topped with sliced fresh summer-ripe cherry tomatoes in a balsamic glaze. I’d never seen bone-in filet before, so it was a novelty, as well as good as a filet gets.

Now if I find a nice-looking bone-in filet, I’ll pick it up. It always reminds me of that visit where we chatted with the bartender and everyone else around us.

That was our introduction to Provincetown.

Our friend has been visiting Ciro & Sal’s Northern Italian restaurant just off Commercial Street for many years. It’s got a subterranean dining room that feels like a wine cellar. There are white tablecloths, cozy seating and a fireplace and outdoors, garden dining.

We started meeting annually in Provincetown and always stayed two nights, once with dinner at Jimmy’s and once at Ciro & Sal’s.

We travel farther afield for daytime activities. Our friend likes the art galleries — and there are plenty on the Cape. We like museums, and found a great exhibit once at the Museum of World War II in Natick. They had two of Alan Turing’s Enigma Machines and we learned about hunting German U-boats lurking along the East Coast.

We like to stay at the Provincetown Inn, in one of the small rooms with a view of the ocean. On this visit, the breakfast was unavailable so we went to a restaurant recommended by the desk clerk.

The first thing you need to know if you’re going to visit Provincetown is that there is absolutely nowhere to park your car. Find a pay lot and walk from there. We leave our car at the hotel unless we’re going elsewhere, such as Race Point Beach or the Beech Forest Trail for birdwatching.

The second thing to know is dress in layers. It was 30 degrees colder there, with a light mist and stiff breeze.

Off we walked the first chilly morning to find Liz’s. And did we get lucky: We had a fantastic meal and a wonderful visit with friendly people.

Liz’s Cafe is on Bradford Street. You can’t miss the yellow awning on the small, wood-framed house, and matching umbrellas on the brick patio.

Its full name is Liz’s Cafe Anybody’s Bar. It’s a historic building that housed a restaurant called Tips for Tops’n, then Anybody’s Market.

This time of year they’re open for breakfast and lunch six days (closed Tuesday) and for dinner every day. So the hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and they reopen  for dinner at 5 until 9 or 9:30 p.m.

One reason we love Provincetown is because the people here are friendly and kind to everyone, even tourists. At Liz’s Cafe, they are especially so.

The place is simply and smartly decorated, painted in light colors with lots of windows, a tin ceiling, wood-topped tables and your more genuine nautical décor — the bar is fashioned from the hull of a wooden boat.

Every table was full but a four-top. Of course we could sit there, and we only had to wait a minute for the server to set it up.

The breakfast menu has what you’d expect, such as eggs, omelets, pancakes and French toast. In a tribute to the Portuguese sailors who came to Provincetown to work on U.S. ships, the cafe offers flippers — fried dough served with maple syrup, butter and powdered sugar.

You’ll find Portuguese kale soup and Portuguese mussels on the dinner menu. So we had a history lesson, too.

The venerable Provincetown Portuguese Bakery on Commercial Street, opened in 1936, was closed when we visited. We’ll be sure to go next time.

Egg combos are a throwback to the old Tips for Tops’n, such as the No. 4 (two eggs, toast, bacon, ham or sausage, home fries).

We passed on the raspberry mimosas and peach Bellinis (both $11).

Eric ordered the eggs Benedict with smoked salmon ($17) and said it was the best he’s ever had. English muffins can turn into hockey pucks when toasted, but Liz’s presents a toasted muffin that is still soft and easy to cut.

Generous slices of Norwegian smoked salmon were folded onto the cooperative muffin, with creamy Hollandaise sauce over perfectly poached eggs.

He subbed a side of fresh fruit for the hash browns.

When I placed my order for chicken and waffles ($15) the server straightened a bit, his pencil frozen over the little pad, and looked at me intently. “Amazing,” he said. It was kind of weird.

I got it, though, when they arrived. They were amazing. The waffle was thick and extra-large and fragrant from vanilla. I liked the golf-ball-sized butter ball that sat on the waffle near the little pitcher of real maple syrup.

Perched upright on the waffle were three large pieces of fried chicken, bone-in. One was a drumstick, the others were two halves of a plump, bone-in chicken breast. It looked mouth-watering, but I wondered how I was going to eat it.

Further examination revealed the white meat pieces were easy to slice. I made my way through one half of moist chicken breast, savoring the crunchy cornmeal crust.

Meanwhile, the heat from the waffle did its job on the butter, and I drizzled the precious maple syrup judiciously.

I ate the white meat chicken on its own, with lots of Maldon sea salt I keep stashed in my purse, but eventually there was some wonderful mingling of sweet and savory.

It was very satisfying and I was getting full. Eric, who couldn’t eat another bite after his Benedict, finished off the waffle after I offered him a taste.

Happily, we had a fridge in our room so I could take home leftovers. I hate to leave them behind, especially such good ones.

Tea and coffee were hot, with free refills. We had great, friendly service.

After our meal, one of the restaurant’s denizens sat down with us and told us the story of how the Coast Guard Air Station on Cape Cod offered the boat with the damaged hull on one side for use at the restaurant. He also offered his life story, which was nice to hear.

We made annual visits to Provincetown every year in the fall until the pandemic hit. This was our first visit back, but we won’t wait until next year; this time we’re going back again in October. Now breakfast at Liz’s will be a tradition, too.

Liz’s Cafe Anybody’s Bar

WHERE: 31 Bradford St., Provincetown; 508-413-9131; lizscafeptown.com

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday to Monday; 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

HOW MUCH: $49.22 with tax and before tip

MORE INFO: All major credit cards. Reservations accepted for dinner on RESY.com.

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