Ocean House Open for the Season

While March always feels like the longest month of the year, particularly for us New Englanders who have a severe case of spring fever and know warm weather is a good month away, the month always holds a sense of excitement and anticipation as restaurants begin to open for the season. Despite the fact that the Cape is still quiet in March, restaurateurs tend to open their doors several weeks before the crowds flock over the bridge, allowing them time to fine tune their menus and service during the slower pace.

On Wednesday, March 10th (which also happens to be my birthday), the Ocean House Restaurant in Dennis opened for the season and James and I were lucky enough to dine at a coveted window table. We hadn’t been to the Ocean House in about five years, but left feeling much the same we had when we had been previously. The food was exceptional, the acoustics were a bit loud, and the view was lovely. But let me start from the beginning.

During the shoulder season, the Ocean House offers a three course price fixed menu nightly for $26. For each course, there is a large range of choices and I would be surprised if ordering off the regular menu made any difference on portion size. We started with filet mignon lettuce wraps and vegetarian spring rolls, both beautifully presented, and more importantly fresh and tasty. I moved on to a gourmet thin crust pizza topped with rosemary chicken breast, spinach, mushrooms, and goat cheese – yum - and James enjoyed pork tenderloin with barbequed white beans and shallot crackling. Dessert was the only disappointment – while I licked my chocolate pudding cake off the plate, James’ blueberry buckle was little more than a mediocre blueberry muffin.

The service was a tad rushed – from start to finish, we were there exactly one hour, which, for three courses (and a rare opportunity to linger over a child-free meal), we felt the pace could have been a bit more leisurely. Still, it was opening night, and this is one of the minor glitches that we’re sure will be addressed as the season progresses.

The view from our window seat, even after sunset was lovely with spotlights highlighting the Nantucket Sound. We highly recommend requesting a window seat – while the other tables are adequate, housed in a wood paneled open dining room with exposed brick fireplace leading to the bar, they pale in comparison to the water views.

The Ocean House is currently opened for dinner Wednesday through Sunday and reservations are suggested. Dessert disappointment and pace aside, for exceptional food and gorgeous views, this is one restaurant we will recommend and return to again.

Cape Cod Gift Ideas Part III

Here is our final installment of Cape Cod gift ideas that we have been posting every day on Twitter.

Idea # 21 - The book Still Alice written by Cape Cod author Lisa Genova.
Idea #22 - Cards from Cape Card.
Idea # 23 - A growler of beer (or a shirt or a hat) from Cape Cod Beer .
Idea #24 - A Cape Cod Hammock.
Idea #25 - A tie from Vineyard Vines .
Idea #26 - The Last Best League - a book about the Cape Cod Baseball League - order from Where the Sidewalk Ends.
Idea #27 - Baby Quilt hand made on Cape Cod .
Idea #28 - A Cape Cod weathervane.
Idea #29 - Community Cookbook created by the Chatham Women's Club - Peggy at 508-348-1938.
Idea #30 - Maybe the best of them all - a gift certificate to the Captain's House Inn.

We hope you all have a Happy Holiday!

Cape Cod Gift Ideas Part II

For those of you following us on Twitter, we now have posted twenty great Cape Cod gift ideas to help you with your holiday shopping. Over the next ten days, we will post ten more. You can learn about them on Twitter every day at noon, or we will post them here in ten days.

Idea # 11 - A sand snowflake ornament from your favorite Cape Cod Beach.
Idea #12 - A carved house number sign from the Chatham Sign Shop.
Idea #13 - A glass plate (or bowl) from Sydenstrickers.
Idea #14 - Gourmet oil and vinegar from Gustare - one of our favorites is the Cinnamon Pear Balsamic.
Idea # 15 - A Captain's House Inn robe.
Idea # 16 - A gift certifcate to Buca's - one of our favorite year round restaurants.
Idea #17 - A Cape Cod photograph from Jon Vaughan - the Peaked Hills is one of our favorites.
Idea # 18 - A subscription to Cape Cod Life Magazine.
Idea #19 - A "Dogs of Cape Cod" 2010 calendar.
Idea #20 - A Cape Cod doormat.

Captains House Inn Receives 23rd Consecutive AAA Four Diamond Award

We are pleased to announce that for the 23rd consecutive year, the Captains House Inn in Chatham, Massachusetts received the AAA four diamond award. Each year, 65 full time tourism editors evaluate over 58,000 hotels and restaurants. Of those, only about 3% are awarded the coveted four diamond award.

We are anonymously inspected annually, and must meet certain criteria in order to maintain our four diamond status which includes the entire booking process straight through to the guest’s check-out. For example, the phone must be answered in less than three rings and we must use the guest’s name with frequency. On check-in, assistance with luggage must be provided, and throughout the guest’s stay, excellent service must be adhered to at all times. Finally, the inspector evaluates the cleanliness, general comfort level, and maintenance of the inn. We believe the reason we continue to receive the award year after year is that we treat every guest as if he or she was a AAA inspector. This way, when the actual inspector reveals his identity, we are not caught off guard and wondering if we did everything properly – we are always confident that we did.

To experience our four diamond facilities and service for yourself, click here to book online now.