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

To help out with the holiday shopping, we have been posting Cape Cod gift ideas on our Twitter page. Every day at noon, we have been listing a great Cape Cod present to help you out with your shopping. We have posted 10 so far, and will do another 20. Follow along on Twitter, or wait 10 more days and we will update them here.

1) A wine club from Truro Vineyards.
2) A beautiful Cape Cod necklace.
3) An antique map of Cape Cod or one of the towns that make up the Cape.
4) Spa appointments at Sol Spa in Harwich or Le Petit Day Spa in Chatham.
5) Delicious jam and jelly made at Chatham Jam and Jelly shop.
6) Hire Bob Hessler to be your personal chef for a relaxing, romantic dinner at home.
7) An aerial tour of Cape Cod.
8) A Captain's House Inn mug - a great way to wake up in the morning.
9) Chocolate covered cranberries (or any thing else) from the Candy Manor.
10) A Nantucket Basket made on Nantucket.

Happy shopping.

Golf specials in Brewster

For those of you looking for a last minute getaway (yes we do have a few rooms still available in August) or those of you wondering what to do during your stay at the Captain's House Inn, the Captain's Golf Course has some great specials in the month of August. With two par 72 courses, the Captain's Golf Course offers some premier golfing here on the lower Cape. And with specials in August, there's never been a better time to golf at the Captain's.

Marketing 101

I was a marketing and entrepreneurial studies major in college. You would think I would have had a clue as to how to design a winning marketing plan. I didn’t. Instead, James and I put our heads together and decided common sense was the way to go. We had three months until we closed on the Carriage House – I used any free time I could steal to research website designers, internet marketing avenues, learn about Google rankings and Pay Per Click advertising, and design brochures and rate cards. Ultimately, our marketing plan was: KISS (keep it simple stupid). We decided the key was to get people in the door, deliver a high quality and memorable experience, and entice them back again and again. Basically, we did four things:

1. While the guest rooms were in little need of cosmetic improvement, they were in need of modernization. We perused the circulars in the paper for deals on TV’s, DVD players, a computer for the common area, coffee makers, hair dryers, and ironing boards and when we found good deals we bought six of everything. In addition, we dropped our rates slightly thereby enhancing our product and creating value.

2. We spent the bulk of our advertising dollars on creating a user friendly website. We paid for professional photographs of the guestrooms and implemented an invaluable online booking tool Basically, for way less money than print advertising, we were reaching potential guests all over the world at any time of day and saving man hours by allowing them to book online or at the very least educating guests before they call.

3. An informative website is great but it's useless if nobody can find it. We educated ourselves on internet marketing and took a three prong approach: creating a pay per click campaign, having our web designer properly design our site to rank high in organic searches, and joining pay per inclusion websites like bedandbreakfast, bbonline, lanierbb, and virtualcapecod where you basically pay to be part of their site and then they do the marketing for you. Over the years, we have found Acorn Internet Services to be a particularly good marketing resource for innkeepers.

4. We designed a $20 coupon mailer and distributed it to our guest list. The coupon was good for a $20 discount per night to be used by a certain date. It didn't work and was the last mass mailing we ever did. Aside from a handful of publications, we rarely do print advertising as our internet plan has paid for itself over and over.

While we did not rely on a professional consultant to help with our marketing and financial plan, there are professionals out there who specialize in helping aspiring and new innkeepers get up and running. With my marketing education, and James' years spent in the hotel business, we didn't outsource in this area, but for anyone starting from scratch, it might not be a bad investment.

In 2.5 years at the Carriage House, we tripled the occupancy rate but not without some struggles, lessons, and of course, laughs along the way…

English Holiday Afternoon Tea at the Captain's House Inn

With the holidays just around the corner, we look forward to serving our annual holiday afternoon tea menu soon. Relax in our decorated tea room and get in the holiday spirit. The menu features cucumber cups with smoked salmon pate, traditional Branston pickle with cheddar, mushroom pasties, mini English Triffle and a selection of desserts and scones (click here for the full menu). This menu is available every day from 3 to 5 pm, November 29th to December 29th, 2008 for $18.00 per person. For groups of six to 25, this festive menu is also available as a private luncheon, perfect for a holiday party. As always, year round luncheons are available every day, starting at 12:15pm, at $22.00 per person and reservations are required. Please visit our website or call us at 800.315.0728 with any questions or to make your reservation. Happy Holidays!

Kick Ass Clam Chowder?

While the name of the chowder at Joe's at the Barleyneck Inn is "Kick-Ass New England Clam Chowder," we are not sure that this chowder lives up to its name. While there were a decent amound of clams in this recipe, there wasn't much flavor and the consistency was much too thick for our taste. It was only slightly improved with a lot of salt and pepper. With a bit of seasoning this chowder might be Kick-Ass, but we just didn't think it was at this time.

On a positive note, the pub grub at Joe's is generally good - tasty thin crust pizza, juicy burgers, and a rib special that literally fell off the bone. And, October is a fantastic time to visit as Joe cleans out his wine cellar annually and all bottles are discounted at 50%! And this is no shabby wine list either - it has been a yearly recipient of the Wine Spectator Restaurant Award of Excellence since 2001.

Chowder's On At The Nun!

The Red Nun is a new-ish addition to the restaurant scene in Chatham. Over the last couple years it has gained a reputation as one of the few places I can honestly say still feels "local" even in the height of the tourist season. Its no frills decor bodes well with the locals and it doesn't hurt that the bar is always bustling, the flat screen TV's are tuned to the right games, and the pub style food hits the spot. The chowder is no exception - with heaps of big clams and chunks of "just right" potatoes, the Red Nun's chowder delivered on our expectations. We needed to add just a bit of salt and pepper to kick the flavor up a touch, but all in all, this was some of the better chowder we tasted. The best part, though? If you're in the mood for a pint of beer and a bowl of chowdah, the Nun is just the right atmosphere.

The Port's Chowder

Even though we think we found the best chowder on the Cape, the search continues (slowly). We recently visited the Port, in Harwichport, MA. The Port is a trendy restaurant with a bustling atmosphere and great bar scene. We haven't been in a while, but we were impressed. The chowder at the Port had a great consistancey, not too thick for us, but not watery. It had nice chunks of potatoes, lots of bacon, and a great taste (our waitress asked if we wanted fresh ground pepper, but we did not think that this one needed it). Our biggest complaint would be the lack of clams. We are guessing that the price of clams makes it difficult for restaurants to put bigger pieces in, but that was the only thing missing from this chowder. It is a great choice if you want to sit at the bar, have a drink, and talk to some of the locals.

The word is out

If you are reading our blog, you may have already stayed with us and experienced the Captain's House Inn. Along with our article in the Boston Globe in June, we have just been mentioned as one of the places to stay in Chatham Mass. by the Wall Street Journal (see article here) and the August issue of Travel and Leisure (see article here).

If you usually book year after year, book early. Remember we do not take deposits until January, so it can't hurt to in advance.

Captain's House Inn, Chatham, MA

The Captain's House Inn was recently highlighted in an article in the Boston Globe. Click here to read the full review.

Impudent Oyster Chowder

The Impudent Oyster is a landmark in Chatham – the ambiance is bustling and the tables are always full and hard to come by in the summer. The reason? Certainly people aren’t flocking here for the décor which is minimal and somewhat rustic. They come for the food which is consistently outstanding and draws customers back, sometimes multiple times during their vacation. With this in mind, we decided a sample of their chowder, or, as they call it “Yesterday’s Quahog Chowder,” was a must. We were surprised to find that while certainly tasty, this was not at the top of our list. The clams and potatoes were plentiful and the consistency was a bit on the creamier side, but we felt it was lacking a bit in the flavor department. With a bit of doctoring up with some salt and pepper, we did enjoy the chowder and do recommend it, particularly since the atmosphere lends itself to the chowder and beer image we all have in our minds.

Chatham Bars Inn Chowder

While one typically envisions their clam chowder dining experience as casually slurping down a bowl with a pint of beer and perhaps the Red Sox game broadcasting on the bar’s TV, we couldn’t complain about the water views and fine china that accompanied our bowl of chowder at the Chatham Bars Inn. This was certainly the most different chowder we have sampled so far. Rather than spoonfuls of chunky potatoes and tender clams, the Chatham Bars Inn version was more of a purée than chowder. Though far from what we expected, the flavors were fantastic while perhaps a bit salty for some. Sometimes, it’s best not to mess with a classic, but we think the Chatham Bars Inn did a fine job of putting a gourmet spin on a New England tradition.

Roo Bar Chowder

One might think that with a new baby our search for the perfect chowder would be put on the back burner. However, we are trying to expose Abigail to our favorite pastime of dining out well before she is actually able to enjoy anything off the menu. So, while she downed a few ounces of formula, we downed a couple cups of chowder. The Roo Bar's version is on the creamier side, but not "stick to your spoon (and ultimately your gut)" thick. While we would have preferred a few more clams, the ones that were there were cooked well and there were plenty of potatoes for a those who prefer a heartier bisque. Overall, we enjoyed the flavors, but personally prefer our chowder a little less creamy and a little more clammy!

Captain Linnell House chowder

For those of you who do not know us that well, the Captain Linnell House in Orleans, MA, is a special place for us. We were married there back in 2001 and go every year for our anniversary. This year when I opened the menu, at the top was Clam Chowder and the menu claimed it was the best. Upon arrival of their clam chowder, I received a wonderful aroma. It was nicely presented, with chives on top. No oyster crackers, but with their rolls, one does not need crackers. The chowder had a great consistency, not too thick, just the perfect creaminess. It tasted great and I was truly impressed. My biggest complaint would be the amount of clams. I would have been looking for more, but other than that, this may be the best (it is only our second entry, but it was good). The Captain Linnell House is not the type of place to go just for a bowl of chowder as it is a romantic sea captain's home, but if you are looking for good chowder and a nice meal, it is a great choice.

In Search of the Best Clam Chowder

Here in Chatham, Massachusetts, it's pronounced "chowdah," but however you pronounce it, one thing is for sure - tourists and locals alike are constantly on the prowl for the best bowl around. Join us as we embark on our own mission to find the tastiest- then go try for yourself when you visit us on your next Cape Cod vacation.

Our first stop...the infamous Chatham Squire. A favorite New England eatery and bar, those seeking comfort food in a casual setting will find it here. Chock full of clams and tender potatoes, the Squire's chowdah recipe didn't disappoint. The pepper flavor, while not too strong, was distinct, and the clams were cooked to perfection. Our only complaint? Perhaps it could have been a bit thicker in consistency, but for those who don't like their chowdah too creamy, this could be the chowdah for you.