A Couple of Cape Codders

BILL
and DENISE ATWOOD
• 54/51 • Chef/Owners • The Red Pheasant,
Dennis, MA

FIRST
DAYS BILL
Dad opened his own ‘Silk City’ diner in 1952, then another
restaurant, then worked at Tuxedo Park Country Club, where
at 16 I’d come in and flip steaks at cookouts. I snitched on
his sous-chef, who was getting plastered on warm vermouth.
Dad wanted me to come to The Red Pheasant in 1977; I came a
year later as bartender. When Dad took off on vacation, I
watched this sous-chef cut corners with canned newburg sauce
and carve whopping 1-pound swordfish steaks. We had a
discussion, and parted ways. When Dad came back, I’d taken
over as chef, but I gave him back the apron.

OLD CAPE
FOOD BILL
We were trying to build a business, and that was no way to
do it. Back then, the Cape had no linen tablecloths, except
[the old] Chillingsworth, The Daniel Webster, The
Paddock, and Christopher Ryder House. It was all oilcloth
and simple fare. We served hamburgers and chopped sirloin
[Salisbury’] steaks and ham steaks.
DENISE
We served lunch and dinner then; the only item that’s been
stable for 29 years has been Sole Meuniere. Some of our
regulars cry if we take it off! BILL
We took a chance back then serving Veal Oscar and Shrimp
Dijon.

EARLY
BONDING BILL Brian
Oxley of Ruby Wines helped us with our first very simple
wine lists. The Rubins were good to us. We were trying to
migrate from carafes to a dozen cork-finished bottles.
DENISE
Bruce Gibson of Harwich Spirit Shop used to run all-weekend
wine tastings. BILL
We’d taste mostly French wines because California didn’t
have it together yet. DENISE Except for a few like Mirassou
and Burgess Cellars. We’ve had three tasting dinners led by
Tom Burgess [last in 3/O5]. His wines are as
important to him as our food is to us and we have become
friends. Great food, great wine, great friends – what more
is there?

FIRST
WINTER BLUES BILL
My first winter here I went to a Burgess tasting at Carolina
and bought $15OO of Tom’s wines. By January, there was
almost no business. “Dad?” I asked “What did we do wrong?”
He walked me out to 6A and had me count cars after dark –
two an hour. I called Carmine Martignetti and said, “I don’t
have that $15OO right now. How about I pay you a couple of
hundred a week?” “I’m good with that,” said Carmine. “You’re
not making me chase you.” Business back then was not about
the bottom line, but what we could do to help each other.
Anyway, Carolina got our house wine for a few years after
that.

ALL
ABOUT PEOPLE BILL
When Carolina had a busload of sales people down to Ocean’s
Edge [resort on 6A] a few years ago, I told some
guys that story. “What would you do now, Carmine?” asked
one. Another yelled, “He’d post ya!” Today everything’s
micromanaged; personal relationships are often out the
window. There are quotas to meet: you can’t have this wine
unless you buy that wine. Yet I can still have that kind of
relationship with the Rubins (and Wayne Niemi), or pick up
the phone and call Carmine.

FORT de
FRANCE BILL
I’m our so-called ‘wine expert’. We have only California and
France. [Summer 2OO6 wine list’s US/France ratio is:
Sparkling (2/5), White (27/33), Pinot Noir (1O/32), Bordeaux
types (52/42), Rhone types (4/25).] Must haves include
Trimbach, Cos d’Estournel, Chapoutier, Clape Cornas,
Drouhin, Burgess, Domaine Serene, and Erath. I have a big
heart for all these people. Our passive cellar has an
air-conditioner; our refrigerator man bypassed the
thermostat to keep wines at 62 degrees F. In winter it’s off
and stays around 58 degrees F. The wine cellar reflects on
the restaurant’s longevity. Our list is 27O strong; just go
through our Bordeaux and Burgundies and Napas. Yet the days
of my buying Cos d’Estournel for $25 are long gone; they’re
now $15O+. [Chateau] Haut-Brion is massively
expensive, and you have to sit on it for years before it’s
ready to drink.

PINOT
CHALLENGE BILL
I’m sticking with France and California, but it’s getting
crazy now. Before 2OO1, money was no object, afterwards it
became a real issue. My biggest challenge today is finding
decent Pinot Noir at an affordable price. Some wines are in
tight allocation; you don’t find them in shops. I’ll still
sell plenty of bottles over $1OO, but people’s pocketbooks
have not kept pace with costs. Two groups that influence
matters are the Taster, who checks on our 199O Bordeaux
without dipping into his own stash, and the Collector, who’s
scoffing up these bottles while they last, whether s/he’s in
Manhattan or China. In today’s world economy, somebody will
be stepping up to the plate to buy wine. Just look at the
prices of Bordeaux 2OO5: first and second class growths
continue to spiral through the roof!

FRENCH
CONNECTION BILL
Bruce Cole of Dreyfus Ashby got us interested in Drouhin. He
said: “You’re gonna love Vero” [$12 white Burgundy].
He knows my palate: Vero’s unbeatable at the price point.
We’re a lot more pinot friendly than cab friendly.
DENISE
We’ve known Bruce since our days with the Brotherhood of
Wine; it’s a guys wine club who invite significant others
for Christmas parties and a Burgundy dinner.
BILL
Founding members are Dick Catania, whose family owns The
Daniel Webster Inn, and Kenny Mason, who owned a Harwichport
deli, has a terrific cellar, and now as a district manager
for Classic Wines. DENISE
That’s twenty years drinking together!

TAKE the
DRC and RUN BILL
I bought very heavily of 1999 Burgundies. I bought 21
bottles of DRC last year for almost $13,OOO, hosted a dinner
practically for cost, and drank ’em all up. But with two
girls in college, we pocketed the 1O%. I did not want to
lose that allocation. If we don’t step up to the plate (and
lay down the cash) somebody else will.

GROWING
a BISTRO DENISE
when we joined the first playgroup in 1981, we didn’t know
a soul, but by 1984, there’d been a big migration and a baby
boom. BILL
That was good for business, and the 199Os were terrific.
What didn’t change was January and February. To keep going
through the lean months, we had to retain our staff and
customers. DENISE
We turned the fireplace room into a Bistro with a limited
menu, regulars came in for a glass and appetizer and stayed
all night. It’s caught on, so we serve martinis and less
expensive entrees. BILL
Our bartender, Steve Strickler, has created a whole range of
bistro drinks last summer featuring Patron Tequilas. His new
favorite flavor is Patron Citronge. DENISE
He makes a phenomenal mojito using Dutch Mint from our herb
garden. BILL
We’ve expanded the menu, too. If this place were off-Cape,
it wouldn’t be a special occasion place, but a foodie place,
where people would drop by to see what we’re creating. We
have to think how we can get good food out while keeping a
high volume.

FARMERS’
OUTLOOK DENISE
The garden is my domain; as well as herbs and flowers, I
grow edible garnishes (lavender, nasturtiums, chives). We
were impressed in Burgundy that the growers are simple
farmers. We lived [by] the restaurant until four
years ago. The restaurant was more than our livelihood, it
was our life, our home – it’s a very deep connection.
BILL
Denise prepared a meal at five o’clock, when the restaurant
was usually empty. If I got called into the kitchen, I went,
but we had family meals together. When I was a kid, my
[chef] father was never around; I didn’t want that
life for my girls.

WINE
DINNERS DENISE
We can’t do them in the summer, of course, but try to do
one a month the rest of the year. Organics are getting hot.
We did a dinner with Bonterra – solid wines at a good
price-point. We’re trying to host dinners with Lolonis and
Ferrari-Carano in the fall.

MEMORABLE
TRAVELS DENISE
we took our first trip to California in 1991, a rare time
away from our daughters. We visited Cain, Chimney Rock and
Newton. We brought back large format bottles and forged
relationships which led to wine dinners. On our 2Oth
anniversary in Burgundy, people rearranged their schedules
to accommodate our overbooking; our concierge called four
small wineries to let us visit them on a Sunday morning!
BILL
Burgundy is so beautiful, the people so genuinely
hospitable, the wines so delicious. We were overlooking
Vosne Romanee; our daughter Rebecca painted the murals of
Domaine Romanee Conti and Clos Vougeot [on the restroom
wall]. She’s at Rhode Island School of Design
now.

PHILOSOPHY
BILL
We’re small enough so it’s always about relationships – with
Carmine Martignetti, with Ted and Bob Rubin and Wayne Niemi,
with customers [like ‘Marlene’] who comes in twice a
week year ’round and complains when we change the salad with
the crab cakes.