Featured Stories & Articles from Cape Cod Travel Magazine: New & Noteworthy

Claire Murray, (601 Main St., Dennis; 508-385-2262) who is famous for her coastal-inspired rug designs, has opened another location for her hand-hooked creations. Inside a quaint, old building along Old King’s Highway in Dennis Village, customers can find charming area rugs, small accent rugs and long runners done in the beach-breezy style that Claire Murray is known for, as well as a collection of home accessories, loungewear, hand-hooked rug and needle art kits.

 

The kids now have more to browse at the independently owned Brewster Bookstore (2648 Main St., Brewster; 508-896-6543) since its recent mini-addition. The front of the store has expanded to include a special nook where young children can flip through picture books, peruse popular mystery and animal-themed books, check out the latest titles and more. 

 

Having worked as a professional picture-framer for the past decade, John Miller is now procuring art for that perfect picture frame by opening a gallery adjacent to the J. Miller PictureFramer, where he displays and sells the works of 12 to 15 artists. From acrylic and oil paintings to ceramics, photography and sculptures, the J. Miller Gallery (681 Falmouth Rd., Suite A15, Deer Crossing Marketplace, Mashpee; 508-539-1900) is hung with a mélange of art from a variety of mediums—one-third of it being contemporary or abstract. Open year round, Miller plans to host art shows and openings during the summer months. So, stay tuned.

 

The “boutique-style” floral shop Bella’s Blooms (2655 Main St., Brewster; 508-896-7321) recently opened up across the street from the Brewster Bookstore. Owner Cathy Dennehy is “bringing passion to floral design,” as she puts it, by taking a creative and collaborative approach to crafting floral arrangements. Each floral design, she says, “is a one-of-a-kind, personalized arrangement” that is tailored to the customers’ needs and wants. Dennehy and her expert staff take pride in creating thoughtful arrangements for any occasion—holidays, weddings, funerals, parties—and even non-occasions, like adding a splash of color to a dining room table or showing a loved one they are special with a large bouquet or a single exotic flower. The shop also carries gifts, candles, cards and other things for the home. 

 

Chef Paul Lively doesn’t just peddle chocolate; he concocts sublime sensory experiences at his shop in Brewster. The shop is aptly located inside an old mercantile building painted a color reminiscent of warm cocoa—the perfect place, as Chef Paul says, to “bring back the lost lore of truffle making.” The Chocolate Peddler (2628 Main St., Brewster; 774-263-2751) carries an assortment of chocolate truffles made from novel combinations of organic, locally grown ingredients. Open year round, customers can come and sample truffles like “The Big Spruce.” Named after Chef Paul’s favorite tree, it is made from Sedona rosemary infused white chocolate, which is then encased in a cool mint bark of biscotti. Green inside with an outside that looks like bark, the truffle is a deliciously artistic representation of a tree.

 

Main Street in Hyannis just got a great new spot to meet with friends and take in all of the bustling activity of the downtown scene. Dave Colombo, owner of the Roadhouse Café, has opened Colombo’s Café & Pastries (544 Main St., Hyannis; 508-790-5700), a casual Italian eatery, with upscale décor and broad appeal. The prime location and awning-covered outside patio allows patrons to kick back and people watch while sipping a cappuccino or glass of wine. And the open kitchen, swirling with energy, keeps the inside of the restaurant lively as diners feast on traditional Italian food. With a dozen flavors of gelato and a pastry case filled with more than 20 different types of pastries and treats—such as cream-stuffed cannolis and freshly baked Italian-style cookies—Colombo’s is sure to become the place to go for dessert, as well as lunch and dinner.

 

The owners of the very successful Yarmouth House Restaurant have now opened an Italian restaurant a few miles down the street. The building, formerly the site of Clancy’s restaurant, has been completely renovated to evoke visions of Italy, replete with stately white columns and stone archways. Offering a large-portioned taste of Tuscany at an affordable price, Di Parma Restaurant (175 Route 28, West Yarmouth; 508-771-7776) serves such favorites as homemade pasta, grilled paninis stuffed with fresh ingredients and a wide selection of thin-crust pizzas, which are available until midnight.

 

A new Mexican restaurant has taken over the former location of Ay! Caramba in Harwich Center. Translated to mean “come on” in Spanish, Andalé (703 Main St., Harwich; 508-432-0518) beckons diners to join them for some authentic Mexican food. Casual and affordable, the entrees range from $12.95 to $15.95 and include carne asada and the popular chile rellenos—a roasted poblano chile filled with either cheese or picadillo and baked in tomato sauce. The menu also features, of course, a variety of enchiladas, burritos and tacos. The 30-seat restaurant has three intimate inside dining areas, a full bar and an umbrella-covered patio where diners can enjoy their traditional Mexican fare and maybe a frozen Margarita—a house specialty. Takeout is available.

 

In other Mexican dining news, El Guapos Taqueria (239 Underpass Rd., Brewster; 508-896-3338) moved from its small location adjacent to the Brewster General Store to a convenient spot right on the Cape Cod Rail Trail on Underpass Road, less than two miles down the road. The new location is substantially larger, offering outside seating and a lot more parking. Even the menu is larger. Not only do they still serve a terrific fish taco and debatably the best Mexican street corn this side of the border, but they also have added a “Gringo” section to their menu, where you can order clam chowder, a lobster roll, B.L.T. or half-rack of BBQ ribs.

 

Heeding the need for a bit more space, Girardi’s Café (902 Main St., South Yarmouth; 508-394-3111) moved from its small Dennisport location to where 902 Main used to be in South Yarmouth. Girardi’s is still cozy but better able to accommodate the throngs of hungry pasta-loving patrons. Thankfully and much to the pleasure of devotees, Girardi’s has kept primarily the same menu, including their house specialty—homemade meat lasagna—as well as the outstanding service. New to the restaurant is a full bar area, which carries a selection of 30 different high-quality and affordable wines to complement the Sicilian-Italian cuisine. Although there is more room, reservations are still suggested for this year-round establishment. And no need to worry, takeout is still available.

 

Right on the Wellfleet pier, overlooking Mayo Beach and the harbor traffic is Sol (15 Kendrick Ave., Wellfleet; 508-349-2424), a new restaurant that opened to rave reviews late last June. Not your average beach shack, Sol offers a different take on seafood, with a menu filled with what Owner/Chef John Arsenault describes as “beach food, just not from our beach.” The entrees, salads and appetizers are all inspired by coastal cuisine, and include some Hawaiian, Mexican and Southeast Asian dishes—such as ceviche, fish tacos and the house specialty—shoyu poke, a salad of chilled yellow fin tuna, sesame oil, soy sauce and spices. The décor may be upscale and urban, but the atmosphere is casual, with the food served in lined baskets, much like a traditional beach shack. Sol is open seasonally from May to November.

 

Just a short distance from Sol is yet another new and noteworthy restaurant in Wellfleet Center. Pearl, (250 Commercial St., Wellfleet), a gem located on Wellfleet Harbor, is an ecologically conscious, casual seafood restaurant inventively constructed from reclaimed materials. Open seasonally, guests can sit indoors to watch all the action in the open kitchen, or outdoors to take in the beautiful water views.

 

Eastham Lobster Pool restaurant, conveniently located on Route 6, has a new owner, and will be renamed Woody’s Eastham Lobster Pool Restaurant (4380 Route 6). Scheduled to open in the spring, the 175-seat restaurant will become a slightly more upscale version of its former self, keeping a similar menu, including a variety of seafood dishes.

 

Bob’s Best Sandwiches and Catering is no longer Bob’s—it’s Buster’s. Nancy Webber, a former co-owner of Bonatt’s Restaurant and Bakery in Harwich Port, took over the business of making gourmet sandwiches last year, just in time for the summer season, when the appetite for something quick and delicious to pack for a day at the beach is at its height. Buster’s Best Sandwiches and Catering (613 Route 28, Dennisport; 508-394-8450) roasts fresh turkey and roast beef daily for their sandwiches, which also come on a baguette or as a wrap. Their menu features vegetarian options as well as tried-and-true favorites such as the “Howdy Pilgrim” sandwich made with fresh roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo, served on homemade oatmeal bread.

 

Comfort Cuisine Inc., (7 Merchants Square, Sandwich; 888-388-4773) owned by professional chef Erik Hall and his wife Jayce, has opened in Merchant Square in Sandwich. Here you can purchase pre-made dinners (the likes of shrimp scampi, chicken Marsala and Piccata, old-time beef stew, lasagna, chicken and beef fajita stuffing, etc.), all homemade, flash-frozen and ready to reheat in boiling water in 10 minutes!

 

The posh Ocean Edge Resort & Club (2907 Main St., Brewster; 508-896-9000) in Brewster just got a little more posh with its recent addition of a 5,000-square-foot ballroom. Set to open in March 2009, the Bayside Ballroom, which will accommodate up to 300 diners, will be the largest luxury ballroom and meeting venue on Cape Cod, according to Ocean Edge Resort & Club. It is part of a $19.5M expansion and renovation project, which also includes the addition of a 2,500-square-foot transparent room and canopy called the Linx Pavilion. Overlooking the 18th hole on the newly re-designed Nicklaus golf course—which has recently gained strategically placed bunkering and sand traps that were created to the specifications of the United States Golf Association— the Pavilion will serve as yet another venue for meetings and events at the resort, boosting available space for meetings and events up to 15,000 square feet.   

 

Last spring, the Brass Key Guesthouse (67 Bradford St., Provincetown; 508-487-9005), an elegant, historic lodging establishment located just off Commercial Street in Provincetown, was bought by the owners of the Crowne Pointe Inn & Spa. According to the new owners, Thomas J. Walter, David Sanford and Ken Masi, the two properties, which are both situated on Bradford Street, remain separate. However, individuals of large travel groups will be able to apply their group rate to either location. Along with a change of ownership, The Brass Key Guesthouse will also receive18 newly renovated bathrooms and two new suites.

Wequassett Resort and Golf Club (on Pleasant Bay, Chatham; 800-225-7125), also continues to improve upon its success, by adding even more luxurious amenities to its supremely first-class resort. The new “Signature Amenities” will include a children’s activities center, with an outdoor water park, a unique and fun-filled space to encourage creativity and growth, an indoor/outdoor amphitheater, and an activities park. In addition, a new tennis court facility will be built to include four har-tru clay courts and a full-service tennis pro-shop. And not to be overshadowed, an adults-only lap pool with two Olympic-sized lanes will be installed as well as a Jacuzzi. With all of these new amenities, there is sure to be an influx of guest reservations. But not to fret, along with these additional perks Wequasett is also adding extra rooms, boosting their guest room count up to 120 and allowing more people to experience this resort’s unique offerings.

 

The White Elephant (50 Easton St., Nantucket) has just the ticket for city dwellers looking for a relaxing Island retreat. Their newly added 3,000-square-foot White Elephant Loft, located in downtown Nantucket (only a short walk from the main hotel), has been designed with mass amounts of upscale urban appeal, formally marrying city style and Island living for a vacation to remember. The loft features three well-proportioned bedrooms, four bathrooms, a dining room that seats ten, a wraparound fireplace, upstairs loft, seven high-definition flat screen TV’s and a library. Guests of the Loft are pampered even further with access to all of the same amenities and services (fitness center, spa, restaurants) as the guests of the main hotel – including room service. If a stay at the White Elephant, either at their new loft or at the main hotel, is not enough, you can now stay year round in your own residence. The White Elephant is offering 25 classic one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes for sale. The landmark hotel states “Owners will have access to the luxuries of the hotel while maintaining a sense of individuality in their ‘home away from home.’” That is a sweet deal.

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