The Pheasant
In the shadow of the historic Cape Playhouse in Dennis, the curtain has risen on the latest act of a venerable dining destination. The Pheasant (formerly The Red Pheasant) is the creation of Adam and Erica Dunn, a couple that was looking to flip the script in many different ways, not the least of which was updating a long-established eatery that has been treasured by a vast following for years.
Adam and Erica Dunn grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, and attended middle and high school together before going off to college on their own trajectories. After college, Adam (Colby College) and Erica (University of Vermont) found themselves reconnecting in New York City. Erica worked in marketing for such magazines as Architectural Digest, Maxim and New York Magazine. At night she would moonlight as a server in area restaurants. Adam was a talent booker for local nightclubs and music venues, with work hours that were somewhat unorthodox. After getting out of work at 11 p.m., Erica was always up for going out to hear some of the incredible music Adam had booked, and the price was right. As Adam points out, “We had free tickets to everything!”
In 2014, Adam transitioned from music to mussels when he and a partner opened a successful seafood raw bar and restaurant in Brooklyn. That was the year that Adam and Erica got married at the Cape Cod Museum of Art. “Little did we know we’d be living and running a restaurant practically across the street a few years later,” Adam chuckles. Now, you might think that getting married and opening a restaurant in the same year was a lot. Well…just keep reading.
Adam and his family had been coming to their vacation home in Dennis every year for 25 years. So, when city life began to lose its luster for the couple looking to start a family, Cape Cod was calling. It was during the summer of 2017 that Erica and Adam learned that Bill and Denise Atwood, the long-time owners of The Red Pheasant, were looking to sell the establishment. Discussions commenced and continued through the rest of that year. During that time, Erica became pregnant with the couple’s first child. The Atwoods' final night of service was New Year’s Eve. The Dunns closed on the real estate transaction in February. In doing so, they reversed a course that has been plaguing Cape Cod for some time…the exodus from Cape Cod of young entrepreneurs for less seasonal and less expensive pastures.
A fairly extensive renovation project began on both the restaurant and the attached residence (their new home) in the front of the building. Replacing the carpet with mosaic tile in the bar area and a floating wood floor in the garden room, along with an update of lighting and color scheme breathes new life into the space without sacrificing the historical warmth and charm of this eighteenth century former ship chandlery and carriage house. Next up was removing the layers of epoxy and refinishing the bar top to bring out its natural beauty, and constructing a banquette along the wall of windows in the garden room. Whether it’s a couple or a party of ten, Erica states, “this gives us a lot of flexibility in terms of the size of different groups.” The sliding barn doors are once again operable—after over 30 linen napkins were removed from behind—which allows the Dunns to close off the garden room from the main dining area for private functions.
While the renovations were progressing, Erica and Adam were building their team. The biggest coup was bringing Chef Toby Hill on board. “A mutual friend introduced us,” Adam explains. Hill possesses a unique approach, talent and culinary vision second to none. In terms of the menu, “Toby knows what we want and what we’re trying to do,” Adam says. “He’ll send over a draft for us to look over, but it’s really his menu.”
With the menu set and the renovations complete, The Dunns opened The Pheasant’s doors to the public on June first after having moved into the residence that fronts Main Street a mere two weeks earlier. The couple had a little over a month to settle into their new restaurant routine before baby Leo came along on July 5th. Erica was in the front of the house right up until the big day. “I was working the door the night before I went into labor,” she recalls. All of this transpired in a period of just over six weeks! It’s understandable if exhaustion washes over you just reading about their new schedule.
What Adam and Erica are trying to do is infuse new life into The Pheasant with a fresh look and taste. “We want to make it an approachable farm-to-table menu,” Adam states, the farms in question being as local as possible. “It’s a shame that so many places are focused on exotic ingredients,” he continues. At The Pheasant, the menu features local seasonal fare that is sustainably harvested from the soil and sea. All the seafood is wild caught in waters off Cape Cod. This is why you’ll find local monkfish on the latest menu and not something flown in from some far-off destination. “You’ll never see salmon on there,” Adam declares. Whether it’s the bluefish for the smoked pate, the mussels, littlenecks, oysters, scallops or the vegetables, it comes from local sources…some are right down the street.
The Dunns began making contacts with local farmers last January at the Orleans winter market. “Back then it was a lot of, ‘We’re thinking of buying, we might be opening’ talk,” Adam remembers. Once the papers were signed, connections were made. “Being able to work with these people really excites us,” Erica smiles while patting little Leo’s behind as he dozes in the sling that keeps him close to her as she works. As if to prove their point, a Google map on The Pheasant’s website shows just how many farms and purveyors supply the restaurant. At last check, it was a baker’s dozen.
Once those ingredients enter the kitchen, Chef Hill spins his magic, creating memorable dishes from scratch. The ice cream and breads are made in-house, and Hill smokes and cures all of the meat and fish that are featured. The pork, for example, becomes the house-smoked bacon for the scallop and bacon entree, the guanciale for an appetizer of raclette fondue and, of course, the delectable braised pork shank that is paired with a potato-and-apple hash and drizzled with an apple cognac sauce.
The maitake mushrooms (also known as “Hen of the Wood”) may not be the most local of ingredients (Western Massachusetts), but the forager does hail from Eastham. Hill explains, “She called me up on her way back to Eastham and wanted to see if I was interested in some maitakes, and I said sure!” Now the grilled mushrooms are on the fall menu, and they are not to be missed. The flavorful fungi are carefully grilled and then placed onto a generous smear of deviled egg yolk puree with toasted pepitas tossed about the dish. Hill’s take on Pommes Robuchon that accompanies the juicy dry-aged sirloin and the crispy skinned and tender chicken-under-a-brick truly deserves its own plate. At a glance, one might mistake them for mashed potatoes, but they are so much more. The dish is both sinfully rich and delicately light thanks to the careful blending of butter and cream (and lots of both).
Hill’s inventiveness doesn’t stop with the main courses. The dessert offerings feature the Indian pudding topped with housemade rum raisin ice cream, and the affogato, housemade vanilla bean ice cream finished with a pour of Snowy Owl espresso, roasted in Brewster.
Fall not only brought with it a new season-appropriate dinner menu, but also Sunday Brunch at The Pheasant, where the tender pork shank reappears, this time served with two eggs. The rashers (Irish bacon), hash browns, and donuts with lemon curd are just the tip of the edible iceberg, house-made and enjoyed from 9-2 on Sundays.
By reinventing the list of offerings, the Dunns look to introduce The Pheasant to a new clientele who may never have experienced the eatery but not at the cost of distancing the enthusiasts of the previous incarnation of the place. It is a delicate dance to be sure. Many of the returning guests are thrilled with the new offerings and appreciate the changes. Yet for a few, change does not come easy. “We have people who would come in and be looking for that certain dish that they’ve been getting for years,” Adam says. “Sometimes you could just tell that someone was predetermined not to like it when they walk in, and they’ll grudgingly admit they really liked it.”
Ah, but how about the true test…the approval from the one who had made this location at 905 Main Street a destination in the first place? Hill tells the story, “Bill Atwood came in for dinner one night, and just walked into the kitchen on his own in the middle of dinner service. Nobody but Adam and I knew who he was. He was carrying the plate that the grilled carrots (summer menu starter) came on with just the ricotta (housemade) and honey left on the plate. He had this blank look on his face, and the staff didn’t know what to do. He looked at me, held up the plate, and took one big lick of the plate! Then, he brought the plate over to the dish room to be washed!” Hill recalls with his booming laugh. Quite the seal of approval.
As first seasons go, The Pheasant’s was a great success. Of course, it wasn’t without its challenges, namely staffing. The buck stops squarely at the feet of any small business owner, and so it is for Adam and Erica. While Erica will handle the books and social media marketing, Adam will “do whatever needs to get done.” “I’ve been working the cold station in the kitchen for the past six weeks,” he exhales.
Living on the premises is a convenience for the Dunns when responding to needs as they pop up. It also provides some close-by respite. The home-to-work commute doesn’t get much better than simply cutting through the kitchen, but how close is too close when you really need to get away from work for a while? “Hasn’t been a problem yet,” Adam grins. Brief getaways to Martha’s Vineyard help with that as well. The time to truly recharge the batteries will be after The Pheasant closes for the winter months of January, February and March. The quieter months are also made for the seemingly endless “to-do” list. High on that list is a planned expansion of the vegetable and herb gardens that run alongside the building.
The approachable farm-to-table menu that the Dunns put forth is one that covers the many different dining options and moods of their guests. Adam explains, “We have friends who offer these incredible tasting menus, which are great for special occasions, but we want people to be able to stop in for some mussels and a beer, too.” The wine list is fitting for both a special night of celebrating or simply meeting for a glass over a snack board or maybe some warm marinated olives at the bar near the cozy wood fireplace. The inventive cocktails are tasty blends that include housemade shrubs, bitters and tinctures among other components, and the beer hails from great craft breweries throughout New England, including Devil’s Purse from across town.
A fresh take on an established restaurant, The Pheasant is a new draft of a time-honored tale—the love of family and food combine to bring a family a new beginning, a new home and a new chapter in their lives. To us, the admiring audience, come wonderful new tastes from sources right in our own backyard, artfully prepared and appreciated in a warm, charming setting.
The journey of life can be both profoundly enigmatic and remarkably obvious. It all depends how you choose to view it. A couple of Jersey kids growing up to take over a renowned restaurant on Cape Cod? Once you pop in to The Pheasant, it’ll make all the sense in the world.
The Pheasant
905 Main Street (Route 6A), Dennis
508-385-2133 / pheasantcapecod.com
