Red Pheasant
905 Route 6A
Dennis, MA 02638
508-385-2133
Well-established as one of the Cape's superior dining spots, the Red Pheasant offers fine cuisine in a wonderfully romantic atmosphere. Housed in a 200 year old barn on historic Old King's Highway, the restaurant features original wide-planked wood floors, exposed beams and two fireplaces. Victorian brass light fixtures and candlelight illuminate an intimate dining room set with white linen, fresh flowers, hand-blown glassware and locally produced pottery.
While loyal to tried and true New England cooking, chef-owner Bill Atwood adds his own flair to create distinctive dishes on a menu that changes with the seasons.
19th Annual Night at the Chef's Table
The AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod enlists the help of Cape Cod's top chefs and restaurants for the ...
Restaurant Week Reaches the Cape
After a super successful inaugural outing in October, Cape Cod Restaurant Week returns for its first spring showing.
Red Pheasant's Trusty Benefit
For the third year running, the green folks from the Red Pheasant Inn join forces with the Dennis Conservation Trust ...
Bill Atwood
Chef at Red Pheasant
Chef Bill Atwood Jr. grew up in the restaurant industry. His father, himself a chef, owned both the Midland Park Diner and the Brick House Inn in Wycoff, New Jersey. In 1977, his father moved to Cape Cod and opened the Red Pheasant Inn in Dennis.
In the spring of 1978, Atwood joined his father on the Cape to help manage the Red Pheasant. That following winter, when the restaurant found itself down a chef, Atwood stepped behind the line and began cooking. He hasn't stopped since. He went back to the basics, creating his own stocks, learning as he went along, and reading everything he could get his hands on. His father gave him full reign to take the restaurant in a new direction and the freedom to express his artistic talent through food.
Over the years Atwood has developed a straightforward culinary philosophy. He believes in keeping food simple, letting flavors speak for themselves. Fresh ingredients are essential, herbs from the garden, local produce, native seafood and the choicest cuts of meat. He has become known for his presentations of fresh native seafood as well as rack of lamb, roast duckling and game selections.
Atwood is also responsible for the award winning wine list. Over the years, travels to California and Burgundy have helped him establish personal relationships with wineries that ensure depth in the wine selections the restaurant offers.
The Red Pheasant is a family business in the most literal sense of the phrase - Atwood's wife Denise manages the dining room and tends to the gardens on the property and any of the couple's three daughters can regularly be found waiting tables or at the hostess stand. The Atwood family has made the restaurant what it is today - one of the Cape's most beloved dining destinations or as The Boston Globe puts it "a legendary Cape restaurant."
- Asiago
- 1. noun Semi-firm Italian cheese made from cow's milk.
- Brioche
- 1. noun A soft, yeasty French bread enriched with butter and eggs.
- Confit
- 1. noun Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.
- Cornichons
- 1. noun A gherkin in France.
- Coulis
- 1. noun A thick puree or sauce.
- Couscous
- 1. noun Granular semolina popular in North Africa.
- Crème anglaise
- 1. noun Rich custard sauce, often used as a topping or plating accompaniment to fruits and pastries.
- Crostini
- 1. noun The Italian word for "little toasts" (referring to bread, not grappa).
- Emulsion
- 1. noun The mixture of two liquids that cannot normally combine smoothly (e.g., oil and water). Mayonnaise and hollandaise are two familiar emulsions.
- Ganache
- 1. noun A rich mixture of chocolate and crème fraîche frequently used as a filling for cakes.
- Gratin
- 1. noun Any dish covered with cheese or buttered breadcrumbs and baked or broiled.
- Gravlax
- 1. noun Cured raw salmon.
- Haricot vert
- 1. noun A green string bean with French attitude.
- Jus
- 1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.
- Mascarpone
- 1. noun Ultra-rich, soft cheese known best for its role in tiramisu.
- Meunière
- 1. noun Literally "miller's wife" in French, this cooking technique (used primarily for fish) involves a light coating of flour before sauteing in butter or oil.
- Paillard
- 1. noun A thin slice of meat, grilled or sautéed.
- Panna cotta
- 1. noun Italian egg custard.
- Pâté
- 1. noun Ground meat, fish or vegetables blended with fat and seasonings; can be smooth or chunky, served cold or hot.
- Pâte
- 1. noun French for dough, paste or batter.
- Persillade
- 1. noun French for parsley, also refers to a mixture of parsley and garlic that is often sprinkled on a dish as flavoring or garnish towards the end of its preparation.
- Pistou
- 1. noun The French version of pesto, a mixture of basil, garlic and olive oil.
- Quenelle
- 1. noun A small, delicate, poached dumpling of meat, fish or vegetables.
- Ratatouille
- 1. noun A Provençal dish of eggplant, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and herbs in olive oil.
- Risotto
- 1. noun Italian dish made from rice cooked by intermittently adding small amounts of stock or broth. Other ingredients are added as required.
- Sorrel
- 1. noun A sour, buckwheat-related herb.
- Spaetzle
- 1. noun Tiny flour-and-egg noodles or dumplings.
- Terrine
- 1. noun An earthenware container, or the dish cooked therein.
- Za'atar
- 1. noun An herb, or spice blend of sesame seeds, sumac, and herb za'atar that is used in Middle Eastern cooking, sprinkled on bread or on grilled meat.
