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Coffeehouse Chic - Cape Cod Chat House in Dennis provides a warm welcome to the cold outdoors
Below the name “Cape Cod Chat House,” the outdoor sign reads: “Coffee, Art, Cheer.” On this particularly cold afternoon, those three words are enough to lure me inside.
The owners, John Parke and his wife Brett Warren, offer organic Beanstock Coffee roasted in Wellfleet and feature different organic and fair-trade blends. That aroma hits me at the door. The joy the couple shares in supporting the community and eco-friendly living is what gave them thoughts to open something unique in the first place. The Chat House is a café offering light fare and coffee as well as an art gallery, all located inside an 1850s antique home along historic Route 6A in Dennis.
Since it once was a family home, that’s exactly how the couple wanted it to feel when they remodeled and opened this past May. It’s homey, but with a modern twist. Each wall is doused with funky local artwork — the colors and textures in each piece complement the eclectic look of the three separate café dining rooms.
While standing at the front counter made of recycled walnut shells, I browse the display case of fresh baked goods — daily-baked bagels, scones, and muffins — and to the side tied-up bags of Kayak cookies. I even notice a collection of signature tee-shirts folded on a shelf beside the counter. Instead of the expected “Cape Cod Chat House” across the chest, Parke and Warren decided to research some old Cape sayings and print them up on different colored tees, each color suiting its name. I chuckle at the “bog dog” in cranberry and “sea hag” in green.
With only a small cooking area, the blackboard specials do it justice. Each day, the small staff bakes up a variety of quiches and spinach and feta calzones, while offering warm soups like seafood chowder, chipotle sweet potato, or a three bean chili. They even make signature gourmet sandwiches, paninis, and salads with homemade parmesan croutons, and their house specialty is a one-of-a-kind baked thick-crust cranberry and brie pizza.
Lounging alone in one of the large zebra print sofas, I feel as if I’m staying at a contemporary inn, eased by reggae music and wildly amused by the exotic artwork. Parke, who can be spotted regularly in the chat house by his infectious smile, delivers my order of a caprese panini with a side of Cape Cod chips. Served on soft, warm focaccia bread, I bite into the layers combined with sliced meaty tomato, fresh mozzarella, and the biggest basil leaves I’ve ever seen. With just a bit of seasoning, the fresh flavors are enhanced.
There is an assortment of sweet treats to have as dessert. I choose to enjoy a few of the salty oat Kayak cookies to go along with my rare indulgence of a sophisticated warm, frothy drink — a chocolate caramel hazelnut soy latte. The cup is overflowing with froth covered in zigzags of caramel and the taste is an instant winter blues cure.
Overall, the ambition of the Chat House is impressive. It’s inspiring to watch as people trickle in for the night’s open mic poetry reading. Some settle in with coffee and a notebook, and others order up food and grab a Mayflower brew or glass of wine before the show. As a writer, this kind of scene excites me. Enamored by cafés, ones that are peaceful enough to collect thoughts, yet exciting and lively enough to feel inspired, I plan to return to keep up with what’s new and brewing through the off-season.
