Life after dark

Even under winter's icy hand, Cape Codders keep some hot spots fueled

My quest was to find night life on Cape Cod.

I know what you're going to say: "There isn't any in winter."

Well, I would disagree (mostly). Sure, there are no celebrity DJs, no packed dance floors or 3 a.m. after-parties. But let's be honest - there isn't much of that in Boston either, at least not in the thick of snow season.

Based on two recent nights I spent on the Cape, I can assure you that there is night life over the Sagamore Bridge. You just have to find it yourself, because it won't find you.

I started my journey on a January night that brought about six inches of snow to most of the Cape. Route 6 was like a Slip 'n Slide. I feared businesses would close early, but as promised, the year-round spots kept their lights on.

My first stop was the Scargo Cafe, a Dennis restaurant. Its website said it had a bar, so I was intrigued. But when I arrived, I decided it didn't qualify as "night life." Most of the patrons were, let's say, a few decades older than my night life companion and I (in our 30s), and by 9 p.m. were headed out - but probably not to another bar.

We had better luck at our second stop, Oliver's & Planck's Tavern in Yarmouth Port, a year-round bar and restaurant with live entertainment on Saturday nights. Planck's was warmly lighted with a big wraparound bar. Decor included wall-size, glowing fish tanks. The patrons watched sports on flat-screen televisions and joked with the bartender, whom they knew by name. I began to wonder whether winter night life on the Cape isn't for outsiders, but just then, a year-rounder said hello.

"We love it. We love tourists," she said, of winter visitors. By January, she said, Cape dwellers are desperate to see new faces.

Christina Theoharidis, another bar patron, seconded that emotion and advised us to stop by the Lost Dog Pub, one of her favorites.

We took her advice and drove to the Lost Dog, which is in a strip mall in Dennis. It was cozy and packed with regulars. The bar featured a bust of a mermaid, and we saw a list of comfort-food "apps" written on a chalkboard in the back of the room. The place reminded us of the tavern in the movie "Beautiful Girls."

A sweet-faced bartender, Mike Horgan, told us that the winter crowd isn't all locals. He pointed to a table of twenty- and thirtysomethings.

"Last night, they had a $150 bar tab," he said. "They came down from Worcester for the weekend."

We told Horgan that our next stop would be Land Ho!, a bar in Orleans. He scowled. "It's just the same people there every night," he said.

Maybe so, but to us, everyone at Land Ho! was brand new. The place was more festive than the Lost Dog, better for night lifers who want to mingle and dance. The ceiling is decorated with signs from local businesses and novelty license plates that say things like TOPLSS and POPO. That said, the place isn't cheesy, at least not on our winter night.

Worth mentioning is that the ratio of men to women at Land Ho! was about 3 to 1. Two women took advantage of the odds by seductively dancing in front of the live band. When the musicians finished one rock song, a man in back screamed, "Know any Zeppelin?" and the band quickly started up with "Bring It on Home."

After some revelry, we drove to our hotel, the Sheraton in Eastham. Eighty dollars for the night was not bad considering the place has a massive pool and cable.

Night two of our winter journey took us to Provincetown. I figured it would be a cinch to find good bars and dance clubs in the Cape's party community, even in winter. Our waiter at dinner wasn't so sure.

"That's depressing," said Dave Rios, 21, after I told him I was writing about winter night life.

Rios, a hair-stylist-in-training who looked like a Jonas brother, moved to P-Town last summer to help his aunt run her restaurant, Lorraine's, a tasty Mexican spot that's always packed in summer. On this January night the place was almost empty by about 9, so Rios volunteered to bail early and help us with our search.

Our first stop was the Porchside Lounge at the Gifford House, a beautiful Victorian building off Commercial Street. In the summer, the bar is known for its sizable porch, but on this icy night, only the smokers braved the weather. Once again, there was a high male-to-female ratio, but the men at the Porchside weren't looking for women. A sped-up version of Nelly Furtado's "Turn Off the Light" pumped throughout the lounge.

The size of the crowd rivaled what you might see at a Boston bar in January, but Scott Coffey, who owns the local boutique Coffey Men, told us not to be too impressed.

"It's like being in the suburbs," he said of P-Town in winter, as he stood by the bar. "It's like being in a New Jersey suburb."

From the Porchside, Rios walked us to the Little Bar, which is aptly named. The decor was wood with glowing Christmas lights and a corner fireplace. The soundtrack was a Cher concert, which aired on the bar's television. When we walked in, we could hear her cover of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

The place was somewhat lively, mainly because of a group of women who socialized at a table near the bar. The women invited us to share their seating area and chatted us up.

Monica Stubner, 45, told me yes, there is winter night life in P-Town, but added that this crowd might be inflated. Because of an "L Word" premiere party down the street, more women were out in numbers.

With that, we walked to Good Times, which Rios said attracts a service industry clientele in winter. When we arrived at about 10:30, the barkeep was alone and projecting the movie "The Notebook" on the walls. We played Photo Hunt, a video game, at the bar. It was a little depressing.

The service crowd did trickle in at about 11:30 p.m. to play pool, but we didn't have time to mingle. With only about an hour left before last call, we moved on to the night's sure thing: the Atlantic House, better known as the A-House. Rios said the club, which is attached to the Little Bar, would be mostly full, and he was right. Men danced to Britney Spears. Patrons were sweaty. For a moment or two, it felt like summer.

"By the end of the night, everyone will have their shirts off," Rios said.

Maybe in July. On this freezing night, only about seven of the 40 or so men on the dance floor had their tops off by the late-night group dance to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." At 1 a.m. the lights came up and a techno version of the Michael Buble song "Home" instructed us to call it a night. We made our way to the Oxford Guesthouse, which like the Sheraton charged us about $80 for the night. We ended our tour taking late-night snacks from the Oxford's kitchen.

No, it wasn't Vegas night life. It wasn't even Boston night life. But the Cape wasn't all couples and B&Bs. There was some mingling, drinking, and dancing - more than you might expect. Some was all we needed. In the winter, a little night life goes a long way.

Meredith Goldstein can be reached at mgoldstein@globe.com.