New Year's Day Brunch at Barons Cove

        After starting my morning with an amazing Pure Barre workout, Sean and I decided to go out for brunch. Now I know that New Year's Day is holiday but I was under the impression that it was one of the holidays that restaurants stayed open for. This however did not seem to be the case, after trying a few of our favorites with no success we ended up at Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor. This was not our first time dining at BC but the two previous times we had stuck to either the lunch or dinner menu. Today I was all about breakfast, although I was tempted by the Cove Salad I had last time and thoroughly enjoyed.   
       We walked up to the porch that was draped beautifully with magnolia garland and wreaths, and mischievous Santa’s climbing up the roof.   One of my favorite things about Baron’s Cove is the nautical theme that spreads throughout the property.  A large gold anchor door knocker adorns the muted blue door at the main entrance, and perfectly framed nautical flags hang on the walls of the dining room.  We were pleasantly surprised to be seated right away because they did appear to be quite crowded, probably because everything in town was closed.  We were even happier when the hostess sat us at a table right by the window overlooking the harbor.  There are few things I enjoy more than a waterview.  

          The brunch menu is small with a perfect balance of breakfast and lunch items.   As I said I really felt like something for breakfast, so I decided on the Mason Dixie Eggs.  Poached eggs over cheddar grits with sauteed spinach and a tomato compote.  Being that I can not eat gluten I of course first checked with our server to see if the grits were gluten free.  Typically grits are made from corn meal, but occasionally they have some wheat based fillers in them.  Our first server seemed totally confused by my question almost as if I were speaking another language.   This surprised me because most restaurants out here are at least knowledgeable about gluten even if they don’t have a lot of options for me.  He appeared to get over his confusion and said he would go ask the chef, however he then never came back.  After several minutes the man who appeared to be the manager came over to take our order.  I asked him the same question and he quickly returned after confirming with the chef that the grits were in fact gluten free.  At this point Sean was deciding between an omelet and the french toast with nutella.  If I could eat bread I would have gone with the nutella french toast, but sean opted for an omelet.  

        Our food came out rather quickly which was nice because I was starving, but I was disappointed that although I had made clear my need for a gluten free meal there was a large piece of crusty bread laid over my dish.  I swiftly removed it and placed it on Sean’s plate.  Although I am very sensitive to gluten I have rarely had a noticeable reaction due to cross contamination,  So although I was annoyed I chose to just move on and enjoy my meal.  And boy was it delicious.  The tomato compote brought a sweetness to the dish that paired really well with the rest of the plate.  I was shocked at the amount of grits I was given, there was no way I’d ever be able to eat that much but they were really tasty so I gave it a good try.  Sean really enjoyed his omelet too and it came with a really fresh mixed green salad.  
      All in all we both really enjoyed celebrating our first meal of 2017 and despite the bread incident they did seem to be very accommodating in terms of gluten free options , as there were several menu items I could have chosen from.  

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So I think I did ok for my first restaurant review, but I promise I’ll get better.    

Check out www.BaronsCove.com to see their full menus and property details.