Dive In To Breakfast

You would think that there are few places more non kid-friendly than a dive bar at 11 a.m. But apparently you and I would be wrong.

I was rather surprised to walk into the Ocean Mist on a Sunday morning to find Girl Scouts selling cookies and moms sipping mimosas with a baby on their lap. I wouldn’t bring a baby into a bar, but, you know, I guess it happens.

Perched right on the beach, with a deck overlooking the deep blue Atlantic, the Ocean Mist is a great place to wile away the hours between afternoon and evening. But on Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays, it’s also a great place to get breakfast.

This is not your usual brunch crowd. There are no cashmere sweaters and pearls, and you’re just as likely to see people drinking bloody marys as you are bottles of Bud Light. The walls are covered in beer advertisements and assorted kitsch and sunlight streams in from a row of large windows that spans the whole length of the building. That being said, what you lose in snooty high-class atmosphere you make up for with culinary delights.

I recently roused a couple friends to help me sample all the restaurant had to offer. Fair warning: get there early! In my head I had imagined a sleepy bar with a couple patrons hunched over cold beers and eggs and an overworked barmaid mopping down tables. I could not have been farther from the truth. Matunuck Beach Road was packed with cars and I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to get a table.

Fortunately, we did not have to wait long to be seated at a table right by the door. Inside the music was a little loud for the hour of the day, but I think the stereo may have just one setting – 11.

Tables were scarce, with locals and college students filing in every few minutes. I think if we had gotten there closer to when they opened at 9 a.m. (we were seated at 11 a.m.) we would have gotten a better table and the service wouldn’t have been as slow. Even with the setbacks, the food more than made up for it.

Also, by that time, I had downed a mimosa and I was impervious to any of the problems around me. I highly recommend this approach. If you order one of their “Dawn Patrol Specials,” you can get a mimosa or bloody mary for only $3.

When our food finally did arrive, it was delicious. I ordered the “Matunuck Border,” which is slices of Texas French toast dipped in Kahlua batter with two eggs and a side of home fries. I was drooling the minute I read the description on the menu and a small puddle had formed before the waitress set the plate down on the table.

My friend Marian had steak and eggs, which she gave two thumbs up to between bites. Ben ordered the Western omelet, which he promptly devoured in minutes. We had to stop him from licking the plate clean. I’m sure the chef would have been flattered.

Do yourself a favor one weekend and head down to the Ocean Mist for breakfast. Sip drinks and listen to the waves wash underneath the restaurant. And please, leave the kids at home; for their sake more than your own. I mean, have you seen the kind of people that dine there? I am not a pretty sight before noon...