THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508100248
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Restaurant Review
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER CHRISTMAN
DATELINE: DUCK LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
My idea of breakfast is a diet cola from the 7-Eleven on the way to the office. Splurging means a Pop-Tart.
So when the Sanderling Inn Resort Restaurant's alluring Sunday brunch menu was peppered with exotic words like ``compote,'' ``gruyere'' and ``vichyssoise,'' I knew this dining experience would not be ordinary.
For a restaurant regarded as one of the fancier places to dine on the Outer Banks, the price of brunch is downright reasonable. The gourmet three-course meal of an appetizer, entree, dessert and beverage is $14.95 for adults and $8.50 for children.
And you won't leave hungry.
``We are trying to offer regional Southern eclectic-type cuisine that fits in with the area,'' said sous chef Simon Andrews. ``We try to emphasize local seafood and produce with a Southern flair. We like to keep it simple and elegant.''
Elegant, but not stuffy. Shorts and sneakers are every bit as welcome as sundresses and sport coats.
It's not just the food that stands out at the Sanderling Inn Resort Restaurant - the history is equally interesting. The restaurant, which was restored in 1982, was built in 1899 as Caffey's Inlet U.S. Lifesaving Station. The restaurant's dining room - a mixture of polished wood furnishings and nautical mementos - was once the station's boathouse.
``When you come into the restaurant, you are not just eating the food, you are going back in time,'' Andrews said.
One reason I shy away from eating breakfast in restaurants is that I cannot stomach overly perky servers first thing in the morning. You know the ones I mean - the kind that can rattle off 32 kinds of syrup through smiling teeth.
Our waiter at the Sanderling was just right for two Sunday sleepyheads - polite and responsive, but not in-your-face chatty.
I started my brunch with the innovative and delicious wild rice crepes filled with smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives. The light fingers filled with smooth puffs of tasty salmon sat atop a fluffy mound of flavorful wild rice and a creamy pond of dill sauce with specks of fresh spices.
My friend ordered the fresh fruit appetizer - an array of ripe peach slices, plump berries and melon chunks that was accented with a dollop of strawberry sorbet and a sweet kiwi sauce.
Other appetizers include vegetable strudel, Caesar salad and red potato vichyssoise.
I chose the grilled tuna on angel hair pasta for my entree. Tossed with olive oil, garlic and tomatoes, the tasty pasta alone could have been a satisfying meal. The sizable portion of grilled tuna was excellent and filling.
My more daring friend tried the stuffed zucchini nut bread French toast. The bite I snatched tasted more like spice cake than French toast, but it was moist and scrumptious. And no zucchini aftertaste. The French toast was accompanied by two fat smoked sausage links.
Other entrees include poached egg with smoked tuna on a potato pancake; blueberry macadamia nut pancakes; sun-dried cherry, goat cheese and Vidalia onion quiche, and grilled chicken with mozzarella and tomatoes on a bed of spinach.
My friend and I both felt too full for dessert but split the intriguing flourless chocolate cake in spite of ourselves. It looked harmless enough - only a small sliver - but the dense fudge-like cake proved to be very sweet and rich.
More satisfying than a diet cola any day. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
The Sanderling Inn at Duck is built in the former Caffey's Inlet
Lifesaving Station.
SANDERLING INN
Where: N.C. 12 in Duck.
Hours: Brunch is served from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday; breakfast
daily from 8 to 10:30 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., bar
menu from 2 to 5 p.m.; dinner 5 to 9 p.m.
Phone: 261-3021.
Reservations: Required.
Features: Brunch includes choice of appetizer, entree, dessert
and beverage. Vegetarian offerings available.
Beverages: Iced or hot coffee and tea.
Prices: $14.95 for adults, $8.50 for children.
Payment: American Express, Visa, Master Card, Discover, personal
checks.
by CNB