Post Wedding Breakfast Special

The Sailing Cow Café

170 Old Wharf Road Dennisport, MA 02639

Website: Sailing Cow Cafe

1. Initial impression of convenience, parking, and location.

• The cafe is situated within condos and resorts on the seasonal coast of Dennis Port.
• Parking was limited to 20 vehicles though even on a Sunday there were spaces available. Possibly due to its proximity to the resorts negating the necessity to drive.
• The one knock would have to be that we were here two weeks ago and according to their website they would be open. They were not. We addressed this on their Facebook page and they responded without much regret.

2. Wait time to be greeted, seated, and first impressions of staff.

• The gentleman and his fiancé arrived first and were promptly greeted by a busboy and hostess. They were very kind and did not need to wait until the whole party was present.
• The initial impression of the staff was inviting. This must be trained exclusively for this as we were picking up the pieces as the dining experience progressed.

3. Type of seating, comfort, wait time for server introduction.

• The seating was plentiful with both inside and outside options available. We selected outside as the sun was shining and the view of the leathery, topless, elderly aplenty.
• The seating was typical for eating outdoors, plastic table, plastic chairs and an umbrella. Half of the party enjoyed the shade, while the other half endured the scorching blazing heat of the mid morning sun.
• At the Sailing Cow, there are a multitude of servers to assist you. At times it can become confusing as to who is your actual server. We did not have to wait for our server, as we had more than one! We were offered coffee by one girl, offered coffee again by another, and then finally our server came over to take our orders.

4. Variety of menu options (too many/too little)

• Too Little. Where’s the beef? Or any meat? What? If you would like breakfast at the Sailing Cow Café, you can have your choice of bacon or sausage (but not sausage, because they were out)

5. Menu highlights of uncommon items.

• Cowabunga Omelette (20 egg Omelette to be eaten within 40 minutes)
• Corn Bread French Toast
• Deep Fried French Toast

6. Speed of food delivery, and first impressions of plating, initial aroma.

• The food took slightly longer normal but not terribly long.
• The deliverer/main/older server had difficulty determining whose plate was whose as two dishes came without intended sausage.
• She thought either of two plates were the lady's but neither were, her plate followed moments later.

7. TASTE!

• Coffee. If you love your coffee to be watered down and tasteless, then the Sailing Cow Café should be the next destination on your list! It’s the Coors Light of coffee. (The Brown Bullet)
• The Gentleman would like to congratulate the lady and her man on their wedding. Friends and family crossed borders and bridges to see them married on the beach.  With their life together ahead of them they were still able to make breakfast. Coffee and confused service aside, his meal was not too bad. He ordered the Georgefarm Special. The older/main server had mentioned that this was the meal most men ordered. 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage and two pancakes with toast and homefries, the menu read. 2 runny eggs, a handful of limp bacon, 2 sweet delicious pancakes, thick cut homefries and weak white toast he received. If there is a next time the gentleman would go straight for the pancakes, however no where on the menu is a plate of pancakes priced or mentioned.

• The Gentleman’s Fianceé was left hungry as the meal she ordered was unfortunately unsatisfactory. The timeliness of the table visits by competent service were too sparse to make any changes or complaints. The eggs benedict she ordered could have been just fine had it not been slathered with liquidy hollandaise sauce. Whomever makes the coffee must also create the sauce. She enjoyed the homefries as well as the sub she later needed to indulge in to fill her void.

• The Lady's order was not as expected. This restaurant did not have the option of a meat + egg combo, therefore it had to be ordered separately. One egg, one piece of toast and homefries with bacon on the side was ordered for this post-wedding breakfast celebration. The egg, surprisingly enough, was an egg! It was over-easy, not easy-over, and was cooked perfectly. The Rye toast was light and fluffy, and had a wonderful mouth-feel. The homefries were delectable, firm, yet soft at the same time. Just the right combination. The flavour of the homefries was wonderful, providing  The bacon was unfortunate however. It is disappointing when there is no choice of kielbasa or linguica. This establishment had paper thin bacon. More like air with the taste of cured pork than anything with substance. When the lady had half a slice of toast left, she added some sugared berry flavoured spread to it, and picked it up to take a bite. One of the many servers came in with stealth and took the lady’s plate right out from under her. Oh well, I guess I was done with that anyway?

• The Lady’s Husband ordered the grilled French Toast which would be considered “normal” French Toast as the other option was Deep Fried. It came with butter packets on top which the gentleman would consider disgusting, as it had touched other hands before laying atop the French Toast.The powdered sugar was just enough to add a little sweetness, but not overly so. But the time it had come out of the kitchen, the top piece was a bit cold, but the flavour was good. After obtaining some table syrup (authentic maple syrup was not available) in a squeeze bottle, the French Toast was complete. The bread had a nice crust on the outside, and was nice and fluffy on the inside. The flavour was good, and as the slices disappeared, the warmth was found in the lower slices. The home fries were ordered as a side, but came on a full meal sized plate. And while the husband quite enjoys this amount of food, it could be a turn off to some. But oh the taste! The frying of the potatoes was exceptional, and the spices added some zing, but not enough that it was overwhelmingly spicy. Although an abnormally large amount for a side dish, it might have been a better dish than the French Toast.

• The Lady’s Brother-In-Law had the Georgefarm Special. He thoroughly enjoyed his pancakes, as he exclaimed on more than one occasion throughout the meal. They were delicious and fluffy. The Lady’s Brother-In-Law, after noticing that the Lady’s plate was taken mid meal, held on to his pancake plate to prevent it from being removed before he was finished.

(The Lady's Brother-In-Law Chris, and yes ladies, he's single)

8. Value of product.

• (value of product comments)
• Coffee $2.00 per bottomless cup (although for a full cup of all-coffee-hold-the-extra-water it would probably be more)
• Side of bacon $2.95
• 2 eggs and choice of meat not available. 2 eggs available for $4.50
• Muffins $2.95

9. Payment options.

• Cash
• Amex, MC, Visa

Overall Rating: 6/10

Good: 

It was nice to have breakfast outdoors, as it was a beautiful day on Cape Cod (as most days are when you live by the beach) Parts of the meal were enjoyable.

Bad: 

The food overall was not good. There can be no middle ground when you are breakfasting. It should be all or none. Although the homefries and pancakes were delicious, they do not make up an entire meal. The outdoor seating seemed to be too close to the other tables, as part way during the meal the table next to us was filled, and The Lady was squashed by a larger gentlemen who sat down without a care that there was someone behind him.

Overall: 
The fact that we had attempted to dine at this location once before and discovered that it was not actually open (although their website and Facebook page indicated we could dine there beginning Memorial Day) should have been taken as foreshadowing for how the breakfast would play out. The menu options available were disappointing, the food was sub-par aside from the pancakes and homefries, and the wait staff charged with removing dishes were oppressive. There were parts of this meal that were enjoyable, however overall it is not a location that we will return to unless we are in the area and our cars break down.