Cowfish in Hampton Bays

After a crazier week and even crazier Saturday night, nothing is more welcoming than Sunday brunch. Yes, we all love it. Sadly, this has nothing to do with brunch. Apparently brunch is held in the early hours of the afternoon, not around 5 p.m. I personally think it should be all day. Either way, my BFF (yeah, I said it) Jessica and I decided one very rainy Sunday that we needed to recover from the week with an early dinner at Cowfish in Hampton Bays. Already fans of it’s sister restaurant, Rumba, we were eager to check out the new place.

Extremely exhausted and a little hangry, we made our way to the gap between the North and South Fork. It was a bit confusing to find, but we made it there only three hours late for brunch. Oops. Dinner at the bar would have to suffice. Being true to us, Jessica and I ordered a bottle of wine at the bar. My darling friend is a sommelier in the Court of Masters and while I do have a little wine knowledge, I leave these serious choices up to her. She selected the 2010 Klinker Brick Zinfandel, and wow was that a great choice. The medium bodied red was fruit forward with a long, smooth finish. After a little research I discovered this wine has won a few awards and is one of their best vintages to date. I would gladly drink this wine again.

The menu at Cowfish is surprisingly much different than the one at Rumba. Many times a restaurant group will serve very similar menus, something they know their current customers already like. Not Cowfish. The menu options were equally delicious but quite different. To start, I ordered the oysters Hampton – four fried oysters atop reggiano creamed spinach and finished with garlic aioli and dab of sriracha. Everything about that dish made me happy. The fried oysters and creamed spinach were comforting and delicious. It really hit the spot. With the rain pouring outside the dish warmed me up nicely. Jessica ordered the New England style clam chowder. The large bowl was more than enough and she enjoyed the freshness of the clams. We were a little hungry at this point and finished our appetizers before I even thought to take a picture.

We debated for a bit when it came to our entrée choices to the point where we almost changed our order, more than once. In the end we went with shrimp and crab remoulade and the Cowfish burger. The crab and shrimp remoulade consisted of fresh avocado, shrimp remoulade, fresh lump crab, corn, tomato, purple onion and crostini. Everything was layered, excluding the crostini, so that each bite was packed with all of the different flavors. While I did enjoy the dish, I almost wish I started with it so that I could finish with the oysters I fell in love with. I found the shrimp to be less thrilling and could have done without it in this dish. The burger was just a burger, nothing special. It came with mustard and mayo on it, which was not listed on the menu. While I like that, Jessica hates both of those condiments. Without the top half of the bun, it was still good. The fries were a bit too salty.

It was a boozy Sunday indeed and we couldn’t help but order a margarita after the meal. Or maybe it was two? Either way, we enjoyed ourselves on this stormy Sunday. I would say our experience at Cowfish was good enough but I would definitely visit again. The food was tasty and I am a firm believer in second, third and fourth chances when it comes to eating. We’ll have to get up a bit earlier and go for brunch. I’m confident it will be worth it!