The idea of a Sunday brunch summons visions of leisurely indulgence. And when the notion occurs during a brutal end-of-winter cold snap, with the prospect of spring dangling like a governor’s pardon on death row, a cozy spot for that leisure becomes especially inviting.
So “the Porch,” the sunny room at La Forge Casino Restaurant, beckoned. The long space is actually an open-air veranda when the season changes, and extra tables are brought out and protected with large white parasols. At this time of year, though, the area is glassed-off against the elements. That invites dawdling over your croissants and coffee, basking in the sun like a cat curled in a window seat.
The Newport Casino was originally a men’s club, so the décor is decidedly masculine, as in dark wood paneling, period photos of tennis players, and prints of sailboats and more sailboats. The atmosphere is also determinedly Irish. Proprietor Paul Crowley was the one who in 1998 initiated the sister city arrangement between Newport and Kinsale, Ireland. It doesn’t hurt that the Casino’s colors are emerald green and burgundy.
The Casino never was a gambling establishment, by the way; that was left to the notorious Canfield House around the corner, which also is a restaurant now. In 1880 newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennet Jr. built the Casino because the stuffy club he belonged to got all red-faced and stammering, so to speak, at a guest of his. All that his friend, a British cavalry officer, had done was enter on his horse. Such bad sports, fussing over hoof prints on their Persian carpet.
No one had their snorting mount tied up at their table when we entered the porch room. A sunshine-drenched window table was available, so we could look out across the grass court to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which occupies the other side of the Casino, and imagine the thumps and grunts of serves and volleys.
Served 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, the brunch menu offers nine choices, from a signature jam-packed Crowley’s omelet to French toast and pancakes. Except for what we ordered, the dishes are $7.95.
For each of us, an item popped out of the brunch opportunities that might as well have had our names on them. For Johnnie, it was the poached eggs Newport ($16.95). For her, the only ingredient that mattered on this eggs Benedict variation was the lobster meat. A generous portion was served aside the Hollandaise-topped eggs on the English muffin. She was pleased with the sauce, although my preference is for it to be zippier with lemon. The poached eggs were on the runny side, the reason I hardly ever order the dish, even though I love it when it’s prepared well. The purported home fries were actually more like steak fries — which we both liked even better, each orange-slice-shaped length crispy on every side.
My choice was the most popular offering on the list, we were told, the Irish country breakfast ($11.50). When the restaurant gets busy, from May into fall, Sunday brunch is available as an all-you-can-eat $14.95 buffet, and the Irish version is served on the first Sunday of every month. What a deal. A real Irish “fry up,” as Johnnie says they called such an extravagance during her breakfasts there.
