Specialty Of The House: The Dockside, Sag Harbor

There's something especially comforting about the Dockside, an unassuming restaurant squeezed into one side of Sag Harbor's American Legion Hall. From the start it was a sort of popular secret with the locals - no frills, low prices, hearty food, and a patio view of the docks. Shhh. Now, after a year and a half, the word is out, but it's still the kind of place where even one-time visitors are treated like part of the extended family.

That's one of the things the restaurant's chef, Cora Reyes, appreciates about it. "I like the camaraderie," she said, sitting in the warm restaurant while the wind outside moaned in the sailboat riggings.

She also likes the respect she gets at the Dockside. Being a woman chef in a field traditionally dominated by men can be tough. At first, she said, restaurateurs don't believe a woman can run the show. Not so at the Dockside. She's shared the kitchen with other chefs, but from day one she's called the shots.

"Nobody stands over me and from the beginning I had free rein."

Ms. Reyes began cooking professionally only after her four children were grown, but raising them was integral to her culinary training. "Having four kids you learn how to cook," she said.

A self-described "Army brat," she was born in Wales, and lived all over the United States and in Europe as a youngster. Standard military food doesn't have such a great reputation, but it was on the base that her education in the kitchen began.

Her father was an Army chef and catered large parties for the "higher echelons." At home, he often recruited her for chopping or slicing duty in the kitchen. She watched, she mimicked, and later, when she enlisted in the Army herself, as a medic, she found her fellow servicemen and women were a great source of culinary knowledge.

"Being in the military you meet people from all over the place and you pick up tips from them," she said.

She picked up many in Germany, where her family lived for six years. Now, after the military, she continues to learn from those around her. The restaurant's Latin American employees, for example, have taught her to make tamales from four different countries.

Under Ms. Reyes the Dockside menu is a mixture of her many influences, everything from quesadillas to Mediterranean tuna and fish chowder.

She doesn't believe in building culinary castles or painting a masterpiece on the edge of the dish, like some of the trendier South Fork restaurants. "I like very basic things, hearty meals, and lots of food on the plate."

Mediterranean Tuna

Ingredients:

1 lb. tuna, in bite-size cubes

Olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1 small onion, minced

2 ripe tomatoes, quartered

2 boiled potatoes, cubed

8 black olives, chopped

1/8 cup capers

1/4 cup white wine

Fresh tarragon, chopped

Fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Saute garlic, onion, and tomatoes in olive oil until soft. Add potatoes, olives, capers, and white wine and cook until warm.

Add tuna and tarragon. Saute until tuna is cooked lightly on the outside.

Serve over pasta, sprinkled with fresh parsley.

Serves two.