D'Angelo's Bread, Santa Barbara, CA

This weekend I went back to the West coast, for a little bit of sun, fun and sightseeing (I also

managed to escape from the first snowstorm of the season back East). The first stop was in Santa Barbara, where our knowledgeable friends, Sid and Anjana recommended D'Angelo's Bread, a laid back bakery with an old-time feel a few blocks from the beach and from downtown SB.

The brunch started great. The East coast tradition of waiting at least 45' for a table at a brunch hot spot is unheard of here. I asked if there was a list I could put my name on and the server looked at me as if I had said there was a snowstorm coming. She said "next table is yours", and I almost fainted. Two seconds later a couple of brunchers asked for the check. Awesome.

We sat outside on a sidewalk table, although they also have a patio and inside seating. If your

thing is people watching, all three spots are great (even inside, since the walls are made out of glass; although you might have something of a "partial view" from those brunching outside). Flaming red Ferraris, crisp blue skies and four-story high palm trees complemented the view.

The menu had so many options that we had a hard time deciding. We all went for egg-based dishes, although the waffles, smoked salmon plates and salads all sounded sinfully delicious. Anjana had a humongous made-to-order omelet, filled with tons of feta cheese and peppers. More importantly for me, her order was the only one with homefries, which I was quick to try. They were roasted golden with a crispy skin, but very soft in the middle. For my order, I went minimalist: the "New York fried egg sandwich", which

sounds complex but was nothing more than a buttered kaiser roll with a fried egg. Exactly what I wanted. Furthermore, D'Angelo's eggs are fried and poached to order: hard, medium or soft. I asked to have my egg hard, which precluded me from enjoying the warm yolk on the bread, but allowed me to eat the sandwich open faced without making a mess.

Diego and Sid both went for the Eggs "Rose", a clear favorite at D'Angelo's. Two poached eggs on top of toast covered with artichoke spread. Once again, their eggs were poached to order. Diego asked for medium and Sid for soft. The medium-poached eggs had hardened-jelly-like whites and liquid yolks, while the soft-poached eggs were

barely cooked -whites and yolks had a very similar consistency once the egg was broken (although soft and medium eggs looked indistinguishable when served). Our table was the perfect example that cooks can have perfect control over their eggs. All three styles were perfectly identifiable, and all three brunchers were very happy with their meal.

A last mention should be made for the bread. Being a bakery, D'Angelo's buns, rolls and toasts did not disappoint. We were not particularly adventurous, however, and we all ordered kalamata olive toasts which, with large pieces of olive, were amazingly delicious. We could not resist the temptation of trying at least one pastry

and, even though we had more than enough food, we had a pain au chocolat. It was good, but not as good as the savory breads. We eased all this down with coffee, freshly squeezed OJ and a French sparkling blood orange limonade, which I thought was freshly made but which was actually a sophisticated version Fanta (in a very cool bottle that we forgot to take with us).

I have to say this was probably the perfect brunch.... great scenery, prompt service, no wait, brunch options for everyone, and delicious food. What else can you ask for?

Union Bar and Grille, South End, Boston, MA

Last weekend Ana and I decided to give the Aquitaine Group another chance after our subpar experience at Metropolis. Union Bar and Grill is this cool looking place on Washington St. that has been on our list for a while and we decided to pay them a visit and give their brunch menu a try. Their location makes them a perfect stop on your way to the SoWa market on a sunny Sunday afternoon. That was our plan, so we did not think twice about going to Union.

The first thing that must be said about this establishment is that they offer a great deal for brunch on Saturdays and early on Sundays. For 9.95 you can get you belly full of food and enjoy all the coffee that you might need. Sadly, we went there late and were confronted with the whole (full price) brunch menu.

The atmosphere of this place is relaxed, although a bit dark. Something like a mix between a steakhouse and a trendy spot in the Meat Packing district in NYC. Confusing but pleasant. Their menu seems quite complete and comprises different types of omelets, burgers, salads and eggs. I went with my usual Eggs Benedict while Ana tried the Union Breakfast. We woke up progressively while drinking coffee and  half Orange half Grapefruit Juice.

Ana's dish consisted of 3(!) Eggs over-easy with Ham, toast and home fries. I though it looked quite good. The potatoes, in particular, were tasty and oven cooked. They had a very comfortable homemade flavor. My Eggs Benedict were pretty basic and decent, although the portion was small. This was not a problem, however. After finishing most of my potatoes and my first Egg I discovered the second one was seriously undercooked. I pointed this out to our server who tried unsuccessfully to argue that poached meant undercooked.
Why would she do that!!?? No point in having a pointless discussion when you are going to replace the dish anyways. And this, she did. I got another full plate with a huge portion of potatoes and two perfectly cooked new Eggs. After that I was happy and I could barely walk out of the place, :). Luckily, we were just a couple of blocks from the SoWa market, where I could stroll leisurely while digesting my double Benedict serving.

Union turned out to be a fun place that helped us make peace with our Aquitaine friends. We will keep the place in mind next time we visit SoWa.

Cafe Luna, Cambridge MA

This weekend I went with my friend Mahnaz to Cafe Luna, in Central Square, Cambridge. We had been discussing places to go near Central Square, a neighborhood in which I thought I had exhausted all brunch spots.

I was clearly wrong as, far from being a hidden gem, Cafe Luna is located in one of the most popular corners of central square (Mass Ave, Columbia St, and Main) and people are eager to wait up to two hours to get a bite from some of their delicious plates. Fortunately for me, Mahnaz was in the know and had called a couple of days ahead to make reservations. Because everyone who "knows" calls ahead, it is almost impossible to try to get a table on the spur of the moment. In fact, there was a fare share of empty tables, despite the large crowd waiting outside.

The place has almost no decor, just a couple of framed photographs here and there and a small mural of a vineyard. But this is perfect, as the food is clearly the protagonist here. There were three pages worth of very creative dishes (as opposed to some places where there are many pages, but mostly listing every possible combination of omelet ingredients!): one with the daily specials, another with fall specials; and one with the regular menu which had "traditional" fare and specials. The menus include stuffed berries or raspberry hot chocolate and berry french toast (Mahnaz order), goat cheese, leek, caramelized onion, and fig omelet (which I'll probably order next time), or surf and turf Eggs Benedict (steak tips on one muffin, lobster on the other).

I went with an item from the Cafe Luna specials: the Western home fries. This is my new favorite brunch dish! Perfectly golden roasted potatoes with green peppers, onions and ham. They had the right amount of oil to give them a slight crispiness on the outside but not so much as too saturate one's palate with grease. This is particularly important as the ham also contributed to the plate's fattiness. And it gave it a touch of saltiness and flavor that goes really well with the beautifully seasoned potatoes. The home fries come with scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese, but I though it was too much and I did without the cheese.

The portions are so abundant that when you first seen them, you think there is no way you'll ever finish them. But after trying the first bite you realize you'll eat it all even if your stomach aches afterward! I was so stuffed throughout the day that I could only have a very light meal about 12 hours later.

The weather was awful, so we sat inside. But Cafe Luna also has outdoor seating. People watching can be very interesting here, with all the hippie bohemian MIT students parading on the sidewalk. I'll definitely take Diego to Cafe Luna next time. And if he likes it, and if it's sunny, and if we seat outside, we may have found the perfect brunch.