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?