Jim's Deli, Brighton, MA

Yesterday morning I went househunting around Brighton with my friends Rocio, Tomeu and Pablito (they are the ones looking). The sun was shining, but with 15F it did not really make that much of a difference. So, after visiting a couple of open houses we were confused, exhausted, cold and hungry. Thanks God then for Jim's Deli!

Jim's is your typical undergrads hangout. Huge portions, relatively cheap prices, fast and greasy, it has all you need to get you blood running again after a hungover (I don't think they have alcoholic drinks though) or, in our case, after having lost all sensibility from our limbs.

I have to confess that when we arrived I was a little bit worried about Pablito. The place is incredibly popular, and there was a long line of loud BC students eager to devour chicken sandwiches, one out of four breakfast specials, omelets, pancakes, burgers and more. It seemed a lot of information overflow for an eight-month old. It turns out that most students order take out, and this leaves the booth area (cleverly partitioned from the cafeteria-style kitchen) as a relatively peaceful space for those eating in. In addition, the servers were all super kid friendly and, maybe, were even happy about the change in demographics. Pablito was very happy and super excited (I'd like to think it was because of Jim's, but who knows....).

So, what did we have? Rocio ordered the "farmer's special" that came in two plates (!), with eggs any style, bacon, ham or sausage, pancakes or waffles, and homefries. Tomeu asked almost every

bruncher at Jim's about their orders (he was tempted by absolutely everything) and finally settled with the Cordon Bleu chicken sandwich plate, an obscene sandwich with five large pieces of fried chicken, cheese, Cordon Bleu sauce, a mound of fries and pickles. Even though it came in a very large plate, it was clearly not enough. Alright, I guess I just wanted to preface my order so that you realized that it was actually the most minimalist out of all the three! I had an egg and cheese sandwich with ham on toasted (thanks to the suggestion of one of the cooks) marble rye. The ham was a very thick, half-inch steak. I could have done without the cheese -I don't think it was super high quality-, but there wasn't too much of it in any case. Ah, and it also came with homefries, which were your typical diner-style on-the-flat grill potatoes (sans paprika).

I really liked this place. It is perfect for a quick fix of grease cravings. But I guess it would have been the perfect brunch 10 years ago, when I partied late and I actually enjoyed waiting in line with my fellow party-goers. These days, I'm more into a carefully thought-out design, healthy options, smart cocktails and waiting lists. I probably need a younger perspective; I'm sure Pablito will write wonders about Jim's in the years to come.

Coppa, South End, Boston, MA

Last week we felt the need to get out of quaint Cambridge and decided to aim for nonchalant sophistication in the South End. This is clearly the main brunch neighborhood in Boston and was the perfect place to enjoy a cold but incredibly sunny winter Sunday morning. Of course, we were not the only people that came up with this idea. The streets of the South End were crowded with people running morning errands and getting ready for brunch. Curiously, Ana and I were the only ones that were not walking in the company of dogs or kids...

Our destination was Coppa.

Most people in the Boston area are familiar with the very popular Tapas Bar in the South End, Toro. Ana and I love this establishment. It is the perfect place to get sophisticated spanish fare. If you are into Navajas, Tortilla and Albarino, Toro is your place. Rather recently, the man behind Toro, Ken Oringer, decided to open another restaurant that is to Italy what Toro is to Spain. This is Coppa. After I found out about this place, I could not wait to see what it was like.

We decided to give their brunch a try. Coppa is a very nicely setup establishment. It is cozy and warm while still being sophisticated. The place it is actually an enoteca. Because, we don't do wine and brunch, we will explore that side of the business some other time. Although the specialize in all sort of italian food, I would have to say that their home made Salumi (Charcuterie) is a definite highlight. We could not resist and ordered a portion of duck prosciutto to get things started. It was just amazing. We had coffee and juice with that, as well as a very interesting Bloody Mary with pickled mushrooms and horseradish.

Now, their menu is very interesting and everything looks delicious. We decided that we would definitely be back for dinner some other time and constrained our decision process to their brunch specials. Ana went with the Panino di Mattina: an amazing pressed sandwich containing prosciutto, fontina, fried eggs and arugula. Good, huh?
I decided to go with Uova con Funghi. This consists in a (perfectly cooked, not to runny, not to dry) egg scramble with oyster mushrooms, roasted garlic potatoes and sourdough toast. The ideal dish to jumpstart your Sunday morning.

Overall we had a great time and the staff was very friendly. We had a perfect brunch and got to relax and fill our bellies before taking a stroll down Shawmut Ave. Coppa is definitely a place we will be visiting again soon. I guess French is next in Ken Oringer's list... I would definitely visit that restaurant, too.

Trina's Starlite Lounge, Somerville, MA

Yesterday we woke up to the typical bareness that accompanies a winter holiday. The streets were deserted and the temperature of 15°F did not help it. We were considering a full day of movie-watching and procrastination when Diego remembered Trina's Starlite Lounge's Industry Brunch.

A couple of years ago the folks at the Starlite Lounge came to a striking realization. All those cooks, chefs, maitres d', servers, busboys who work the Sunday shifts can never enjoy the blissfulness of a Sunday brunch. To right this wrong, they have been offering Monday Industry brunches ever since. To top it all, their fried chicken has been named one of the 10 best fried chickens outside the South by Bonn Appetit Magazine.

The Starlite Lounge is a few blocks from our place, so we gathered our strengths and marched over there thinking we would waltz in, have some quick Southern-style brunch and be on our way back in no time. After all, the streets looked as if everyone had decided to stay in! Boy we were wrong. A large fraction of the Inmanite population seemed to have congregated at the Starlite Lounge. Maybe with the holiday many "industry outsiders" had shared our thoughts, or maybe the industry does come together here on Mondays. In any case, we were welcomed by a huge crowd and a one and a half hours of waiting time.

After exactly 1.5 hours we were sat. We waited another 20 minutes for service and then another 20 until our food reached the table. The servers (two for about 15 tables) were nice and even apologetic for the slow service as they were clearly overwhelmed. I won't go as far as to say that the meal was worth the wait, but it was certainly delicious.

Diego went with the fried chicken on buttermilk waffle with hot pepper syrup. I'm not a big fan of fried chicken (after all, chicken is chicken) but Diego devoured the whole thing almost without breathing and I have to admit that the syrup was highly original. It had a spicy aftertaste without being overtly strong or hot. Because he had chosen an atypical brunch meal, he did without the coffee, and ordered a Bloody Mary instead. Trina's Starlite Lounge is foremost a cocktails bar and they do seem to know their craft. The BM was perfectly spicy, not terribly thick and came with a cucumber (pickeld?) spear to cool one's mouth after the spiciness. All in all a perfect cocktail for brunch.

After Diego's decadence, I felt compelled to take a more minimalist approach. All the options looked delicious (a Cobb salad, a traditional two eggs-bacon-toast-hash breakfast, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, a country benny -bagels instead of English muffin and over easy eggs instead of poached, and huevos rancheros) but as I have done many times before, I went with two sides instead a full plate: a fruit cup and a portion of sweet corn bread. I am of the idea that corn bread is the U.S. most important contribution to the culinary world, and the Starlite Lounge one was probably the best I've ever tried. It was golden and crusty on the outside and soft, crumbly and with whole kernels on the inside. It came with a scoop of sweet butter and it was a thing of beauty: it looked more like a desert than a side.

Clearly, this was something of a controversial brunch: fried chicken and corn bread are certainly far from eggs, bacon or salmon, but we did have coffee, OJ+GJ, fruit and Bloody Mary. Most importantly, the Starlite Lounge gave us a Sunday on a Monday, and that was the brunch spirit we needed to end a sad winter weekend on a high note.

The Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro, Boston, MA

Last week Ana and I decided we wanted to breath some city air and went to the other side of the Charles to get some Beacon Hill chic. Ana had been insisting for months now that we should visit the little corner Bistro at the Beacon Hill Hotel and, as always, I decided to indulge her. The weather was marvelous, given that it was January in Boston after all, so we decided to walk over the bridge and catch some sun on the way there and back.

The Beacon Hill Hotel Bistro is very nicely decorated and set up with those nice Parisian-NewYorker white tiles that hypnotize people into walking into a restaurant. I don't think anyone can resist this effect. Being a cornel locale, the restaurant is drenched in light and makes the perfect setting for a relaxing brunch experience.

Their menu is pretty standard for a hotel restaurant and little bit unimaginative, I must say. Still you'll be able to find your fundamentals.

Ana decided to order the roasted peppers, onions, potatoes and cheddar cheese frittata.   Although quite filling, Ana did not seem particularly impressed. Ana is a big fan of side roasted potatoes, which were advertised to be served with the dish and were nowhere to be found. Of course, the frittata had more than its share of potatoes, but we'll get to them in a moment. Toast was also served with the dish and they were remarkably good. Also some kind of homemade cherry jam was offered that complemented the toast perfectly.

I decided to go with the poached eggs on smoked ham and toasted brioche with hollandaise herb sauce. Why not call them Eggs Benedict!!!??? You don't call Hot Dogs, processed pig parts, right? Anyways, once I got over this nomenclature issue, I was able to enjoy a pretty tasty dish. The eggs were perfectly poached and the brioche toast was amazing. They seem to know their toasts here. My dish was served with a side of roasted potatoes. And that's where problems begin.... They were artificial potatoes. You know the frozen one type made out of some paste and shaped like potatoes? Who in their right mind uses these????
Anyways, except of this unacceptable mistake, everything was great.

In the end, it was the location and set up, the real assets of the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro. After all, isn't it a luxury to relax and have a decent meal in a beautiful winter in Beacon Hill while on the Quest for the Perfect Brunch?

T.W. Food, Cambridge, MA

When Diego asked me where I wanted to have my birthday celebration this year, there was no doubt in my mind that T.W. Food was the place. We had been there once for one of their magnificent Improv. nights and I got totally hooked. In improv night, the chefs improvised five dishes per person using the day's ingredients (you could ask for the list in advance). The place was crowded the night we went (about ten two-people tables) and every single person got something different during the two hours we spent there.

They don't do these anymore, but the idea remains. Chef Wiechmann is not afraid of changing the menu on a daily basis in order to use the freshest and best ingredients. Last Sunday, the squash bisque was lobster's, the smoked pastrami hash was actually a Beef and tongue hash, the omelet was accompanied by kale instead of bok choi, and the salmon was beet-smoked instead of spice-smoked. And these were the changes we noticed; there may have been many more subtle differences in the menu that we may have overlooked.

Brunch comes as prix-fix (coffee or orange juice, one starter, one entree and one dessert or cocktail for $29) or a la carte from the prix-fix menu. For a succulent and rich meal, the prix fix is certainly a good deal. There is one item in the menu for every personality and every dish comes with a range of components; you don't feel like that money could buy much more (well, maybe if you are the type who goes to all-you-can-eat buffets to find out how much you can actually eat!) somewhere else. I guess my only complaint is that you have to choose between coffee and OJ, and the freshly squeezed OJ is actually quite expensive ($5). So, this is actually a $35 prix fix...

In any case, we splurged and went with two prix fix plus two OJs. Diego had the charcuterie duo: a chicken liver mousse and a pate with pistachio, raisins and foie grass. Both meats were delicious. The mousse was soft and delicate, almost like a cream of chicken liver, and the pate was superbly made. My simpler palate called for simpler food, so I ordered the bakery plate: a chocolate-almond muffin that I would be immensely happy to have in my daily breakfast (albeit slightly oily) and orange-cranberry scones with homemade blueberry marmalade that was to die for. I could have gone home more than happy if that was it.

But, then came the entrees, also great. Diego had the beef and tongue hash with poached eggs

and biscuit, which were slightly salty for my taste but perfect according to Diego. He also
saidsomething about the eggs being "strangely cooked", but he couldn't really pinpoint what was strange about them and was overall very happy with his plate. I had the beet-smoked salmon. Let me just say that, regardless of the taste, this is visually impressive. The salmon was batik-dyed in deep red and the originality of it is undeniable. It tasted like any normal smoked salmon, a flavor that was complimented by a salad of cattle beans, greens and pears.

By then we were certainly no longer hungry. Still, we delved into the desserts with all our strengths. Diego took a while to finish his dark chocolate budinno, but ended up scrapping the bottom of the cup, last pieces of rock salt and the last drops of olive oil included. I couldn't finish my grapefruit panna cota, wich looked like a latte but tasted like heaven. I don't really like cinnamon, but the cinnamon gélée was perfect; it added to the texture without overpowering the taste.

I don't think this was the perfect brunch. By now you should now that I like open spaces, preferably with sidewalk tables, and tiny T.W. Food is neither. In addition, brunch should give you energies to continue with your day, and this feast could only be followed by a nap. But, this is quite possibly my favorite restaurant in the world, and that means we will certainly be back.

S & S, Cambridge, MA

After a one month break we decided to go back to our die hard habits and take up brunching, once again. We decided to make a strong come back in one of our favorite places in Cambridge, S & S. Curiously, we hadn't written a post about this Inman Square institution up until now (we did write a post on its sister establishment Ryles some time back, though.).

S & S is one of the oldest delis in the Boston area with a rich history that goes back to 1919.   We were not around then, but I can safely assume the place was as consistently packed every weekend as it is these days. This establishment is a traditional NY style deli and I have to say it can successfully go toe to toe with many of the Manhattan powerhouses in the business. Their menu is long and varied but the actual stars are the smoked whitefish, lox, egg dishes and cold cuts (including a fabulous homemade corned beef). Their bagels are, predictably, also legendary. Finally, because of the amazing size of their dining room, even though the place is always crowded, it is unusual to wait in line for long.

Having gone through this chain of raving compliments, let us discuss our experience last weekend. We wanted to have a simple and to the point brunch experience, so we decided lox and bagel should fit the bill perfectly. Ana ordered exactly that while I ordered the lox platter which includes some extra ingredients (tomato and a hard boiled egg) and considerably more salmon than its smaller version. We waited for a long time for our dishes (which obviously needed no preparation). When our food arrived my platter contained maybe 25 % less salmon than Ana's bagel (when it's usually around 40% more!). When I brought this up with the waitress she said that was the way it was and that should be the end of it. Ridiculous. On a second iteration she decided it would be ok if I wanted to bring the issue up with the manager (gracious of her!). After 20 minutes we got our audience granted. When I explained the situation, the manager said that, although we were right in stating that the platter is a larger portion (which of course I knew, having had that dish maybe 10 times), she could not confirm the situation, as we were already midway through our brunch. She repeated this many times and said she had no way of knowing if we were telling the truth. I was speechless. I guess that triggered her reaction: she said that we could have one or two more slices of salmon on her. How absurd is that! I payed for my salmon!!!! In any case, I said she shouldn't do us any favors and that we just wanted to finish our meal.  She said nothing and disappeared, never to be seen again.

We finished our brunch and left, disappointed. Of course, the bagel and (little) lox I did get were superb as always.

I am really sorry it is this experience that gets posted on QPB, as we have visited S&S countless times with great success and joy. I guess, they are not perfect after all... The Quest continues..

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.

Canele, Los Angeles, CA

This week The Quest for the Perfect Brunch took us to Los Angeles, California. After a couple of hours of intense research we decided to kick-start our two-month long brunch sampler in the Golden State in Canele, a smart, hip and intimate neighborhood institution in the Atwater Village.

The inventive menu includes fried farro with bacon, eggs and sriracha, goat cheese, gruyere, feta and tomato confit omelet, or braised leeks, bacon and fried eggs sandwich. Diego and I went with a more traditional fare: he had pastrami hash with sauerkraut and fried eggs, while I opted for my second favorite brunch dish: eggs in a hole.

Both dishes were beautifully presented. Diego's hash was arranged in a flat, circular mound that had exactly the same

diameter as the perfectly fried eggs. My eggs were precisely inserted in their hole, such that the yolk was in the center. In addition to the presentation, they tasted great. Diego said that the pastrami was not Carnegie's but he also did not utter a single word throughout the meal, which I take it as a sign of Canele's success. My toasts were a bit oily, but tasted great with a crunchy crust (they even brought a serrated knife for it) and a crispy middle. It came with roasted potatoes and a side salad. They both were a nice surprise (not listed in the menu), the potatoes crispy but not fried and the baby spinach salad

beautifully dressed. Another unexpected detail was the salt: slightly moist, it was brought loose

to the table and was an excellent condiment for all elements in the meal.

As for drinks, locavore Canele could not serve anything other than filtered tap water and freshly squeezed orange juice. But, eating local has a price, and the small glasses of OJ ended up being the -relatively- more expensive items on the bill. The free-refill coffee, on the other hand, was dark, strong and delicious. And, it came with brown sugar cubes which, although hard to dissolve, tied the experience as a high-quality, healthy-concious one.

Let me finally say that our plates, as huge as they were, were probably the smallest portions we saw. Humongous orders of eggy French Toasts, salmon tartare and even burgers swept by and

left us with our mouths open. But it was nothing compared to the baked pancake with lemon custard we ordered as desert -not that we were still hungry, but we had heard wonders about it!. After seeing the generous portions of ours and other brunchers plates, we should have seen it coming: the baked pancake, listed as a "side" on the menu was actually a souffle-like dough oven-backed in a medium-size clay pot with a hearty portion of deliciously sweet lemon custard on top. We reminded ourselves that for $4.5 we could simply try it (and check what the fuss was all about) and leave the rest but, after the first forkful, we simple caved in and devoured the entire thing. The hype was right: it was indeed glorious and I can see myself going back just for them.

Food-wise, this was definitely close to perfect. Everything was cooked to perfection, tasted

great and had the right size for a long, lusciously relaxed meal. Location-wise, however, it is in a not very hip neighborhood... People-watching, one of the quintessential pleasures of brunching and a clear pastime of Angelinos is not something that comes easily here, even in the sun-filled communal table that faces the window. Glendale Blvd., the street where Canele is on, is a mostly empty avenue with a few old-fashioned shops. Out-door sitting does not seem like it is ever going to be fun either. So, while we may have found the perfect dishes, we are still far away from the perfect brunch.

Let's see what the next few weeks of California brunching bring to us.