LOUISE'S BLOG:
BRUNCHING AT REVEL

Something is right when a dozen people are waiting in expectation for the gate of a restaurant to be opened for brunch on Sunday at 10 am. It is not just hunger but anticipation.

As we enter the long slender room, sunshine flows in the windows that frame a busy ready kitchen. Three cooks are energetically preparing for a full house. We choose a table for three that parallels a long counter of seats. We are just opposite the open space where the finished orders will be placed, a great view for previewing the dishes as they come out.

I like a restaurant that throws down the gauntlet of culinary challenge. Sunday brunch is a meal everyone finds easy to love. Pancakes, eggs and waffles are de rigueur but what about Dungeness crab egg foo young? It is exciting to see that Revel sets a challenge before you with an Asian perspective on the first meal of the day.

We begin with cocktails: Arancia Mimosa and the Kimchi Bloody Marys while we contemplate our choices. As we sip away, we choose the Monkey bread, a pull-apart loaf with a flowing goat cheese interior, with cranberry, ginger and candied pecan, and Curried chocolate coconut, milk jam donuts. (Crisp rounds sitting on a light sauce.) They are both sweetly satisfying.

We love to order a variety of dishes and share an assortment of great tastes. So we choose the Egg foo young with Dungeness crab, zucchini and Thai basil then look for another dish to challenge our palate with new flavors. The Short rib and eggs, arugula, chili chimichurri, rice bowl does not initially sound like a brunch dish, but topped with two crisp fried eggs, it becomes our favorite.

Just in case someone in your party prefers the conventional there is bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast, but with flair. The toast is thickly sliced and grilled served with a zesty orange marmalade. The bacon in an enormous thick slice also grilled to perfection.

The counter balance of western pastries with edgy ingredients and eastern style dishes proves to be satisfying and delightful. For our next brunch visit maybe we will try the Dan Dan noodles or a Shrimp, Chinese broccoli, brown butter porridge.