The omelets arrive, big as the half moon, accompanied by crunchy home fries and pastel-colored champagne drinks.
The day is looking up.
Until recently, if you meandered around Durango on a weekend seeking a leisurely lunchtime meal where you wouldn’t feel foolish with a frou-frou drink in your hand, you found your choices wanting. But take heart, hungry wanderer.
You have four new brunch-lunch destinations to add to the mix, and by early summer, five – 6512, Seasons Rotisserie & Grill, Chimayo Stone Fired Kitchen, Brew and Steamworks Brewing Co.’s upcoming, upscale venture, El Moro, coming in July to 945 Main Ave.
Fresh spinach and crab peek out of the omelet (fluffy, not rolled) slathered in a lemony hollandaise sauce; black beans, cherry tomatoes and cheese spill from the Southwest version, both served at 6512, which opened in March where Randy’s used to be at 152 E. College Drive. (Dearest chef, I would have been in heaven had the eggs been a little softer.)
The plates are enormous, the food fresh yet filling. The service was attentive but not intrusive, with the happy buzz of a mellow lunchtime bar scene behind you.
General Manager Colin Bronson talked us into trying three of his champagne creations – he uses Spanish cava, “the value champagne of the year” – one with pineapple juice and ginger, very light and dry; another with peach juice and serrano chile, sweet and spicy; and finally, the favorite, pomegranate juice with basil and cucumber, tasting the way a summer morning smells.
Full and slightly champagne happy, we depart, the rest of the day ahead of us, or maybe a nap.
Brunch is one of those perfect moments in life if the food is good, the champagne acceptable and the company of your own choosing. It is not breakfast, which comes earlier and is a more utilitarian meal. Carver Brewing Co., 1022 Main Ave., recently redone with new booths and sophisticated lighting, and Oscar’s, 18 Town Plaza, a bright diner with a miniature train chugging above you, do a fine job of it.
But ah, brunch, a hedonistic affair with everything from steak to smoked salmon to pork products en croute – now that’s a meal to look forward to. Fortunately, all of the new offerings in town are worthy. Choose according to your mood, your budget and your belly’s desires.
At Seasons Rotisserie & Grill, 746 Main Ave., the high-ceilinged space is light and bright and filled primarily with couples before noon on this Sunday. The Main Avenue heavyweight brings the same European flavors and professional splash to brunch as it does to dinner.
The brunch burger is a sizable patty cooked perfectly pink and topped with cheddar cheese, a fried egg and, of course, bacon, assisted by Seasons’ famously wonderful skinny fries. The crab Benedict features two poached eggs atop Maryland-style crab cakes on brioche with hollandaise, and if you ask, may also appear with fries. (Dearest chef, I would have loved it if the crab cake had been just a touch firmer.)
To help conversation flow freely, Seasons offers a mimosa and a champagne confection called the French 75, with the addition of gin, liqueur and a spritz of lemon. The stellar wine list is always available as are cocktails, from bloody marys to negronis.
Seasons opened for weekly brunch for the first time in early March and disconcertingly, so did everyone else, said general manager Erin Gregory.
“I guess they saw the same need we did,” she said with a laugh, adding that she believes enough Durango residents and visitors will come out for weekend brunch to support all the restaurants now serving it, which also include Kennebec Café, 4 C.R. 124 in Hesperus and the DoubleTree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio.
Kennebec owner Barbara Helmer, who hosts what many consider the granddaddy of local brunches, agrees.
“I think it’s wise for them to be open for brunch because a lot of people are walking around downtown,” she said.
Brunch is big in southern California, where Chimayo owners Michael and Birgitte Lufty come from. They always intended to offer their indulgent weekend brunch, but needed time to perfect their dinner service first, which just celebrated its first year in business.
The space at 862 Main Ave. is artsy, brooding and bustling as chef Michael Lufty oversees two large wood-fired ovens turning out plates heaving with huevos rancheros, chilaquiles and even meatball calzones.
The salmon hash and eggs was a savory bounty of potatoes, onions, bacon and house-smoked salmon topped with baked eggs and matched with a delightfully dressed green salad. The chicken sandwich was roasted to a juicy pitch and crowned with mushrooms, leeks and cheese and served with potato wedges. (Dearest chef, the sandwich would have been an out-of-the-park home run had the bun not fallen apart.)
Brunch cocktails are inventive enough to inspire you to try more than one, but who needs anything other than the coconut mango fizz, a mix of coconut vodka, mango and pineapple juices with soda, a dash of Chambord and a bit of lime?
If you’re looking for less flashy fare both on the plate and in the glass, Brew, newly open at 117 W. College Drive, will serve you well. Don’t be fooled by its billing as a simple “pub and kitchen” – the food here is three steps up at least from most pubs.
Try the beet salad, sweet, tangy and crunchy all at once, laden with goat cheese, arugula and the root itself. Or the hand-pulled mozzarella curd, a creamy white disc akin to a flattened baseball, swimming in milky broth and touch of olive oil. Or for the truly hungry, the grilled burger with caramelized onions, jack cheese and caper aioli. (Dearest chef, the bread crumbs on the salad were an unmentioned and unwelcome surprise for the wheat-averse, but your fries rivaled Seasons’.)
It’s not brunch, but it’s served on the weekend, and it’s tasty nonetheless.
“We call it ‘We’re open and we have food for you to eat,’” said owner Erik Maxson of his morning-to-night serving hours. “Between 11 and 11 is a good time to catch people when they’re hungry.”
If you’re like me, you’re always hungry and good food is always a pleasure. So do your weekend duties. Attend church, clean the house, take the kids to play baseball. Then reward yourself with brunch, friends and the beauty of an unhurried afternoon.
phasterok@durangoherald.com
