TAPS
The Sunday Jazz Brunch at TAPS is the saving grace for a city otherwise reduced to eating at Denny's, Carrows or IHOP. Reservations are a must, and the $36 price tag is not for the faint of heart, but the buffet is admittedly impressive. While nearly everyone makes a beeline for the huge platter of boiled, chilled shrimp, the smart money is on the house-smoked salmon and oysters on the half-shell. The buffet features a full carving station, the required omelet station, even a station where bananas Foster is made to order. Most Sunday brunches come with champagne, but TAPS is as much brewery as fish house, and one of its excellent beers is likely to pair better with your food choices. 101 E. Imperial Hwy., Brea, (714) 257-0101; www.tapsfishhouse.com.
Lucca Cafe
The Italian-Mediterranean menu takes a back seat to American favorites such as steel-cut oatmeal, French toast and buttermilk pancakes during Lucca Cafe's weekend brunch service. The thing to get is the eggs Lucca: country ham and grilled asparagus served over two crisp baguettes and topped with two perfectly poached eggs and a Bearnaise sauce whisked with coarse-grain mustard, tarragon and cognac. There's no bar, so Bloody Marys are off the table, but mimosas are made with fresh-squeezed orange juice, and the café has a good wine selection with many grape varietals. 6507 Quail Hill Pkwy., Irvine, (949) 725-1773; www.luccacafe.net.
Meranda Carter
Ramos House Cafe
Meranda Carter
River's End Cafe
Location Info
Campus Drive and Bridge Road
Irvine, CA 92612
Category: Retail
Region: Irvine
101 E. Imperial Highway
Brea, CA 92821
Category: Bars/Clubs
Region: Brea
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Nick's Laguna Beach
Nick's isn't a greasy-spoon sort of dive, but rather a posh, downtown Laguna Beach bar-and-restaurant where you'd expect to see Hollywood celebrities on a staycation. The high-end touches show up not only in the food, but also at the bar, where all the juices, save for the cranberry, are fresh-squeezed. The aroma of essential oils from a just-squeezed orange brightens the house mimosa, which you can mix to your taste with a split of Freixenet cava. The house Bloody Mary has a kick of Serrano heat from a salsa-like tomato mix and comes with a breaded olive deep-fried to order. The menu is small and focused, with omelets and eggs anchoring the selection, and chilaquiles, brûléed oatmeal and Belgian waffles thrown in for a little carb variety. Keeping the menu small allows the kitchen to pay attention to such details as crisping up hash-brown potatoes with a thick, dark crust that every restaurant ought to imitate. And those potatoes look and taste hand-shredded, with perfect texture and the skins left on for flavor. 440 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, (949) 376-8595; www.thenickco.com.
Old Vine Café
There's technically no brunch at this Costa Mesa gem, but it doesn't matter: Its omelets and sweet dishes are impeccable, and the lunch sandwiches are hearty enough to soak up all the booze of the previous night. But what's most impressive is Old Vine's side business of selling wine: champagne, sure, but also Prosecco, cava, and all the other bubblies that make killer mimosas with Old Vine's organic orange juice. Just ask—better yet, buy a bottle to take home. 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 545-1411; www.oldvinecafe.com.
Avanti Café
Weekends turn the always-experimenting Avanti Café into organic-brunch central, with vegan biscuits and gravy that taste straight out of a Route 66 diner, sweet French toast and all the other signature brunch dishes. But its shining star is a fantastic margarita, perhaps the best in OC: It's a bit more tart than what you're used to, and that's because honest-to-goodness lime, lemon, orange and grapefruit juices are tempered by a citrus-scented organic cane syrup. And, oh, yeah, the alcohol: fermented vodka and tequila, just to tickle your brain that much more. One margarita, two margarita, three margarita, floor! 259 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa, (949) 548-2224; www.avantinatural.com.
This article appeared in print as "Bunch of Brunch! OC's Best Brunches: The Ethnic, the Gorgeous Views and the Bottomless Booze!"
