Slap your palm to your forehead now and say, “Why didn’t I think of this?” Here are some brilliant brunch dishes, that have come across my desk (well, really my computer screen, but you get the idea).
Pasta for breakfast? Yes, please, especially when it’s North Italia’s Breakfast Carbonara Pasta topped with a poached egg, crispy pancetta, English peas, lumache, herb breadcrumbs, and pecorino. Another winner is its Breakfast Rosa Pizza topped with sweet Italian sausage, crispy pancetta, smoked mozzarella, two eggs, basil, and spicy vodka sauce.
Red Farm in Miami has a pastrami egg roll served with creamy honey mustard sauce, Nueske's bacon & egg fried rice, and a Korean rice cake with grilled pork belly & Chinese sausage on its brunch menu.
We’ve had all kinds of Benedicts, with crab, sausage, lobster, but fried green tomatoes? Yes! Especially when they’re cornmeal-crusted and paired with thick-cut strips of applewood smoked bacon and perfectly poached eggs at South PMP in Pompano.
Kubo, on the 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale, is a true Asian fusion, mixing up the flavors and cooking styles of Japanese, Thai, and Filipino cuisine. I love the surf and turf breakfast combo of soft-shell crab bao buns (crispy crab with lettuce, avocado, scallion, eel sauce & spicy mayo) combined with an order of beef bulgogi bao bun (Korean-style BBQ beef, tossed with onions, fresh lettuce, scallion and sesame seeds).
Donuts and coffee are pretty traditional, but not when it’s a donut from Mojo Donut in Hollywood. First of all, they’re about $5 each (sometimes you’re lucky and it’s a buy one, get one free deal). But these ain’t your grandma’s donuts. They are super indulgent monsters that are certain to put you into a diabetic coma! Try the Oreo Speedwagon, Slutty Brownie, Tutti Fruitti, Nutella Bacon, Maple-Bacon Log, Guava and Cheese, Salted Caramel or Peanut Butter Cup Gourmet.
I’ll never go back to a plain old toasted bagel again!
DON’T CALL IT EARLY BIRD
Bona Italian is offering a new special “Dine Before Dusk” from 4:30-6 p.m. on Wednesday through Monday. You have two options: for $24.95 a person, share an appetizer (arancini, bruschetta, or palm frites) and each choose an entrée (meat lasagna, chicken or eggplant parm or chicken Cyriac) or, for $19.95 a person, get a hot sub, (eggplant, chicken, or meatball parm) onions rings and a soft drink.
DEADLINE DASH
Burlock Coast at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, continues its dinner series, Paula’s Food Diaries, with the introduction of celebrity chef and television personality, Aarón Sánchez’s culinary creations. This August, the acclaimed chef brings his unique blend of flavors to the series with his Cobia Tiradito, available from Aug. 1-30. To kick off this exciting collaboration, guests are invited to a special event on Thursday, June 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to mix and mingle with Chef Aarón Sánchez while enjoying light bites. This event is $99 per person and includes a copy of Chef Aarón’s memoir, “Where I Come From: Life Lessons from a Latino Chef.” The event will also support the Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, a program of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering Latino youth through culinary arts education. By attending, guests will not only indulge in extraordinary cuisine but also contribute to a meaningful cause. The evening’s menu will feature Zarela's pineapple-ginger chicken wings with soy-pineapple glaze, mixed seafood ceviche, seafood stew, seared salmon with pumpkin seed mole, and Johnny Sanchez’s Brussels sprouts salad.
