Taste of Italy at Armani Cafe

Now that the first Christmas rush for retailers, the gift-buying frenzy, is history, the second rush--returns and exchanges--begins today. That puts Armani Cafe in South Coast Plaza at one focal point, and there are few better local spots to enjoy a chic, if hectic, Sunday brunch.

Brunch is, as we know, an American concept, without much currency in Italy. On Sundays in Italy, eating is an ongoing, all-day affair, and the notion of combining breakfast and lunch is absurd. How well I remember waking up and staggering out to a patio in Liguria, the Riviera of Italy, after a previous evening’s meal that lasted until well into the wee hours.

All I could stomach at that point was a cappuccino, but I waded straight into a table that groaned with food: sfogliatella, leafy stuffed pastries, country breads, cheeses, cold cuts, fresh mozzarella and various fruit premutas, freshly pressed juices. As I sipped my coffee along with three other victims of the previous evening, out came a prototypical Italian mamma to admonish us for not eating. Mamma mia!

You won’t run into that kind of trouble at Armani Cafe, where a coterie of servers clad in minimalist black uniforms will offer you a variety of pizzas, pastas, panini and main courses. This is a quaintly Stickley-esque room crowded with wooden furniture, a parquet floor and pictures of Armani models.

Sit at one of the best tables though, those against the wall facing the Emporio Armani store, and you get not only a view of $2,000 suits but also the luxurious feel of fine, soft leather banquettes. Start with a frothy, nearly perfect cappuccino, and then dig into this menu, composed of trendy Italian favorites. Don’t bother asking for eggs Benedict.

While deciding your fate, you’ll be plied with a basket of fresh focaccia bread, some dense, nicely piquant grissini (bread sticks) and a little side dish of cannelini beans pureed with sun-dried tomato. One of the best antipasti is carpaccio di manzo, razor-thin slices of filet mignon ringed with arugula, all topped with shaved Parmesan cheese and a dashing lemon vinaigrette. The best salad hands-down is arance, a refreshing mixture of sliced Valencia oranges, shaved fennel, watercress and pitted Kalamata olives, which comes topped with a dollop of olive tapenade.

These pizzas, baked in a wood-burning oven, are delicious and impossible to stop eating. My favorite is the simple Margherita, just tomatoes, mozzarella and sweet basil. But the others, especially the multi-topped quattro stagioni, are all good. I’d also recommend the risotto del giorno, particularly when they are serving the irresistibly moist one made with chicken, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomato.

Among secondi, or main courses, pass up the chewy veal piccata in favor of a near perfect piece of grilled salmon, served with oven-roasted tomatoes and a provocative cucumber fennel chive salad. If you’ve saved room for dessert, don’t miss torta della nonna, a fudgy, warm chocolate cake one step away from a souffle.

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Armani Cafe, in South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. (714) 754-0300. The Cafe hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday.