A new brunch bunch

Weekend brunch in Los Angeles has traditionally meant either a lavish, hotel affair or something decidedly more haimish at a neighborhood cafe. The few top-tier, stand-alone restaurants that do brunch -- Campanile, Jar and Joe’s -- are the exception. But several new restaurants have generated good brunch buzz. And some not-so-new restaurants have recently started brunch service.

At Mix, a Mediterranean spot in West Hollywood with an expansive patio that seems tailor-made for lazy Sunday mornings, chef John Jackson offers a $27 three-course menu with plenty of choices. There are traditionals such as eggs Benedict, here served on homemade English muffins, as well as originals such as crispy duck confit with lentil salad. In any case, you’ll get a basket of straight-from-the-oven madeleines to start.

Xiomara Ardolina and Celestino Drago, chef-owners of Xiomara on Melrose and Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills, respectively, faced similar quandaries: Brunch as we know it doesn’t exist in the countries that inspire their restaurants’ menus.

“In Cuba we have cafe con leche and a piece of bread and butter,” Ardolina says.

“In Italy, it’s cappuccino and a brioche,” Drago says.

So the menus at each place reflect the chef’s fantasy of what an Italian or Cuban brunch might be. At Xiomara, that means pork hash caballo style (garnished with a fried egg) and Spanish tortilla served with fried plantain, and, at Enoteca Drago, breakfast pizza topped with scrambled egg, ham and cheddar cheese, and a Nutella-stuffed version of French toast.

Andre Guerrero, chef-owner of Senor Fred in Sherman Oaks, which recently started Sunday brunch service, says, “Mexican food seems to be very popular for brunch. People eat menudo and huevos rancheros.” Both dishes are featured here, but according to Guerrero, the mole de hoya, a rich chile-infused stew, is even more popular.

Gerry Garvin of G. Garvin’s added brunch a few weeks ago. “I wanted to do something for people who didn’t want to spend Four Seasons-like prices,” he says. “My place is like Charleston, S.C., on a Sunday afternoon. Clients bring their children. We’ve got highchairs. And you don’t need to pull up in a $200,000 car.”

Garvin offers Southern-style dishes including poached eggs over crab cakes, smothered chicken and fried chicken. “It’s kind of a family recipe,” he explains.

The main reason G. Garvin’s now serves brunch is that Garvin himself couldn’t find the sort of brunch he wanted in the neighborhood.

Now, he says, “On Sunday I usually float in around 2 p.m. right before the restaurant closes and sit outside and have my brunch.”

Leslee Komaiko

Small bites

* Some of Los Angeles’ top chefs, including Josie Le Balch of Restaurant Josie, Govind Armstrong of Table 8 and David Myers of Sona, will be cooking at Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation fund-raiser Monday at House of Blues. Tickets are $175 per person, of which $110 is tax-deductible. Proceeds will go to fight hunger in Southern California. For tickets and information, call (213) 383-6228 or go to www.lataste.org.

House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-5100.

* Rodelio Aglibot, former executive chef at Koi, is opening Yi (pronounced “e”) on June 19 in the former Tahiti restaurant space. The name, says Aglibot, was inspired by the I Ching and suggests “the highest form of cosmic energy.” As for the menu, it’s progressive Asian augmented with some traditional Philippine dishes.

Yi, 7910 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 658-8028.