Uncorking the Champagne Brunch

My aunt Gracie belongs to the legion of restaurant-goers who considers brunch the ultimate dining-out experience. Whenever I see her, she raves about yet another fabulous feast she’s just attended, marveling at the size of the shrimp or the number of desserts. She also happens to be a world-class trencherman, which would seem to be an important qualification for the brunch enthusiast. She can never understand why I’m not out every Sunday, sampling the pleasures of the peculiarly American institution that spans breakfast and lunch.

I’ve never been keen on the idea, especially if we’re talking those gargantuan displays of excess, with station after station groaning with food and more food. Since most brunches are prix fixe, everyone is intent on eating more than his or her money’s worth. And, unfortunately, at most such affairs, quantity wins out over quality.

The brunch at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, however, has swept away my misgivings. This one is so different that it doesn’t seem to belong in the same category. I had gone in search of a romantic meal, bringing along a semiprofessional Don Juan of my acquaintance to lend his expertise. We were surprised. Even my beau, who is no friend of brunches either, was suitably wowed. We had a terrific time--over brunch. Who would have thought it?

The setting of the hotel dining room couldn’t be more lovely. The Belvedere is a formal, yet intimate, room decorated in a botanical theme. The carpet has a floral motif; the porcelain is painted with sprigs of flowers; and sweet-smelling freesias grace every table. If it’s warm enough, you can eat outside in the enclosed patio among its trellises and topiaries.

As soon as you sit down, a waiter in gold brocade vest presents the menu and pours a glass of Champagne. But not just any bubbly. The 1990 vintage of Moet et Chandon’s flagship Cuvee Dom Perignon. As the sun streams in the window, we toast romance and watch the bubbles rise in our crystal flutes. It’s wonderful Champagne, creamy and rich, with a fine, lingering aftertaste. I sip very slowly, assuming we get only one glass apiece. Don Juan is not so circumspect. The waiter is already refilling his glass, explaining that we should pick four of the six appetizers.

When we sample the bread basket, the first bite of tender biscuit laced with marigold-colored nuggets of cheese and flecks of herbs reminds me how hungry I am. I usually loathe sweet quick breads, but the fluffy zucchini bread packed with green-and-white ribbons of squash is something else. Banana bread dotted with melting chips of chocolate is too sweet for me. I settle on the hazelnut bread, perfect with the yeasty taste of the Champagne.

The appetizers we choose (and I notice every table, even tables for two, gets four) arrive in a whimsical metal holder that suspends the bowls at different levels. The first holds five meaty prawns set on a delicious white bean salad punctuated with velvety pimientos. Another holds Peking duck wontons, crisp packets enfolding chunks of moist Peking duck, that are accompanied by a refreshing jicama salad. Next comes what Don Juan calls sure-fire girl food: slices of seared ahi tuna garnished with deep-fried lotus root and a crisp snow pea, carrot and cabbage salad. Most tempting is the house-smoked salmon draped over gold, waxy potatoes dressed in creme frache, chives and black truffles.

We nibble. We sip. We sip some more. No matter how many times the level of bubbly in our glasses dips, more of the luxury cuvee is poured. In fact, the Dom Perignon is flowing nonstop for everyone. The mood, needless to say, is ebullient, as if we’ve stumbled into one of the all-time great parties.

As for main courses, I pass up banana-stuffed French toast even though it comes with genuine Vermont maple syrup, for a sort of deconstructed corned beef hash, much lighter than the original. Two perfectly poached eggs perched on thin slices of flavorful corned beef are garnished with julienned red and green bell peppers and coins of pan-fried potatoes. The black pepper hollandaise that lightly cloaks the eggs is one of the best I’ve tasted recently.

There is a tasty frittata, turned out of the skillet and decorated with pan-fried slices of a meaty duck sausage and a slab of goat cheese strewn with herbs. My Don Juan tests another “ladies’ dish,” penne with lobster and wild mushrooms--it’s a nice understated version. Other choices include the excellent porcini-dusted Alaskan salmon that chef Bill Bracken sometimes serves, this one with fresh chanterelles, white corn and potatoes.

Satiated, but still game, we cautiously approach the dessert display. That hanging cartwheel of what looks like votive candles from across the room is stocked with cups of tiramisu. There are also small pots of vanilla or chocolate pot de creme (pudding), a heap of gorgeous strawberries and blueberries--and a couple of cakes. Black Forest cake is studded with cherries, and a lovely, pale yellow sponge cake comes layered with pastry cream and strawberries. The wonderfully restrained cheesecake is completely unadorned and less sweet than most. My favorite? The splendid pecan pie, in which the balance of toasted pecans and rich filling is just right. The desserts are presented with such exquisite precision and in small enough portions that you can try several without overloading. Dom Perignon is, of course, poured throughout the dessert course.

We spend two hours happily absorbed in conversation and brunch. I am completely won over, as are my fellow researchers. Given the quality of the food and drink and the warm and competent service, who wouldn’t be? What’s surprising is that both men, neither of whom could ever be called spendthrifts, pronounce the Belvedere’s Dom Perignon brunch a bargain. I can only concur. At $42.50 per person, it’s worth every penny. Because everything is thoroughly swell.

THE BELVEDERE

CUISINE: New American. AMBIENCE: Elegant hotel dining room with lovely enclosed garden patio. BEST DISHES: house-smoked salmon with truffle potato salad, Peking duck wontons with jicama salad, charred ahi tuna with crispy snow pea salad, poached eggs on corned beef with black pepper hollandaise, pecan pie and cheesecake. FACTS: The Peninsula Beverly Hills, 9882 Little Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 788-2306. Brunch, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday; $42.50 per person, includes 1990 Dom Perignon Champagne. Valet parking.