Chimayo at the Beach: Southwestern Cuisine With Nouvelle Touch

* It’s Sunday, and there are so many crepes and omelets from which to choose. Here’s a sampler of Sunday Brunch destinations in Orange County, culled from recent articles. Other reviews can be accessed at https://https://www.calendarlive.com/go/discover.

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In Huntington Beach, the art of Sunday brunch is highly cultivated. Chimayo at the Beach is at the foot of the pier, graced with an unobstructed view of the pounding surf. Arrive here any way you like--by bicycle, on a skateboard or in your new Boxster convertible. No matter the mode of transport, what awaits is the imaginative nouvelle Southwestern cuisine.

The best entry is what the restaurant calls creme brulee French toast, a fat, fluffy French toast served with fresh raspberries, maple syrup and hickory-smoked bacon. The bacon is rather ordinary, but the French toast is wonderful. It’s about 8 inches high, gloriously eggy and absolutely decadent when splashed with real maple syrup and melted butter.

Then there are two riffs on eggs Benedict, one a filet mignon Benedict with a chipotle pepper bearnaise, the other built around smoked turkey.

Have the steak, for a variety of reasons. For one thing, the dish is composed partly of two halved English muffins, so you get two tender medallions of beef instead of one. Furthermore, the mildly smoky chipotle adds a nice dimension to the bearnaise. But what is really relevant is that the smoked turkey comes in tired patty form, imparting a plebeian cast to what is supposedly a patrician dish.

The last brunch entry is a nice omelet made with cremini mushrooms, sharp cheddar nicely melted in the center and enough fresh spinach to make the whole thing look as green as mulch.

These last three also come with cheddar jalapeno potatoes, a cheesy variation on scalloped potatoes that seems too heavy for breakfast, or for anyone who had a hard Saturday night.

Chimayo at the Beach, 315 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach. (714) 374-7273. Sunday brunch is served from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The brunch specials range from $5.95-$12.95.

* A new Sunday Brunch review will run next Sunday in the Orange County Calendar.