The Barn: Stick-to-Your-Ribs Kind of Place

* 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 stories. Other reviews can be accessed at https://www.calendarlive. com/go/discover.

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Whether it be an ocean view or a sunny patio, an important element of Sunday brunch is atmosphere. So for those of you who prefer niceties such as a cool breeze, light and a pleasant vista, the Barn in Tustin may not be your kind of place. But if you appreciate the historical trappings of an auto mechanic’s garage of, say, 1936--not to mention meaty offerings such as barbecued ribs and chicken, roast beef, ham, biscuits and gravy, and dangerous amounts of champagne--this steakhouse may be to your liking.

The Barn features a tasty buffet spread and free-flowing champagne and orange juice that with a $13.95 cost qualifies as one of the better feasting bargains in the county. If you’ve ever eaten at a small-town Southern barbecue social, where the portions are almost as big as the appetites, you’ll feel comfortable here with heaping plates of not exactly heart-healthy food. At first, I was a bit taken by the hot-plate items such as beef stroganoff, meaty beef ribs dripping with sauce, mounds of barbecue chicken and biscuits to be topped with pasty white sausage gravy. But the Barn makes this stuff real good, making it difficult not to go back for seconds--or thirds.

For brunch, the Barn rolled out its regular salad bar, complete with iced plates you pull from an old Coke machine. The produce was crisp and fresh, but I preferred loading up on the watermelon slices that dominated the fruit area.

The Barn, 14982 Redhill Ave., Tustin. (714) 259-0115. Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Cost: $13.95 per person.

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