I decided not to torture my dining companions with my incessant picture-taking, which was probably a bad idea, as it was daylight and my pictures probably would have actually turned out. My apologies.
Mother's Day was beautiful; sunny and warm, with all of the leaves on the trees finally out and a warm breeze blowing. Unfortunately, we had reduced the size of our party and therefore lost our table on the patio, and had to sit inside. Let that be a lesson to you: when part of your party cancels, call the restaurant!!
We had only Husband's mother with us, as mine lives in Charlotte, and could not be with me. Mom, I promise a lovely dinner, brunch or lunch when you are here in June!
And so, on with another Alana's brunch: We opted for the non-alcoholic brunch, choosing the lemon mint fresca, a not too sweet lemon sparkler loaded with fresh mint leaves; nice and refreshing. The next time I will have to try Alana's Bloody Mary Experience - choices included bloody antipasti with smoked gouda and pickled peppers, classic with fresh horseradish, tiger shrimp and cucumber, and one with fresh mozzarella and baby artichoke.
Brunch started off with a nice little basket of house-made breads; cheddar bread, herbed biscuits, and brioche, along with homemade honey citrus jelly. And then came the parade:
Vanilla macerated pineapple and strawberries
chile rellano with fried Indian Runner duck egg
Tasso ham and lump crab cheesecake
smoked salmon
house cured aquavit gravlox
A giant Mediterranean platter that included lam and goat cheese dolmas, grilled haloumi, fava bean hummus, faltoush, tabbouleh, olive and carrot salad, and pita points
truffled farfalle and cheese
pasta primavera with spring veggies and fresh ricotta
skirt steak on watercress with blue cheese sauce
seared scallops with thai curry sauce
oysters "shockafeller"
Indian Runner duck eggs benedict on country ham on sourdough with mustardy hollandaise (quickly becomming a favorite of mine - I wish she'd put it on the appetizer menu every once in awhile)
sauteed black bass with Asian slivered veggies in peanut sauce
and then, to my dismay, as we were finished eating and waiting for dessert, a pizza featuring local ramps and morels. Two of my favorite things about Spring! I gazed at it longingly, but we told our server that we could not possibly eat anything else.
I feel like I'm missing something, but you get the picture. I think some people might be put off by this style - you just sit down and things are brought to you, which you can accept or decline. I love it, though. It's fun to eavesdrop on other tables, to see what they are getting - you may or may not get the same thing. Sometimes you have to be adventurous in life.
If you couldn't make it to Alana's for brunch, you can get a similar experience by calling ahead and asking for a degustation; just set a price limit and you will receive chef's whim dishes with wines to match. We did this for Husband's birthday last year and it was wonderful.
Pastries consisted of a giant chocolate cupcake, homemade marshmallows, lemon curd tarlets, chocolate tartlets, vegan carrot cake, chocolate filled profiteroles, and maybe a few other things.
Ah, another epic. Thanks Alana! I guess we'll probably have to wait until next Easter for another one.
Info: Alana's Food & Wine 2333 North High St. Columbus OH 614.294.6783
