Spring is busting out all over, and some days it's even warm enough to consider not just eating outside, but seeking a shady table. At such times, Sunday brunch on Maryland Plaza provides its own entertainment. The important thing is if the food matches up.
At scape (still no capital letter), it does. The menu lures with such items as a stuffed artichoke, corned beef hash and "California" Eggs Benedict with lump crabmeat and avocado creating the Pacific breezes. On a recent Sunday, the interior was cool and quiet, but the sidewalk tables, as many as management could squeeze into the space, were rocking. Mostly adults, but with a wide range of ages strolling in or dropping their cars with the valet parkers ($4), reveling in the weather and the leisure, scanning the menu, sipping Bloody Marys and relaxing.
We found it a particularly challenging menu for making decisions. Passing up the corned beef hash was not easy, but a search for an equally savory dish ended at the El Chupacabra omelet. You know we don't make these names up, right? A chupacabra turns out to be an apparently-mythical beast who brunches on goats (not with them, on them). Chorizo, black beans, guacamole, tomato and cheddar, along with some sour cream, provide the filling of this carefully made omelet, teriffically flavorful but not flaming in its spicing. Minus the chorizo, it would be a great vegetarian choice.
Farmer cheese is pretty much unheard of around St. Louis, but, among other things, it's the traditional base for the cheesecake-ish filling in blintzes. Like ricotta and cottage cheese, it makes an excellent ingredient in pancakes. When we saw they were topped with lemon curd, there was no way we'd pass them up. Lemon curd, for those unfortunate enough not to have tasted it, is similar to a sweet, lemony Hollandaise sauce. The pancakes were incredibly light and tender, despite their thickness (see photo), and the ladleful of lemon curd and garnish of blueberries gave enough sweetness that syrup was unnecessary. The curd, by the way, was so pale in color that we think it was made in-house; the commercial sort is a more brilliant yellow.
French toast is made with brioche (a much better use for it than as hamburger buns), and it's offered it with a multi-berry compote. Thick slices of the bread are dunked in a cinnamon-laced egg batter before going on the grill, then gracefully arranged to be a canvas for the berries and their burgundy juices. Again, not overcooked, the berries tart-sweet, the way berries ought to be, the aroma from the cinnamon adding to the festivities. Some bacon ordered as a side brought four large, crisp slices.
Coffee is fine, thank goodness; a good brunch deserves nothing less. And we were happy with our service, understanding that the servers were stretched a little thin. After all, with the passing parade, we had plenty to occupy us.
scape
48 Maryland Plaza
314-361-7227
Dinner Tues.-Sun., Brunch Sun.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No
Entrees (brunch): $8-$18
