19.07.2012 / Food & Leisure
Italian Style Brunch
Part Anglo-Saxon and part Mediterranean, just like chef Alice Delcourt, half French and half British, with a passion for Italy and the US, where she’s been studying and working.
That is the charm of a nice brunch at Erba Brusca in Milan, a unique place that opened last year on the site of historic osteria Tubetto, whose lovely and yet messy garden facing the Naviglio Pavese channel has been turned into a beautiful vegetable garden.
Everything at Erba Brusca revolves around the garden (where you can even sit and relax among the plants, getting the fanciful feeling of being on the countryside within a stone’s throw of the city center): those fresh and crispy vegetables can be found in almost every dish, even at brunch time.
Be warned, though: this is not your traditional all-inclusive buffet brunch. Everything comes à-la-carte; you can choose from a list of starters and main dishes, and there’s no trace of desserts… Which might sound slightly disappointing, of course – but you shouldn’t give way to dispair: the quality of the food makes up for this little imperfection.
We tried some delicious Cantabrico anchovies (they really taste like the sea!) served with organic butter and an endive, radish and walnut salad, followed by their “breakfast sandwich” with bacon, cheese and roasted potatoes on the side.
Our friends who tried the hamburger and the lemon-and-poppy-seed pancakes were just as satisfied.
If you’re more on the traditional side (not in the brunch sense but rather in the sense of Italian cuisine), the list includes home-made local cold cuts and even sausages. To make it short, this is a positively “hybrid” brunch.
Not to mention the fact that enjoying some delicious food under a nice pergola overlooking a (veritable) vegetable garden is quite a unique experience in town. Definitely worth a try.
Links
