Well, I gave y'all a heads up. And as I suspected, Chef Alioto takes traditional southern breakfasts and puts a modern, urban twist on them, creating dishes that are at once comforting and refined.
As we perused the menu, we ordered a couple of brunch cocktails -- C and his best friend G had Mimosas ($7), while I uncharacteristically ordered a Pimm's Royale ($7) to enjoy while we nibbled on the housemade cornbread (which, I hate to say it, was merely ok. It was a bit too dry.)
We started with an order of Beignets with Blackberry Coulis ($5) to share amongst the three of us. The beignets were perfect, but the coulis was a bit too tart to work well; it was almost unbearably puckery with the powdered sugar sweetness of the beignets. Regardless, because the beignets were so good, it was easy to forget the sauce. These were served with three perfect bites of Scharffenberger bittersweet chocolate, one of whom had gotten a bit oozy from the heat of the beignet.
The menu offers up everything from the infamous hamburger ($9-11.50) to a Fried Poussin with Collard Green Gratin & Hash Browns or Grits ($18) -- the priciest item on the menu, and probably enough food for two. We settled on three dishes to share.
Biscuits & Sausage Gravy ($8) were beautiful. The biscuit was denser and chewier than traditional ones, and had an enormous cap -- and isn't that the best part? The gravy was silky and flavorful, with loads of crumbly, sagey sausage.
Next up were Eggs Lukas ($8.50), two eggs scrambled with smoked trout, creme fraiche and chives. I absolutely loved this dish -- it just worked so well. Large, tender chunks of trout with a large dollop of my favorite tangy dairy product. The accompanying hashbrowns were properly browned with a crisp outside and tender inside. And the toast? Wow. It's been a long time since toast was this good -- the bread was tender but a little denser than standard white bread, and the butter had been grilled into it.
Finally, we ordered the Ham & Cheese Crepes ($10), topped with an over-easy egg and mixed green salad. This was so good. The crepe was light and crisp around the edges; the egg yolk mingled happily with the ham and cheese and crepe yumminess. The mixed salad (Luka's version with pickled onions is one of my favorites) cut the heaviness of the other elements so nicely.
A side order of Collard Greens Gratin ($3) was less successful; they needed some cream or cheese to bring some body and finesse to the otherwise sharp greens and dry breadcrumb topping.
With our entrees, C & G ordered coffee which they deemed "excellent" while I had to try the Balsamic Bloody Mary ($7). Whoever came up with this cocktail is a genius, and I will be "borrowing" this idea at my next brunch.
The place was pretty empty when we got there at 11, but was starting to fill some tables by noon. For their 2nd weekend of brunch service, they are doing a great job with the menu and service; I really hope that this takes off for Luka's.
Luka's Taproom & Lounge
2221 Broadway
Oakland, CA
510.451.4677
