Brunch with Bubbly

From the Food Vault Dept: Here’s one of my earliest restaurant reviews, from the days when Metroland had no budget for meals, so we asked for a freebie in exchange for the article I’d write. Fortunately, we got away from this fairly quickly. My companion on these excursions was photographer Drew Kinum, whose work unfortunately survives in my archives only as crappy photocopies of newsprint.

                                                                                       

MY HEART GOES OUT to all who work a Sunday-brunch shift. In my salad days as a waiter, I suffered through the Saturday night to Sunday morning turnaround, when it seems there’s barely enough time to brush your teeth before you have to go on the floor again.

Photo by Drew Kinum

And, oh, how I coveted the eye-openers the patrons downed by the bucket – libations I needed much more than the wide-awake customers.

Not that, as a customer myself, I fail to seize the hair of the dog that’s traditionally offered with
brunches: When a chilly bottle of Cordorniu was brought to our table at the Parc V Café last Sunday, I was first in line for the bubbly.

Lensman Drew (“The Ballad of Lensman Drew” – sounds like a Robert W. Service poem) is very familiar with the place, having done some previous photo work for the Parc V, and had already been through much of the menu on previous visits. I haven’t seen the place since the remodeling two years ago.

The dining room makes intelligent use of the trend toward light colors and lots of greenery. A long bar is the centerpiece of the room, but the use of plants, different levels, and high-backed chairs gives a feeling of intimacy at each table.

Lots of window space brought the early-afternoon sun in, and silverware and glasses sparkled. Brunch here is popular: the few empty tables around us filled quickly as we ate.

“We try to serve quality food with friendly service,” manager Rich Kielty explains. “We have prices that are moderate and an atmosphere that is conducive to relaxed dining.” Chef Gary Mabie has been with the Parc V since the reopening; before that he worked with the same owners at the Thruway House for eight years. So there is a consistency to the menu, even as it pays homage to the current interests in lighter fare, Mexican-inspired food, egg dishes and, of course, burgers.

And, as Kielty says, the prices are moderate.

Unusually so, but the restaurant does a high-volume business and can afford the keep the tab low. Brunch, for instance is $7, and that includes your champagne. But do me a favor: help me to expose the silliness of a Mimosa, a mixture of champagne and orange juice that has an undeserved popularity.

I can understand the appeal of a Bloody Mary. Vodka is a vile drink to begin with and needs to be covered up with something, and Americans love ketchup and ketchup derivatives (I was cured of ketchup by a temperamental chef I worked for who threatened to slice my hands off if I brought it anywhere near the food he cooked). But to mix your champagne with OJ is to lose the essential dryness of the wine, unless it’s cheap stuff. in which case you shouldn’t be drinking it anyway.

But Cordorniu Brut ‘83 is as dry as an English detective, and it took me two or three glassfuls to finish contemplating the menu.

“The Crabmeat Benedict is tempting,” said Drew, “but my Mom makes it and I’m kind of spoiled by her cooking.” His companion, René, is an austere breakfaster (modeling work is hell on your diet), and took a lot of persuading to go for the simple brunch superstar: Eggs Benedict.

I followed our server’s advice and went for the Egg Croissant, and got a good-sized plateful that started (working from the top down) with hollandaise, through layers of bacon, scrambled eggs, and a fluffy croissant at the bottom.

Hollandaise, that rich mixture of frothy yolks, lemon juice and butler, was a feature on each of our selections: the Benedict, of course, starts with an English muffin garnished with slices of ham on which a poached egg is cradled, Hollandaise over it all. It was a Wall Street stockbroker named Lemuel Benedict who started the craze by ordering “toast, a few slices of crisp bacon, two poached eggs and a gooseneck of hollandaise sauce” as a pick-me-up after an excessive night before. According to food historian George Lang, Benedict later “felt that Oscar of the Waldorf became a Benedict Arnold by exchanging some of the elements, including toast for the English muffins, the bacon for ham, then adding truffles ... ”

The Crabmeat Benedict substitutes large chunks of the seafood for the ham, and Drew pronounced this “better than Mom’s. Are you going to print this? Then say that it’s just as good.”

What, you may wonder, is brunch except a later-than-usual breakfast? Easy. It’s later-than-usual breakfast with the option of having dessert.

The Parc V has a separate menu of desserts and exotic coffees: while we all went for your basic java, we split off ordering the sweet stuff. René had the tasty raspberry cheesecake, Drew had hot fudge cake – served warm and super moist (you’d swear it was about to drip fudge), and I had the star attraction, the appallingly named Mud Pie, built around coffee ice cream and including hot fudge, cappuccino liqueur, caramel glaze and whipped cream.

THE PARC V CAFÉ AND CABARET • 661 Albany-Shaker Road, Loudonville • 869-xxxx. Full bar, catering and banquet facilities. Dancing every Thursday-Saturday night in the Cabaret. Menu available 11 AM-1 AM Monday-Thursday, 11 AM-2 AM Friday-Saturday, Noon-midnight Sunday. Sunday brunch Noon-4. Reservations suggested. All major credit cards.

– Metroland Magazine, 24 July 1986