Way to Dad’s heart is through his stomach
So you pulled out all the stops for Mom last month and took her to the best brunch in town, but now you’re struggling to match those efforts for Dad.
We’ve compiled a few ideas to get you started, but really, you can’t go wrong with a heart-felt, handmade macaroni frame.
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Waffles and fajitas
Avila’s El Ranchito, 2101 Placentia Ave., Costa Mesa, offers an eclectic brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $16.99 per person. The buffet includes fajitas, carnitas, pork ribs, waffles, menudo and tamales. The festivities will also feature two guitarists who will wander from table to table. Kid prices are based on their age up until 10 years old. For example, a 1-year-old only pays $1 and so on. Those 10 and older pay full price. Drinks, tax and gratuity are separate. To make a reservation, call (949) 642-1142.
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That’s amore
If brunch isn’t quite your thing, head to Pizzeria Ortica, 650 Anton Blvd., Suite J, Costa Mesa, for the Father’s Day Feast. Served family-style, this meal is ideal for three or four people. First course is an antipasti platter. Second course is margherita pizzas, grass-fed bistecca and tagliolini carbonara. For dessert, it’s gelato. The feast is $80. For more information or to make a reservation, call (714) 445-4900.
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Crown him with benedictions
Five Crowns, 3801 E. Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar, offers a Father’s Day menu that includes a starter with each entrée, beginning with brunch at 10 a.m., and continuing throughout the day.
Those starters include Mary Alice’s pride salad with toasted pistachios, sheep’s milk cheese and bacon, and a summertime Caesar salad with roasted cherry tomatoes, zucchini and fennel pollen. Brunch main dishes include crispy pork belly hash with a poached egg, roasted tomatoes and zucchini with a “Hoppy” hollandaise sauce. Egg dishes, which will be served until 2 p.m., include dungeness crab benedict, a crispy crab cake with sautéed bloomsdale spinach and champagne hollandaise sauce, and the Five Crowns eggs benedict with housemade buttermilk biscuits, thinly sliced prime rib and horseradish hollandaise sauce.
Lunch and dinner items include chicken confit and asparagus salad with applewood bacon, little gem lettuce and buttermilk dressing, seared California king salmon with roasted summer squash and lemon verbena.
For dessert, a dark chocolate brownie will accompany a marshmallow brûlée and graham crackers with fudge. A stonefruit cobbler will be served with toasted oats and vanilla ice cream. The summertime fruit sundae will come with lemon verbena macerated plums, vanilla ice cream and fresh berries.
Reservations for seats available until 7:30 p.m. Sunday are strongly recommended. Call (949) 760-0331 or visit thefivecrowns.com.
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Bask in the view
Bayside Restaurant, 900 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach, offers a three-course bottomless champagne brunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $38.75 per person, plus tax and service.
Starters include compressed jumbo lump crab salad, bruschetta or smoked prosciutto “speck.” Main course includes smoked Scottish salmon Bayside benedict and chianti-braised prime beef short-rib.
No meal is complete without dessert. Choose either a poppy seed lemon cake with vanilla cream and California peach, or a three-chocolate crisp with raspberries and chocolate sauce.
A three-course brunch menu will also be available for children 12 and younger for $18 per child, plus tax and service. Bayside offers complimentary valet parking.
To make reservations, call (949) 721-1222 or visit https://www.BaysideRestaurant.com.
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Dazzle him in Laguna
Want to try something new? Head to Sapphire Laguna, 1200 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach.
Chef Azmin Ghahreman is planning a three-course brunch menu featuring housemade spicy Italian sausage, tomatillo short ribs and chicken fried chicken steak.
Brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $48 per person, which does not include tax or gratuity. Children can enjoy a half portion three-course meal for $24 and children younger than 12 can order from Sapphire’s kids brunch menu.
Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling (949) 715-9888 or visiting https://www.sapphirelaguna.com.
Twitter: @jamierowe3