Brunch, BBQ, & Blues at Baltarie, B "Cubed."

By Laura Medina

 PRIME NEW YORK STEAK & EGGS

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Yes, the majority of brunches are decadent and luxurious...and gluttonous in a form of a buffet.

Baltaire's brunch are more of individual square meals that are the "egg-ified" versions of their prime time dinners at...half the price.  Good deal.

Of course, Baltaire's brunch dishes, the Prime New York Steak & Eggs, have enough necessary fats to soak up last night's booze fest; the protein to nourish the brain; and the iron to fortify your brain to recover.

Whenever you order anything with an egg, you can order the egg any way you want, poached, scrambled, or fried.

Miniature baby potatoes, fried in duck fat, usually the brunch dishes, but if you want to like this scribe, you can order their long, skinny crispy fries when the mood strikes.  When the fries do arrive, they arrive with their trio of sauces: ketchup, mayonnaise, and Bearnaise Sauce.

 KING CRAB BISCUITS & GRAVY

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Baltaire's King Crab Biscuits & Gravy brings it back home for this Charleston scribe.

This creamy decadent dish brings back the Lowcountry Cuisine of using Charleston native meat, crab, in traditional Southern ensemble of biscuits, sausage gravy, and poached egg.

Baltaire's Brunch is definitely "Surf & Turf."

All that crab meat for $15, drenched in all sausage gravy sauce, not bad for $15.

 SHAKSHUKA BAKED EGGS

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Alright, it's California; it's Los Angeles.  Baltaire has to be up-to-date on what's on the brunch radar; and California is swimming in tomatoes.

This scribe first dabbled in this Israeli/North African breakfast at the now-defunct Local Table in Downtown Los Angeles, may it rest in peace.  

This scribe assumed once gone, it's gone.  Luckily, the Shakshuka has resurfaced at Baltaire's Weekend Brunch (yes, they do it every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm) for the vitamin/antioxdiant-starved.

Want to go easy on the meat and the rich creamy sauces but your hangover screams for lycopene, vitamins, and antioxidants, go Shakshuka.

Far from being vegan, it's a cooked dished form of a V-8 (if you want even more lycopene, there's no shame in downing a Bloody Mary and Baltaire's bartenders make damn good ones), topped with an egg for necessary fat to soak up the alcohol.

It's even more fun to sop up the tomato and feta cheese sauce with toast, more than welcomed to.

 CHILEQUILES VERDE

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Their Chilequiles Verde is the simplest...and the easiest to make if you want to knock it off yourself at home.

This scribe knows not everyone is a red sauce fan and some can't stomach an heavy, luxurious meal right out of bed (this is why brunch is from 10am until 2pm).  The green chile sauce simple dish might be for you.  It's just green salsa verde sauce, rolled up tortilla flour shells, diced red onions, sprinkles of queso cotija cheese, then topped with one simple fried egg.

 WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES

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Got a sweet tooth?  Ain't nothing wrong with that.  Sometimes, your hangover needs some tender, sweet, loving care, like Whole Wheat Pancakes sandwiching lemon curd with seasonal blueberries.

Sometimes, you can trick the chef into a Strawberry Shortcake (it's Strawberry Season every Summer) when you order scone, strawberries, and whipped cream.

Here's another breakfast/brunch trick at Baltaire but it's not part of their official Weekend Brunch and it's part of their normal Monday to Friday lunch menu only...

Their Omelette of the Day, especially when you had an hard night before.  You can order with fries for a more breakfast feel or with salad when you want it to be more "lunch."

BBQ Trio Plate with a Trio of BBQ Sauces.

Baltaire did a smart thing.  Their cheapest night is the restaurant industry's deadest night, Monday night.

Monday night is done-home Blues, Brews, and BBQ Night.  Stick-to-your-ribs meals for under $35.

Their priciest dish is the BBQ Trio Plate, three meats of 1/2 Baby Back Rib, Pulled Pork, and Santa Maria Tri-Tip, three meals in one.

 

Baltaire's Monday Night BBQ is a regional trip of America's barbeque, from mustard-sauced Carolina pork to California's barbequed steak, the Santa Maria Tri-Tip.

Don't worry, you'll get your olde-fashion two sides of vegetables and carbohydrate with each meal to balance out the meat.

 

BBQ Night isn't all about the meat.  Baltaire's Monday Night is paying homage to Southern Cuisine, one of America's oldest and most popular cuisine.

Their Buttermilk Fried Jidori Chicken pays respect to the fried chicken, the way it should be...tender, moist chicken encased in crunchy crust, spiced in herbs and spices.  Baltaire makes it easier by using chicken breasts, not the usual boned-in chicken.

Again, they pay respect to the South with your two sides of vegetables, collard greens (they're kale before there was kale) and mashed potatoes and gravy, to balance everything out.  A pretty healthy, balanced meal if you ask this scribe.

 Smoked Jidori Drummettes $12.

If you're on a dainty diet...and budget, you can still get fed while keeping your figure and wallet in shape.

The Smoke Jidori Drummettes packed in a lot of flavor in small chicken drums.  This is Baltaire's idea of Buffalo Wings but better, they're fried.  Fried drum legs with spicy Habanero Buffalo Sauce for fire and creamy Blue Cheese Dip to cool down, not bad for $12.

 Wyoming Bison Chili $14.

You can keep it simple with the Wyoming Bison Chili and cornbread, with simple dollop of Jalelpeno Creme Fraiche and sprinkled with Hooks Cheddar Cheese.

Butter Lettuce Salad with Fried Oysters. $13

If you're still hankering for seafood, go Southern with Fried Oysters in Butter Lettuce Salad, dotted with cornbread croutons, pork belly bits, meaty Heirloom Tomatoes, and Buttermilk Dressing. Well-balanced meal.

 Grasshopper Ice Cream Sandwich $8

Grasshopper is not an incest.  It's is mint or if you want to be gourmand about it, it's Creme de Menthe, a sweet, mint-flavored alcoholic beverage, usually green.  Crème de menthe is an ingredient in several cocktails, such as the Grasshopper.

It is also served as a digestif and used in cooking as a flavoring.

The traditional formula steeps dried peppermint or Corsican mint leaves in grain alcohol for several weeks (creating a naturally green color), followed by filtration and addition of sugar.

Since it's used as a mint flavoring, it's traditionally used in desserts when mint is desired, such as mint ice cream and fluffy, crunchy meringues.

Baltaire's Grasshopper Ice Cream Sandwich uses Grasshopper Creme de Menthe in it's ice cream as a filling for it's decadent, chocoholic Dark Chocolate Cake Sandwich.  Nestled in-between two slices of Devil's Food Cake, the Grasshopper Mint Ice Cream's minty-ness is further enchanced.  So cooling on a hot Summer night.  Again, not bad for $8.

Intimated by Baltaire's weekly prime time?  Give their Weekend Brunches and Monday Night Blues, Brews, and BBQ a chance then enjoy the ride, without busting your budget.