Great Breakfasts Under Two Umbrellas

By Larry Hill
Gazette Restaurant Writer

Two Umbrellas Café, 1538 E. Broadway, 495-2323.

• Hours: Daily from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for breakfast and lunch. Now open from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday evening for dinner.

• Location: On Broadway near Falcon. There is street parking; weekend parking can be problematic.

• Staff/Service: Service is friendly, knowledgeable, attentive and often funny.

• Food/Drinks: Breakfasts range from the usual egg dishes with all sorts of accompaniment to pancakes and the Two Umbrella California Toast sandwiches, which are uniquely twisted and astoundingly habit forming. Lunch choices include burgers, club sandwiches, other hot and cold sandwiches and salads.

The new dinner menu consists is comfort food by and large with meatloaf, pork chops and salmon leading the way. But there’s also mac and cheese with or without ham strips.

• Atmosphere: Bright café atmosphere with a sidewalk dining area.

• The Taste: Two Umbrellas has been serving great breakfasts for nearly 14 years. For the neighborhoods bounded by Ocean to the south and Third Street to the north from Cherry to Alamitos, Two Umbrellas is the breakfast eatery.

Two Umbrellas Café is known for its California Toast, its take on French toast, which uses homemade sweet bread and often stuffed with a secret take on Mascarpone cheese. Many of the California Toast variations are not for people worried about cholesterol, calories, macrobiotics, dress sizes, etc. Consider the Elvis, for example, with two slices of egg-dipped California toast stuffed with peanut butter and bananas. Add bacon to that and you have a Flasher. Then there’s the Apple Guy with apples, raisins, granola for the health nuts and sweetened mascarpone cheese as an offset; the Banana Guy with bananas, oranges, toasted almonds and mascarpone cheese, and the Monte Cristo stuffed with ham cheese.

On this visit, I sampled the Monte Cristo and Jennifer sampled the Banana Guy. My Monte Cristo was cut into quarters like a Club, and, like a Club, was almost three inches thick. It was stuffed with ham slices and melted cheese flowed from between the egg-dipped grilled California Toast. It is rich. If it is not sweet enough, a sweet grape-cream sauce is included. Accompanying the sandwich was a generous portion of home fries. It was a substantial sandwich, quite tasty and very filling.

Jennifer opted for the something much sweeter, the Banana Guy. Two thick slices of California toast were stuffed with sliced banana, mandarin oranges and mascarpone cheese. Slivered almonds were pressed into the bread before grilling, adding a nice toasted almond note. The serving is very generous, probably enough for two. You can top it with syrup if you like.

The dinner menu is new and consists of home-style comfort food. The sauces and breads are all made in house.

Whether your tastes range from utilitarian bacon and eggs, for which there is a daily special Monday to Friday, to something much more imaginative like the Elvis, Two Umbrellas has something on its menu to satisfy. The new weekend dinner hours promise more of the same creativity and attention to flavor.

• Price: Breakfast for two can be as little as $5 up to $15. Lunch for two is $10 to $15 and dinner for two is $20 to $25.

Mother’s Day Treats For Mom Abound

By Shereen Oca
Staff Writer

From the onset, mothers are the first ones able to feed and protect their children, and behind each person lies years of care where moms were doing the waking up, doting on, cleaning up, worrying about, and much more. On Sunday, May 11, tables will turn as matriarchs everywhere will become the doted upon, and in Long Beach, restaurants are lining up to be the place of celebration.

Arbor’s by the Marina, 6380 E. Pacific Coast Highway, will offer mothers something sweet on Mother’s Day — free dessert — with the purchase of an entrée. For details, call 598-6170.

Buster’s Beach House will have special hours of service on Mother’s Day. Customers can order breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The dinner menu will be available after 11 a.m. Buster’s is at 168 N. Marina Dr. and can be reached by calling 598-9431.

Café Piccolo will be open all day with a special menu, in addition to its regular one, available starting at 10:30 a.m. The café is at 3222 E. Broadway. For more information, call 438-1316 or visit www.cafepiccolo.com.

Finbar’s will prepare a festive buffet brunch featuring both Italian and American favorites as well as bar specials, available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $19.99 for adults and $7.99 for children 12 years and younger. Finbar’s is at 620 Pacific Coast Highway. For details, call 430-4303 or go to www.finbars.com.

Frenchy’s Bistro also will honor mothers with its celebration brunch, available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. After that, festivities continue with a $45, three-course meal available from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Frenchy’s is at 4137 E. Anaheim St. For more information, call 494-8787.

For those in the mood for something Italian, La Parolaccia, 2945 E. Broadway, will offer daily specials, in addition to its regular menu. Lunch will run from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and dinner from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. For details, call 438-1235.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., brunch staples such as blueberry pancakes and lobster benedict will get dressed up for Kelly’s Mother’s Day Brunch at 5716 E. Second Street. To reserve a table, call 433-4983, or to view the brunch menu, go to kellysrestaurantinc.com.

Families seeking a champagne brunch buffet with a waterfront view will find a match at Khoury’s Restaurant, 110 Marina Dr. The buffet will have seven stations, including an omelet and a carving station. Cost is $29.95 for adults, $24.95 for seniors, $12.95 for children ages 9 through 12 and $4.95 for children ages 3 to 8. It will be available from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and reservations are required. For details, call 598-6800 or visit www.khourys.com.

The Golden Sails Hotel also will offer a champagne brunch buffet with live music from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Crystal Ballroom at 6285 E. Pacific Coast Highway. The extensive menu ranges from roast leg of lamb and beef au poivre to blueberry blintzes and eggs benedict. Prices are $26.95 for adults and $16.95 for children, tax and gratuity not included. Reservations are recommended. For more information, call 596-1631.

Lasher’s will have a special Mother’s Day brunch and dinner menu. The restaurant, which specializes in American fare with a gourmet flourish, is at 3441 E. Broadway. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 433-0153.

Marriott is accepting reservations for its champagne brunch and dinner buffet. At brunch more than 30 items will be prepared. It will begin in the Grand Ballroom and Garden Terrace Café and Patio at 10 a.m. and go until 2:30 p.m. Cost is $35.95 for adults, $32.95 for seniors and $18.95 for children 12 years and younger. Dinner at the Garden Terrace and Patio will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Cost is $32.95 for adults, $26.95 for seniors and $16.95 for children 12 years and younger. There will be live entertainment as well from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Marriott is at 4700 Airport Plaza Dr. To reserve, call 425-5210.

The chef at McKenna’s on the Bay will prepare specialties to go along with Sunday’s champagne brunch. Cost is $35 per person. The waterfront restaurant is at 190 Marina Dr. Call 342-9411 or visit www.mckennasonthebay.com.

Michael’s on Naples will be a good option for mothers with a penchant for fine Italian dining. Brunch will be served from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Michael’s is at 5620 E. Second St. For reservations or details, call 439-7080 or visit www.michaelsonnaples.com.

Families who intend on spending the day in the park also can enjoy a brunch buffet at On the Mark, 335 Nieto Ave. The 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. brunch will cost $28 for adults and $14 for children 10 years and younger. For reservations, call 986-5811.

Flowers are a Mother’s Day staple, and Pasta al Dente will be giving roses away (moms only, of course). It will open at noon and is at 5856 Naples Plaza. For details, call 433-1616 or go to www.pastaaldenteristorante.com.

In addition to its regular menu, the Prospector will be dishing up specials such as Rib eye steak and eggs for $13.99, at its champagne brunch from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. From 2:30 p.m. on, dinner specials, including a $22.99 surf and turf of New York steak and lobster, will be served. The Prospector is at 2400 E. Seventh St. For details or to make reservations, call 438-3839.

Families can celebrate their matriarchs at sea, albeit anchored, aboard the Queen Mary at 1126 Queens Highway. A champagne brunch will be served from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $59 a person, in addition to regular service at the Queen Mary’s three other restaurants. For more information, call 435-3511 or go to www.queenmary.com.

The Reef, 880 S. Harbor Scenic Dr., will host a champagne brunch buffet, including seafood specialties such as steamed crab legs and poached salmon, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. After 2 p.m., more dinner entrées will be available. There will be a two-hour seating per party, and prices are $35.95 for adults and $15.95 for children ages 3 to 10. For details, call 435-8013.

In addition to its Bali Champagne Brunch menu, Tantalum, 6272 E. Pacific Coast Highway, will be offering holiday specials, including a pan roasted lamb loin accompanied by celery root smash, grilled lavash and watercress. For reservations, call 431-1414, or to view the brunch menu, go to www.tantalumrestaurant.com.

Tibbies Great American Cabaret is offering a Mother’s Day package that includes a flower (for moms only) and a three-course meal accompanied by a song and dance revue. Prices are $61.95 for adults, $56.95 for seniors 65 and older and $30.95 for children 12 and younger. Show times will be at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tibbies is at 1126 Queens Highway. To reserve, call 499-1757 or e-mail tibbiesgm@tibbiescabaret.com.

Executive chef Suzanne Tracht, known for her upscale versions of down-home American comfort food, and Chef de Cuisine Randy Montoya have created a holiday brunch menu that features items such as Cobb salad with duck confit, Cotija cheese and a lemongrass vinaigrette and fried oysters with celery root remoulade, at Tracht’s, 111 E. Ocean Blvd. Brunch will run from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For families who prefer to get together in the evening, dinner service will begin at 6 p.m. For reservations, call 499-2533 or go to www.opentable.com. To view Tracht’s menus, visit www.trachts.com.

Utopia, 445 E. First St., will treat moms to a free dessert along with its celebration specials, including a lobster, red bell pepper, garlic and sun-dried tomato ravioli in a brandy cream sauce, topped with jumbo-shrimp. The regular menu and specials will be available all weekend, starting Friday from noon to 9:30 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 5 to 9:30 p.m.

For more information or to reserve, call 432-6888 or go to www.utopiarestaurant.net.

For families who feel like a feast with Mexican flair, Yucatan Grill will offer a champagne brunch buffet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 20 items will be available such as garlic steamed mussels, Mahi ceviche, King crab, chorizo and eggs, and more. Cost is $24.95 for adults and $8.95 for children ages 5 to 12, gratuity not included. Reservations are required. Yucatan is at 550 Pacific Coast Highway, #111. To make reservations, call 430-4422.