Crepe Station is a Nice Buffet Touch

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Crepe station is nice buffet touch

Sarasota Herald Tribune

By Robert Eckhart

Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 17, 2008 at 3:50 p.m.

At $21.95 a person, the Sunday brunch buffet at Mattison s 41 is reasonable, and the food is good, and they have a few little wrinkles that make it fun like the dessert-crepe station, where a chef will make you a nice bananas Foster crepe to top it all off.

The atmosphere of the place helps. The booths have high backs, and the host is smart and spreads people out as they arrive. That way you can gossip without anybody hearing you. You feel like you have all the time in the world.

I started with Eggs Benedict. The version they serve is workmanlike, though it s a dish that suffers a bit because of the buffet serving style. They put just a little dollop of Hollandaise on top, in order to keep the single-serving pieces apart from each other. I prefer mine drowning in the stuff.

My favorite spot had little mini bagels with lox, cream cheese, chopped red onion and capers, a classy presentation of a light and refreshing dish. Smaller bagels mean your salmon-to-bread ratio goes up. They also had a spinoff that was another nice touch sushi rolls with smoked salmon and cream cheese, served with pickled ginger and a little seaweed salad.

The buffet s size is just right. There are things you will not be able to try Cesar s salad, pasta salad, and the obligatory omelet station were things we did not get to.

The ham carving station had another nice touch, an apple-and-onion jelly served on the side. Delicious.

So we were winding down by the time we got to the blueberry-stuffed French toast, which was deep-fried and more like a doughnut than a main course. Very light and fluffy.

Last stop: the dessert tray, with little bites of cheesecake, pecan pie, chocolate cake and carrot cake. And the bananas Foster station, of course.

They do not nickel-and-dime you, and the price of your brunch includes a mimosa and coffee and iced tea.

We got there right when it started at 10:30 a.m., which was good because it was not crowded and the food had just been put out. You are out of there by 11:30 a.m., full and a little drowsy from the champagne. Just enough time for a catnap before the Bucs game at 1 p.m.