by Jeff Miller
There’s a special breed of buyer’s remorse that tends to be experienced in good restaurants. It comes when you’ve been seated, you’ve studied the menu, you’ve made your selection, and then you see other diners being served other dishes. And then you think, “Damn, why didn’t I order that?”
What comes quickly next is the part where you ignore public embarrassment and whine to your server, “What was that?!”
It all happened to us when we visited El Encanto on the Riviera for its famous Sunday “Bossa Nova” Brunch. We’d heard raves about this event from our cousins, and finally we were experiencing it. First of all, the setting. Then the music. Then, of course, the food:
People who love eggs benedict have a problem. When they see it on a menu, a kind of Benedictine reflex kicks in. It must be ordered. Scientists believe the lemon/butter combo strikes a deep chord that must be obeyed. Happens with chicken piccata too.
And so, too many of us ordered it. Then we saw tantalizing delicacies being ferried to other tables.
“What was that?!” I wailed to Will, our server.
“The Guava Cinnamon Roll,” he said with sympathy. He’d clearly heard this before. After the golden creation was placed on the neighboring table, in front of an annoyingly smug diner, another server compounded our distress by arriving with a gravy boat from which he poured a warm nectar over the roll. “What was that?!” I wheedled. “That was the spiced cream cheese icing, sir,” Will answered patiently.
More of the same followed. There came the Blueberry Ricotta Lemon Tapioca Crepes. Then the Brown Butter Banana Brazilian Chocolate Waffle. Then the coup de grace: the Churrasco Style USDA Prime Skirt Steak and Eggs. The names alone were enough to blow us down.
As you’ve noted from those names, the event has earned its “Bossa Nova” cred by incorporating dishes with a samba groove. Such as the Chilaquiles, which also wafted by leaving us (jealous) amid a fragrant whiff of eggs, nopales, cilantro, cotija cheese, salsa verde, and much more.
And speaking of names, you don’t have to be much of a linguist to understand that “El Encanto” means “The Charm.” But if you need verification for that, Michelin gives the hotel five stars, and the description includes phrases like, “…a multi-year renovation leaves Belmond El Encanto in stunningly fine form.”
Part of that renovation involved an overhaul of the patio upon which the “Bossa Nova” Brunch was served, and it was, in fact, stunning, with its panoramic view over Santa Barbara Harbor.
The “Bossa Nova” part, on the Sunday of our visit, was provided by the piano/guitar duo Alyse Korn and Téka Penteriche, and it was every bit as tasteful as the brunch.
In summation, a visit to El Encanto’s Sunday “Bossa Nova” Brunch is unlikely to disappoint. But if you’ll take a bit of advice, arrive early, position yourself in an innocuous location for at least 10 minutes, observe the dishes going by on sumptuous parade, then make your selections. And presto: No buyer’s remorse for you.
Belmond El Encanto. 800 Alvarado Place, Santa Barbara. 805-845-5800.
