Although it may sound a little high-brow, Giada's new Book Club Brunch tasting menu actually requires no more intellectual activity than reading a menu. The newest twist on brunch at the popular Strip restaurant pulls all the menu items from recipes in Giada De Laurentiis' cookbooks (which you can purchase there, if so desired).
Coffee or cocktails are perfect to open a brunch date, and Giada's sangria makes a lovely alternative to the classic mimosa, although those are certainly available. This twist features a few slices of lime and lemon, a little fresh strawberry, La Marca prosecco and a mojito syrup, creating a light sip. Get it with red wine, if you would rather.
If you order the tasting menu, the pastry cart will pull through and you'll select your first course—the cake has a very striking geometric form and is liberally doused with blueberries. Fresh cream will be placed on your piece, which is not overly sweet, making it just right for your first bite of the day. But you may opt for cookies (and they are hard to resist—Giada's lemon-ricotta cookies are soooo tasty), mini doughnuts, scones, tarts and other mildly sweet concoctions.
Then comes the salad course, which are tossed together from a four-tiered cart, with plates and lettuce and nuts and balsamic and olive oil. The shaker salad arrives pre-layered in an attractive jar, then gets a mighty shaking before being turned out onto your plate. It's all very exciting, in a mild way.
For an entrée, choose chicken Milanese with mascarpone or a heaping bowl of spaghetti with clams in white wine garlic sauce. Cacio e pepe eggs, a take on the traditional dish, comes over multigrain toast with pecorino cream. The eggs are super creamy, and the pecorino cream brings to mind biscuits and gravy, but with so darned much flavor.
There are even special desserts from the Book Club menu. In the affogato, instead of espresso, you have Chianti, not necessarily something you would imagine poured over ice cream, but it works amazingly well. And chocolate budino with amaretto cream is such a smooth pudding, with tasty toffee pieces all over the top.
There are plenty of Giada brunch classics available, too, if you hanker for something different—Bloody Marys, bottomless mimosas, of course, antipasti options, lobster hash, pizzettes, and the Sunrise polenta waffle, just to name a few! The pastry basket is worthy of exploring all on its own. You'll be pleased to know that there's even a separate brunch dessert menu with a lemon-ricotta cookie ice cream sandwich.
Whether you choose to explore the tasty world inside Giada's cookbooks, or indulge in some of her dishes created for the restaurant, you'll definitely leave feeling fully satisfied.
The Cromwell, brunch 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Fri.-Sun., dinner 5-10:30 p.m. daily. 855.442.3271
