Brunch menus often read like a culinary version of the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue. With bearnaise, Hollandaise, smoked salmon, the traditions, the fine ingredients — even the names given the dishes are draped in glamor.
Naturally you find dressed up eggs Benedict and other refinements on the list at Riviera Hills Restaurant’s Champagne Brunch. But the chefs also value simple Sunday pleasures, dishes that approach extravagance in savor yet hardly pose a challenge in the kitchen.
At least to hear brunch chef Kevin Sweeney tell it.
The crispy salmon hash is, after all, just fish cooked, flaked and tossed with julienned potatoes before finishing on the grill. Browned on the outside, it bears the appearance of a diner classic — homey and satisfying.
“It’s pretty basic,” Sweeney said.
But Sweeney and the team at Riviera Hills bring a certain amount of finesse to the dish, starting with a welcome restraint with the salmon. Each bite tips between the creaminess of hash browns, the toasty snap seared in from the grill and the swarthy seawater impression of the fish. They introduce just enough to carry the other flavors nicely.
A dash of Hollandaise, considered a “mother sauce” in fine French cuisine, develops a richness in the potatoes while tempering heavier notes with an edge of citrus. Again Sweeney applies it with a deft touch.
“You don’t want to overdo it — just enough to cover the eggs,” he explained.
Ah, yes. The eggs.
Two beautifully poached eggs top the salmon hash. The yolks appear to strain under their confinement, yet they ease onto the plate spreading at a leisurely pace, lending opulence to the salmon and potato. The whites are billowy, as if somehow existing in between solid and nothingness. They become a wonderful, gossamer presence that again contributes to the luxurious substance of the dish.
You wish to indulge in the eggs, to take your time, to admire the accomplishment of Sweeney and the kitchen staff.
But Sweeney merely shrugs at the praise.
“It’s just a poached egg,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve been doing it for 30 years.”
Yes, it is a simple arrangement. The ingredients — potatoes, eggs, fish — may even recall an ignoble upbringing and appear outclassed next to the restaurant’s dressy Benedict menu. Clearly, however, wealth and beauty can be coaxed from the ordinary.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2106
