Ferneau’s ambrosial brunch a nice menu addition

By Eric E. Harrison (Contact)

LITTLE ROCK — For more than two years, owner-chef Donnie Ferneau Jr. swore he wouldn’t open his eponymous restaurant on Sundays, arguing, quite reasonably, that he worked hard enough during the week and needed that day of rest.

Of course, Ferneau being in Hillcrest, and serving the high level of cuisine it does, and its customers being who they are, the arrival of Sunday brunch was only a matter of time.

Ferneau

With the approach of the NCAA basketball tournament in March, the lure became too much for poor Donnie, and he yielded.

He relearned his cooking school breakfast lessons, adjusted the hours of his fledgling lunch business to Wednesday through Friday and added brunch not just on Sunday but on Saturday as well.

The eight-item menu is neatly divided between breakfast and lunch dishes, with a soup of the day and a list of a la carte breakfast sides.

Our brunch preferences have always been on the breakfastside, so we concentrated on that and were on the whole vastly pleased. Except that several items just weren’t hot enough.

That was true of Intrepid Companion’s over-medium eggs ($4 a la carte), which were also just a little heavy on the salt and pepper. (We always advocate letting the diner set those levels at the table, except, as we rediscovered, Ferneau doesn’t put salt or pepper on the tables, just little stained-glass hurricane lamps that are actually sort of redundant in bright brunchtime sunshine.)

It was also true of our first order of side sausage ($2 a la carte), two plump and very sage-y links that we enjoyed even though they were barely tepid. (A second-chance order on a second visit were much warmer.)

And it was even true of our otherwise excellent Biscuits and Gravy ($7), three very light biscuits (if you like yours dense, goelsewhere) covered with a generous lake of rich cream gravy with chunks of the same sagedominant sausage, not quite as hot as we’d have liked it.

We didn’t have any heat problems at all with the delicious Eggs Benedict-Style Bruschetta ($12), two large poached eggs, fresh spinach, prosciutto and a layer of goat cheese-herb “fonduda” atop toasted bread.

And we thoroughly enjoyed Ferneau’s somewhat messy but glorious version of Huevos Rancheros (almost a bargain at $9), two poached eggs nestled in a nachos-like assemblage of cheese polenta, refried black beans, roasted chili sauce and sour cream over tortilla chips. It’s supposed to also have fresh avocado but they were out, and we really didn’t miss it - probably wouldn’t have missed it even if our waitress hadn’t told us it wouldn’t be there.

Intrepid Companion also had some of the rich cheese polentaas an a la carte side item ($4), a high-falutin’ way of gettin’ your grits. And her three-strip side of applewood-smoked bacon ($3) was crispier than the one we had later with our biscuits and gravy.

The biscuits and the Benedict come with a side of fresh fruit, including bits of orange, strawberry and pineapple marinated in their combined juices.

Lunch possibilities come from Ferneau’s weekday lunch menu, including a Turkey Reuben ($8); a Hummus of the day ($7) served with grilled pita; a BLT ($9) with spinach in lieu of lettuce; and a Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich ($6), Arkansas hothouse tomatoes grilled with fresh mozzarella.

Ferneau’s warm atmosphere, with partially mosaic-ed buffcolored walls, black tablecloths and chairs and partially open kitchen, is just as inviting in the daytime as it is in the evening. And the service is just as good.

Brunch at Ferneau Address: 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday Cuisine: Eclectic Credit cards: V, MC, AE, D Alcoholic beverages: Full bar Saturday and after noon Sunday Reservations: Large parties Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: Yes (501) 603-9208 www.ferneaurestaurant.com

Weekend, Pages 93 on 05/09/2008