If you had breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day--and I’m hoping if you did the kids cooked it themselves and picked you a posy--keep the iconic LeMont’s new Sunday Brunch www.lemontpittsburgh.com in your back pocket for the next special “brunchy” Sunday. For the first time in its 51 years in business, LeMont is initiating a weekly Sunday brunch. "This spot holds lots of memories for families and visitors/ proms, graduations, weddings. We're hoping it becomes a family tradition for people" says manager Kathy Slencak.
My kids found the LeMont spot and imagined the scenario--winding marble staircase, crystal chandeliers, piano music. Eat until you’re ready to pop, then walk it off on the way to one of Mt. Washington’s scenic overlooks.
I have to say that for me, this is my most memorable brunch since Crewser’s in the Strip District did their totally hokey brunch tributes to crooner Frank Sinatra. Sinatra’s slippery, mercurial pipes were the benchmark for Big Band romantic escapism…and the Ol’ Blue Eyes brunch made several amendments to the snapshot, as the Chairman did neither mornings nor water. “Water rusts you; even my shower’s got club soda” he used to joke.
The place is plenty busy, but magically, nothing seems rushed. Servers in tuxedos sport no airs, refilling coffee and bringing drinks, with just the right blend of attentiveness and suggestion.
Think of Brunch Buffet as sport. Take a long look at the field before you commit yourself and determine points of attack. “Then pace yourself,“ advises Mr. Dish, “and remember it’s a timed event.“
Launch into the grand buffet. A Breakfast Station serves eggs every which way, including eggs Benedict, old fashioned scrambled with home fries, even eggs "over easy;" plus fluffy, made to order omelets, (design-your-own with any combo of shrimp, crabmeat, ham, banana peppers, onions)…I added fresh mushrooms and provolone. “If we have it in the house, we can put it in an omelet” says chef Tony Fratangelo.
Now head for the silver tureens, lid after lid revealing the stuff of elegant smorgasbords: a Carving Station with gleaming honey ham, roast filet, turkey breast and grilled (farm-raised)“Salmon Tropicana” with fresh fruit salsa and today, the whitefish is pineapple-encrusted cod. I liked the refreshing chicken bruschetta, the Pasta Station with bolognese, farfalle al' fredo, tortellini with garlic/basil and fresh tomatoes and mushrooms; the vegetable du jour, today pencil-thin steamed asparagus spears, lightly seasoned so as not to cover up innate freshness. A salad bar includes a fresh house salad, tomato/ mozzarella salad, and a good Caesar (with pasteurized egg yolk, anchovies in its dressing), always a gustatory mainstay in such citadels. There’s an avalanche of rustic breads, salt sticks, rolls, muffins and bagels.
Fresh fruit is bounteous, as are cold sides. We all collaborated on an opulent dessert bar, which again matches the swashbuckling setting--whole cakes and tortes, petit fours, cannoli, cream puffs, cheesecake, miniature chocolate pates, pecan squares, lemon tartletts, carrot cake, chocolate mousse, tuxedo cake, burnt almond torte, mini-crème brulee...For liquid merriment, there's a traditional Bloody, or garlic/soy and spicy with Citron vodka; and/or mimosa (orange crush, pear, Italian ice) and continuous flowing coffee.
No seat is a bad seat, but window seats are at once dazzling and panoramic, revealing all of the development along the North Shore, including a grand framing of the city’s sports emporiums. In older, smokier days, the architectural ethic was to challenge the sky with tall buildings of domineering machismo. It's a whole new world now.
“Float like a butterfly, flit around like a flea,” quips Mr.Dish, which pretty much sums up the story until we call it quits and head for the overlook to take in the ecosystem and geometric patterns of our city from atop the mount, always different depending on angle, cloud cover and sun; grand proof that industrial material can be both down to earth and supremely ethereal.
Le Mont. 1114 Grandview Avenue, Mt. Washington. 412-431-3100. www.lemontpittsburgh.com. Brunch Seatings at 10 a.m., Noon, 2 p.m. Adult $29.95; Kids 7-12 $12.95; 6 and under, free.
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