Cache fills brunch niches

A growing number of area restaurants are venturing into the weekend brunch arena, but the one at Cache nicely fills a niche. Actually a couple of niches.

Relatively few places downtown do brunch, and when Boscos', just across the street from Cache, went bust, the absence of its Sunday jazz brunch left a hole in the River Market market.

Cache has also stepped forward into an area where there is some previously underserved demand by serving brunch not only on Sunday but on Saturday as well.

Add good service, a build-your-own bloody Mary/mimosa bar and a cellist playing Bach to Cache's sumptuous decor, on which owner Rush Harding III spent a couple of million dollars, and you've got one of the town's best brunch settings.

Cache's brunch is not inexpensive, but it's pretty much in line with other area brunch prices. The menu, still a bit of a work in progress, bears at least the partial stamp of Chef Tim Morton, who recently transferred to Cache ahead of the collapse of 1620 Savoy, under the banner of common owner RH Cuisine. The dishes are tasty, ample, well presented and mostly less complex than what we've found on Cache's lunch and dinner bills of fare.

On the initial weekends, wait staff has been bringing customers complimentary beignets, firm on the confectioner's sugar-dusted outside, pleasantly gummy on the inside. That probably won't last, so consider ordering some, with a side of raspberry coulis ($8), as a "brunch beginning."

We can also recommend the Caprese ($11), also on the regular lunch menu, moderately thick tomato slices topped with thicker slices of fresh mozzarella and fresh basil, and also, in a unique touch, chunks of avocado, plus a drizzle of white balsamic vinaigrette and dark balsamic reduction. Be prepared, since they're not in season, to endure the paleness of the tomato slices. The avocados don't necessarily add much flavor, but they do add an interesting dimension of texture.

The brightest star on the entree list is probably the huge Seafood Omelet ($15), which wraps plentiful portions of kitchen-smoked salmon, crab meat and shrimp in at least two, and probably three, fluffy eggs. The kitchen fills the portion of the charger it does not occupy with tasty diced home fries.

Cache's Biscuits and Gravy ($13) is two bare biscuits on top of two more topped with the thick, peppery, sausage-chewy gravy (we noted the presence of pepper or peppercorns in a lot of the breakfasty brunch items). The dish comes with two any-style eggs (Intrepid Companion got hers as she ordered, over-medium, and, not exactly ordered, a trifle salty) plus a "side" of asparagus (actually in the middle of the plate) that appeared, at least by mouth feel, to have been grilled in butter.

The kitchen adds spinach to ham (not Canadian bacon) and a tangy hollandaise for its ample, though not especially exciting, Eggs Benedict ($13). A side of bacon is a bit pricey at $4 but it did punch up the plate a bit.

More thrilling is the menu's newest entree, Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles ($15), which Cache does up proud -- a Belgian waffle topped with fresh mixed berries, with a half-chicken (thigh, breast, wing and leg) in a crisp, peppery coating and plenty of maple syrup.

Cache's serves a stout French press coffee (which, we were told, comes from an operation in Mountainburg) in metal pots. On our first visits the wait staff left the pots on the table and refilled them as needed, but on the most recent the waiter took the pot from the table and brought it, or one like it, back when we needed refills. For some reason, that didn't keep the coffee hot enough. If the $2.50 price tag doesn't sound like much of a bargain, consider that a lot of places are charging that, or more, these days for less flavorful brew.

Weekend on 01/21/2016