Table Talk: August 18–25

Gilardi’s Gets a Facelift

Have you seen Gilardi’s Ristorante lately? It’s not easy to spy from the street since it sits back off of Walnut, but driving by you might have noticed some changes to the restaurant’s facade. An external revamp has the spot looking spruced up and snazzy, with a serene blue-gray paint job, some pretty stonework and even a revamped covered patio space for outdoor seating.

But as Gilardi’s reopens for regular five-day dining hours (Tuesday through Saturday 5–9 p.m.), the changes aren’t just cosmetic. New policies keep safety in mind, such as the double-server method: each table has a server who takes orders and brings food, and a separate server who clears dishes, so there’s no chance of cross contamination. Each table gets its own water carafe for the same reason. A new look, great outdoor dining options and safety-first protocols? Now that calls for a glass of wine and some killer Gilardi’s meatballs if you ask me.

A Buncha Brunch News

In the past couple of weeks, several local restaurants have either added brunch to their repertoire or switched things up on their brunch menus.

After a few weeks open with lunch and dinner menus, SPLIT Social Kitchen added a brunch menu with luscious options like cinnamon roll French toast and The Whitaker breakfast burrito filled with everything: pulled pork, ham, bell peppers, mushrooms and more and more and more.

Greek Belly serves brunch too, on the second Sunday of every month starting at 10:30 a.m. The menu is full of Greek breakfast items like zambonopita, a filo pastry filled with ham, gouda cheese and kasseri cheese. There’s sweet stuff too, like the custard-filled and powdered sugar topped bougatsa.

Farmers Gastropub and Lindberg’s Tavern have both long served brunch, but they recently revamped their brunch menus with some new items—some really, really indulgent and creative items.

For example, at Lindberg’s Tavern you can get a quesadilla made with strawberries, blueberries, goat cheese, basil and spiced honey. Oh my! You can’t go wrong with their breakfast poutine either; Lindberg’s has been killing it in the poutine game for years!

And Farmers Gastropub's take on eggs benedict is luscious, with toasted sourdough as the base, soft scrambled eggs, house-cured gravlox and hollandaise sauce. Plus their already indulgent miso mac and cheese gets a morning makeover with bacon, sausage, mushrooms, fried eggs and sriracha.

Summertime Eats

And speaking of Farmers Gastropub, the restaurant released a new summer menu a few days ago, and we’re loving it. First off, there’s a tuna and watermelon poke bowl full of so much freshness and ingredients that pack big flavor: pickled jalapeno, honey-sriracha mayo, balsamic reduction and basil. The open-face salmon lox sandwich that features capers, mustard-dill sauce and a deviled egg spread. Plus there’s a masterfully fried pork belly served with mustard-dill sauce too, and the always-popular fish and chips is right there where you expect it.