You won’t find the typical weekend brunch menu at Roustabout, the new Italian-American bistro that opened on Washington Avenue recently. (See dine-out dinner review.)

And that’s just fine with me because as much as we love our eggs Benedicts and variations thereof, the dish is everywhere.

Bar dining at Roustabout

Bar dining at Roustabout

What you will get is a carefully thought out menu.  Don’t look, then, for other typical dishes like sausage gravy over biscuits or cracklings of bacon rashers with eggs over easy. This is, after all, brunch, the combination of morning and noontime leisurely dining where a little bit of this and that suffice.

I had the house-cured char, their take on cured salmon.  It’s served with a spicy mascarpone to spread on wonderful housemade rye crackers upon which you put slivers of cured char and a delicious side garnish of roasted tomato, mint leaves, red onion and capers in a light vinaigrette.

Cured char with rye crackers, mascarpone and capers; perfect bloody Mary

Cured char with rye crackers, mascarpone and capers; perfect bloody Mary

Along with a well-made, well-garnished bloody Mary it’s a great way to begin. The char is more of a substantial dish that you would think. Followed by a small dish of scrambled eggs is just right.

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