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

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

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.

But these were not your ordinary scrambles eggs.  The style is creamier made so with grated Parmesan in the mix and a careful hand cooking the eggs.  That along with a few slices of prosciutto to drape over the kitchen’s housemade grilled bread is a perfectly good conclusion to brunch at Roustabout.  The menu also has pasta, a crispy chicken sandwich, oatmeal, salad and sides such as fried potatoes, brioche and fruit cocktail.

Creamy scrambled Parmesan eggs with prosciutto and grilled house-made bread

I haven’t been to Roustabout yet for weekday lunch, but the room during the day at brunch is quite appealing with the natural light coming in through the big windows on the street; the whole scene feels like the old days dining in SoHo along West Broadway.  Perhaps that’s what Washington Avenue is striving to become with the burgeoning restaurant row that’s developing.

Note that parking can be a problem on the newly popular Washington Avenue.  But the restaurant has the use of the 75 Washington Ave parking lot at the side of the building after 5 PM on weeknights and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Roustabout, 59 Washington Ave., Portland, ME 207-536-4008 www.roustabout.me

Rating: weekend brunch, 4 stars

Ambiance: cool, cool, cool

Service: excellent

Seating: at the bar, at the high tops in the bar room and banquette seating and tables for 2 and 4 in the dining room

$$$: moderately expensive