Of all the great brunches that I’ve featured in The Brunch report, my latest foray tipped the scales.  And if there were any contest at all The Winner Is . . .Caiola’s.  Perhaps it’s especially so with the kitchen being manned by its new sous chef, Matt Seitz, who took over Nick Ryder’s reign when he moved to Colorado late last year.  Of course chef supreme and co-owner Abby Harmon still leads the team with her inimitable flair for flavor and texture in each dish.

I’m hesitant to proclaim one restaurant’s superiority over the other.  Caiola’s, however, has consistently come up with different brunch specials every week, creating dishes that are novel and ultimately lip-smacking good, the sort of restorative food that you want for that first meal on a Sunday.

Brunch lineup: baked eggs with roasted tomatoes, ham and white bean stew; perfect bloody Mary and maple bacon added to the dish

That doesn’t mean that establishments like Terlingua, Roustabout, Piccolo, Central Provisions and others don’t do a fine job.  And perhaps the next time, any one of them can tip the scales as Caiola’s did.

The meal began with an appetizer of deviled eggs, which were the color of deep forest green.  This was achieved by putting the hard-boiled whites into a bath of spinach and basil to achieve the color.  The yolks were a creamy blitz spiked with ham bits.  These were extraordinary eggs.

Green deviled eggs

The main course of baked duck eggs in a base of white beans and ham with roasted tomatoes was a surefire hearty dish; though I thought the combination needed smokier ham flavor.  I fixed that by putting rashers of my side order of maple bacon into the dish.  That did it.

Past brunch dishes enjoyed at Caiola’s, clockwise: pancakes; hot brown, French toast and eggs with sausage gravy (bird’s nest)

Caiola’s, 58 Pine St., Portland, ME 207-772-1110 www.caiolas.com

Caiola’s Brunch: With its unique menu of brunch specials, Caiola’s offers one of the most creative menus

Service: Excellent

Ambiance: Neighborhood friendly in the West End

Parking: adjoining lot plus street parking

$$$: moderate