MDR: Brunching at Vu

When Vu first opened late last year, everyone was buzzing about Chef Kyle Schutte’s Southern Molecular Gastronomy dishes such as chicken fried watermelon, pork belly with root beer gelee, Sprite ice, mayo powders and other tricks of the trade.

I was curious to see what Chef Kyle did for brunch. I was invited to check out his Eggs Benedict for on National Eggs Benedict day but I (and four others) succumbed to ordering the lobster and pork belly omelette. I mean, lobster AND pork belly? I just had to.

I really liked my omelette. It was savory and surprisingly light. The breakfast potatoes weren’t greasy and was a nice touch.

We were on the patio and had a magnificent view of the bay. We were just steps away from the beach. You could go from sand to cocktail in about 3 minutes.

Vu has two eggs benedict dishes. The first is “House Benedict” which features house biscuits, black forest ham, slow-cooked eggs, Hollandaise and home fries. Then Chef Kyle has his Kona Benedict which is spam and slow-cooked eggs on Hawaiian sweet rolls and hibiscus Hollandaise sauce. Our friend had the vegetarian version so the spam was switched out for asparagus.

I like that Vu is a bit unusual for their brunch options. The Ranch Eggs features slow-cooked eggs, hominy, corn nuts, chipotle aioli, beans and the cutest mini-tortillas. If lunch is more your thing, there’s an ahi tuna sandwich that is lavender and juniper seared served with black truffle aioli, crispy parsnips and sea salt potato chips.

For $45 a person, Vu is offering a special Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday, May 8 with unlimited blood orange mimosas and a three-course brunch. This includes complimentary valet parking for two hours. The three courses include compressed fruit with honey yogurt foam and grilled polenta with asparagus, tomato, pickled onion and aged balsamic vinegar. Second courses include House Benedict, Stuffed French Toast and Seared King Cole Duck  Salad. Dessert course includes white chocolate polenta with frosted flakes and Chambord-flambeed berries, buttermilk panna cotta topped with liquid nitrogen coca cola and carbonated blackberries as well as a warm apple tart with cherry ice cream and powdered tarragon.

Vu at the Jamaica Bay Inn

14160 Palawan Way

Marina del Rey, CA 90292

310-439-3033