March 30, 2006

Anytime I can enjoy two meals in one sitting is a good time, the way I figure it. That’s why I’m a sucker for Sunday brunches.

Even though brunch is supposed to be a late breakfast and early lunch, on Sundays, it’s more like brinner – a late breakfast and early Sunday dinner. Hartland Café, inside the Holiday Inn University Plaza, does a nice job with brunch. It’s inside the inn, but far enough away from the entrance and lobby that the hustle and bustle of people checking in or out isn’t a distraction. The café faces the golf course for a nice view, even though the grass is still brown. The décor isn’t anything fancy, pretty much standard for a Holiday Inn-type restaurant, and it hasn’t changed over the past few years.

The brunch on the Sunday we visited had a nice array of breakfast food: fresh fruit, omelets made to order, waffles, bacon, link sausage, stuffed French toast and scrambled eggs. Also on the buffet line was a nice salad bar, deviled eggs, peppers, steamed mixed vegetables, chicken with penne pasta and pork loin carved to your specifications.

Dessert choices were cheesecake, bread pudding, red velvet cake, pie and chocolate cake. Did I mention how much I enjoy a buffet? While the quality of the food may suffer a bit because it’s not made to order and is kept on a warmer for a long time, the opportunity to sample something new without feeling guilty if you don’t finish it offsets that drawback.

That is the nature of buffets and isn’t a reflection of the quality you may find at the Hartland Café for a regular meal. We sampled everything (except all the desserts) and it was very good.

The best surprise was the stuffed French toast. I’m a French toast lover, but had never had it stuffed before – especially with a coconut concoction. Two halves of French toast had a mixture of coconut, creamed cheese and whipped cream that gave it the consistency of runny grits . Combined with the sweet syrup for the French toast, it was a delicious breakfast treat. The stuffing changes from Sunday to Sunday, so you may find the French toast stuffed with orange slices or other unusual fare. I recommend you give it a try.

Our server was suitably attentive, quickly removing our dirty plates when we headed back to the line, and keeping our drink glasses full as required.

The new food and beverage director told me later that big changes were coming for the Sunday brunch. What Hartland Café has now is very good. It will be fun to see what changes and improvements a new person brings to the table.

Hartland Cafe

1021 Wilkinson Trace • 745-0088

Hours: Sunday brunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Brunch: $14.95

– New restaurants are given an six-week grace period. Comments can be sent to Managing Editor Mike Alexieff by telephone at 783-3235 or by e-mail at malexieff@bgdailynews.com.