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Babalu, our favorite local brunch spot, had been closed for some months due to a fire but has now reopened with a limited brunch menu.

The fantastic pumpkin pancakes aren’t back yet, but you can still order most of the brunch favorites: eggs benedict (or a southwestern variation with chipotles in the hollandaise), the breakfast burrito, and a design-your-own omelet. We spotted Saturday Night Live’s Tim Meadows enjoying a side of fried potatoes, which are crisp on the outside and not too greasy.

Brunch is the best meal to eat at Babalu and is the most crowded, although it’s rare to wait more than half an hour. Lunchtime highlights include delicious blue corn crab cakes and potstickers as well as an array of filling salads. The dinner menu offers much of the same food as at lunch but at higher prices, and somehow the kitschy-cute Polynesian decor and the friendly waitresses in sarongs seem more appropriate to the daytime.

The real winner at Babalu is dessert. The portions are enormous, so save room and bring someone to share it with! I love the banana brownie so much it seemed wrong to even try anything else. But, since it’s a new year, we broke tradition with a truly excellent strawberry-rhubarb pie and a white chocolate cheesecake. The cheesecake was good, neither too sweet nor too rich, but the pie was better.

We left before the Ladies’ Man ordered dessert, so no word on whether or not Babalu serves Courvoisier, but they do have really good coffee.

Babalu, 1002 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica 90403.
(310) 395-2500.

By Maribeth (see more of her posts).