Another day, another trip to Ponce City Market.  We were heading in town to meet someone passing through and looking for a place to grab lunch around 11:30.  PCM seemed like a good choice, as there are at least five places I still want to try.  My suggestion of fish was shot down, as it was before noon, and apparently you don’t eat fish before noon (unless you’re at the beach).  El Super Pan isn’t really open yet, so I turned to Brezza Cucina.  Brezza Cucina is celebrity chef Jonathan Waxman’s Italian concept, partnering with executive chef Adam Evans, formerly at the Optimist. 

The space is bright and open, with a large bar area at the entrance.  We hit them in brunch service mode, just after opening and had no issue getting a table.  We found it interesting that the tables for two were already set that way, with only two chairs and two place settings, along the interior wall and scattered about the middle, as opposed to expecting four at all tables.

The kitchen is at the back of the restaurant and it is fronted by a dining bar, where you can watch them cook the food, on a first-come, first-serve basis.  The space was surprisingly quiet, for the high ceilings and open design, and the service began as efficient, but lost some of their attentiveness as more people came in.  As we were there for brunch, the menu was limited, but many the entrees seemed to have an “egg” theme – in addition to our orders, there was a pizza with an egg and a baked egg dish of some sort.  My beloved chose the chicken salad, 

which was served with arugula, avocado, soft egg (this was actually soft-boiled), prosciutto (which was fried crispy) and parmesan.  The salad was tasty, although the chicken wasn’t hot.  I don’t know if it was designed that way, or if our food sat a few minutes before getting to us.  I chose the bucatini carbonara

which was good, although moderately bland.  Carbonara is not the most exciting pasta dish, and neither one of these were items cited when we asked the server for recommendations.  I guess we know why.  We’ll definitely try it another time for lunch or dinner, when the menu looks more intriguing.