Easter brunch at Dudley’s, Sabio, Creative Table, more

Sunday is Easter, and there are lots of wonderful options for brunch and lunch that day. Here are a few:

▪  Chef Mark Richardson at Dudley’s on Short, 259 West Short Street, has covered all the bases for Easter Sunday, from eggs to lamb for the $35 three-course menu. Traditional Easter slow-roasted lamb gets a subtle Latin American flavor with preserved lemon panisse, sweet onion soubise and salsa verde; and a quiche dish reflects the local flavors of Kentucky in spring with a sweet cornmeal crust, country ham, green onions, spinach and white cheddar. For those who didn’t get a chocolate bunny in their Easter basket, pastry chef Tonya Mays has created an “Easter sundae” — a brownie topped with popcorn ice cream, popped sorghum, caramel nuts and toffee. A special children’s brunch menu is available for $18. Reservations are required; call 859-252-1010.

▪ Sabio, 380 South Mill Street, will have a special Easter brunch in addition to the regular menu. The brunch menu includes Shuckman’s smoked salmon eggs Benedict, French toast, Spanish omelet and chilaquiles. Call 859-368-9901 for reservations.

▪  Creative Table Kitchen & Catering, 185 Pasadena Drive, is hosting an Easter brunch, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. The menu features roasted rosemary and garlic ribeye, citrus-glazed salmon, honey and bourbon-baked ham, eggs strata, eggs Benedict and more for $23.95 a person ($12.95 for kids 12 and younger.) Reservations are required. Call 859-494-8046.

▪  The English Grill and J. Graham’s Café at the Brown Hotel, Fourth Street and Broadway in Louisville, will have Easter brunch offerings. Executive chef Josh Bettis and chef de cuisine Sarah DiFabio have created springtime menus incorporating classic Kentucky flavors and fresh seasonal produce with a four-course feast in the English Grill, and a crowd-pleasing buffet in casual venue J. Graham’s Café. In the English Grill, the cost is $65 a person, plus tax and gratuity, with seating from noon to 3 p.m. At J. Graham’s Café, the cost is $40 for adults or $19 for children ages 4 to 12, plus tax and gratuity, with seating from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information or to make reservations, call 502-583-1234.

▪  Donut Days, 814 Euclid Avenue, 185 Southland Drive and Richmond Bypass, has hot cross buns, iced bunny sugar cookies and Easter eggs, bunny bon-bons and more for Easter. Orders are recommended. Call Southland 859-277-9414, Chevy Chase 859-269-8223 or Richmond 859-623-9008.

▪  La Petite Delicat, 445 South Ashland Avenue, has beautiful six-piece Easter macaron gift boxes, $15 each, available by pre-order to pick up at the store. Six flavors are available for Easter special: strawberry buttercream, lemon, pistachio, vanilla buttercream, peaches and cream, and cookies ’n’ cream. Call 859-338-1338.

In other food news

▪ Mezzo Italian Café and Provisions, 131 East Main Street in Midway, opened this week with limited hours and menu. Owner/chef Mark Wombles said that it would open full time in April with a menu of wood-fired pizzas, pastas and other casual Italian dishes. Mezzo also will have a patio, with table tennis, a wine bar upstairs and a full bar downstairs called Mezzo Tavern. For more information, call 895-846-4077.

▪  Portofino, 249 East Main Street, is hosting a series of intimate Master Distiller Bourbon Dinners, hosted by some of the premier artisans in the bourbon world. A master distiller will lead a personalized bourbon tasting accompanied by a gourmet dinner. Seating is limited to 18 guests.

The first event, 6:30 p.m. on March 30, will feature Jimmy Russell, the master distiller of Wild Turkey brands including his own Russell’s Reserve. The cost is $129, including tax and service. Call 859-253-9300 for reservations.

The master distiller series will continue with Buffalo Trace on April 13; Four Roses, May 17; and Jefferson’s Bourbon on June 1. Marianne Barnes, Kentucky’s first female master distiller, will host the July event with the date to be announced. Jim Beam’s Fred Booker Noe will host on Aug 15. For more information, call Robby Carter at Portofino, 859-253-9300.

▪  For International Night on Wednesday, Alfalfa, 141 East Main Street, features Central American cuisine, including Guatemalan pork, ceviche, budin Azteca, empanadas and tamales from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Next week will be North African night.

▪  Bluegrass Tavern and chef Jonathan Lundy have teamed up with Heaven Hill. They have released a specially selected barrel of Henry McKenna 10 Year Old, available for customers at Bluegrass Tavern, 115 Cheapside.

▪  Doc’s Cantina, 1201 River Road, Louisville, will open April 5. The Mex-Mex-inspired restaurant at the foot of the Big Four Bridge will serve lunch, dinner and brunch. Falls City Hospitality Group corporate chef Jonathan Schwartz and executive chef Nick Platt created a menu featuring items traditionally found in Mexico, including sopes, tinga chicken or grilled beef tongue tacos, chuleta and shrimp a la Diabla. Dishes will come with a variety of house-made salsas and hot sauces. Brunch options including blue corn waffles with candied jalapeño butter, cinnamon buns with orange jam, and chilaquiles verdes will be available Saturday and Sunday. Prices range from $5 to $11 for appetizers; $11 to $14 for three tacos with a side of rice and beans; $9 to $14 for sandwiches; and $12 to $26 for entrees. For more information, go to Doc’s Cantina on Facebook.

▪ Bourbon Women, the premier membership organization for women who are passionate about bourbon and bourbon culture, is opening a branch in the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area. Branch ambassadors Kim Rorick Newberry and Amy Bloomhuff will spearhead activities there. Kim and her husband, Peter Newberry, own The Prohibition Bar at Newberry Bros. Coffee in Newport, which features a huge collection of bourbon and rye whiskeys (almost 900 and counting). The Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati Bourbon Women Branch has scheduled a launch event May 11 at New Riff Distilling in Newport.

In August, Bourbon Women from around the country will converge in Lexington for the Third Annual Bourbon Women Sip-Osium, which will be headquartered at the Hilton Hotel downtown Aug. 26 to 28.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Easter brunch at Dudley’s, Sabio, Creative Table, more."