by @btsunoda
Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern, or better known as JFAT,
recently introduced a new brunch menu. I was happy to learn about it and my
wife and I recently visited their location in Brea.
JFAT is located next to Whole Foods in the Village at La
Floresta mall on Imperial Hwy just east of Kraemer Blvd in Brea. The Village at
La Floresta is marketed as the hip spot for retail shopping and dining on the
east side of OC.
The restaurant is beautifully decorated and quickly set the
mood for Christmas. Garland was wrapped everywhere with ribbon and bows.
Christmas trees were fully decked out with shiny glass ornaments.
An impressive lighted display of super premium wines is
located near the entrance. Bottles of wine were lined up on the bar and they
also had a fair number of craft beers on tap. TV screens were playing live
sports, but it didn’t overpower the experience like a sports bar.
The restaurant is large and spacious. It is obviously
designed for people to get together and converse over a good meal. In fact
while we were there, there was a group of 8 that were enjoying brunch.
Totchos are simply Tater Tots topped with melted cheese and salsa fresca.
Simply stated, they are nachos made with tater tots instead of
tortilla chips. Since I favor tater tots over tortilla chips, I had trouble
eating just one bite.
Knowing that this would be a meat heavy meal, I ordered the
Charred Brussels Sprouts. This came with smoked applewood bacon, pinenuts and
underneath it was some maple syrup. I scooped downwards in the dish to gather the
maple syrup. This was a great combination of flavors and textures and was one
of my favorite items that day.
The Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Malted Ale Waffles was served topped with a thick and creamy thyme gravy and applewood smoked bacon.
After pouring pure maple syrup on top of it all, I enjoyed the various taste
sensations, crunchy, salty, sweet and smoky. I was quite happy with this dish.
