www.roanoke.com

The restaurant is located in the Brambleton Avenue space formerly occupied by El Palenque. At left, the chef's cheesecake with mixed berry sauce.

The restaurant is located in the Brambleton Avenue space formerly occupied by El Palenque. At left, the chef's cheesecake with mixed berry sauce.

Unpretentious, comfortable and spacious, Brambleton Blend has a good neighborhood feel to it with families, couples and business associates enjoying the place and the well-prepared food. The restaurant has been open since April in the Brambleton Avenue space formerly occupied by El Palenque.

The energetic staff communicates informed descriptions of the menu items, which can be both homey and sophisticated and sometimes feature unexpected combinations of ingredients.

Co-owner Rob Cantu said he originally intended to open a coffee shop serving freshly roasted premier coffees from Star City Roasters, but one thing led to another, and the idea blossomed into a full-fledged restaurant concept, which still includes specialty coffee service.

Cantu was trained as a barista at the American Barista & Coffee School in Portland, Ore., and Brambleton Blend is his first restaurant. He describes himself as "local and average, with a family and kids." When he realized he had a restaurant on his hands, he not only researched recipes for the menu and decided to purchase local products as much as possible, but he also found a Virginia-born chef with a solid culinary background for his new place.

Meet the chef

Born in Blacksburg and living in Roanoke for the past six months, chef Neil Annis sharpened his culinary skills serving a chef's apprenticeship under master chef Rob Murphy in Virginia Beach. Annis established his reputation for using impeccably fresh seafood and seasonal, locally grown produce in simple yet sophisticated creations. He believes in purity of ingredients even as he reaches globally to produce dishes with exotic seasonings: "People should know they're eating fresh, unadulterated foods, and that's what I prepare." I took great pleasure in watching Annis, a skilled professional chef, go about his cooking duties in Brambleton Blend's open kitchen.

The menu

Breakfast, which is served all day, features an assortment of four omelets, including a make-your-own option, and all come with a side of real home fries. Breakfast platters ($4.99 to $7.99) include more enticements, such as eggs, waffles, pancakes and crepes with fruit, as well as biscuits with fried chicken or pork tenderloin and sausage gravy. Three types of burritos consist of Spanish, Greek and your own creation ($6.99). The house specialties part of the menu includes sausage-covered hard-cooked Scotch egg ($5.99), a strip steak topped with a fried egg ($8.95) and a mouth-watering angels on horseback ($11.95), which are fried oysters wrapped in bacon and served on toast.

Lunch menu items include a salmon quesadilla ($6.99) and wonderful salads ($4.99 to $5.99) enhanced with fresh dressings. Substantial panini sandwiches, eight different burgers, four assorted chicken breast dishes and three distinctive vegetarian entrees make up the rest of the menu.

What I tried

For lunch, I had a few spoonfuls of creamy Mediterranean cabbage soup seasoned with herbs and honey quickly followed by Roark's Drift ($7.99), a perfectly made grilled panini of tender port-seasoned roast beef layered with Muenster cheese and a spread of horseradish mayo between slices of rustic bread. A cup of Papua New Guinea coffee was just right with the sandwich, and I followed it up with a big cookie for dessert plus more coffee.

Although I contemplated one of two dinner appetizers -- either pan-fried sweetbreads with Asian plums, figs and port wine ($6) or shrimp and Thai sausage crepe ($7) -- I ended up ordering a fabulous salad called Spring Forth, composed of mixed lettuces, hydroponic tomatoes, toasted cashews and dried cherries ($6).

I had a difficult time selecting from the four entree suggestions, especially after seeing two of them at the next table -- an herb-encrusted half of a small chicken with French lentils, and duck confit with strawberry ginger glaze. I finally decided on a hand-cut, dry-rubbed rib eye served with Gorgonzola cheese, sauteed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes ($18). What a steak it was! Sprawled over the plate, hiding the mounds of sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes, this 16-ouncer (flawlessly grilled to medium doneness) was all-American terrific. A wedge of chef's cheesecake with warm, mixed berry sauce ($5) concluded my meal on the nicest note.

Not to be picky, but ...

Better timing of meals from the kitchen would be helpful. Service can be too fast -- one course coming on top of the other -- especially when few tables are occupied. However, sudden rushes of patrons lead to a slower, more leisurely pace. Also, I'm not fond of honey-seasoned foods, such as the Mediterranean cabbage soup; but others fully enjoyed it, so I remain a lone complainer. It would have been easier for me to enjoy my enormous (and scrumptious) steak if it had the dinner plate to itself with the fresh vegetables served on their own dish.

The bottom line

This convivial restaurant offers a wide variety of uniformly excellent food served in generous portions, so I recommend coming here ravenously hungry. Even though a TV is mounted in one corner, this comfortable place allows for civilized conversations and a good time.