Less than a year after Ambrozia Café and Wine Bar opened in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town district, Sunday brunch became a near sell-out. No buffet tables heaped with soggy scrambled eggs, here. Executive chef Sam Etheridge blends the culinary accents of his adopted state of New Mexico, the Caribbean influence he absorbed as a chef in Florida, and his mom’s Tennessee home cooking for a brunch that’s a far cry from the usual fare.

Take the huevos rancheros, for example. Pancetta-wrapped grilled shrimp is tucked between a fried egg yolk and layers of black beans and queso atop a crispy fried tortilla; all is served with a savory pico de gallo. Eggs Benedict get a makeover with prosciutto, green chile, and goat-cheese cream. French toast is transformed with a coating of crusty corn flakes and red chile maple syrup, an adaptation of mom’s recipe. Bagels and lox come three ways, a chile glaze on one version. A classic Southern ambrosia salad accompanies some dishes. The restaurant derives its name from the fruit salad, the spelling variation a salute to the Zia sun symbol.

Drinks are equally imaginative. The margarita, for example, is made with agave wine, the bloody Mary with sake. (As the brunch drinks menu says, “This may be the best news you’ve seen all day.”) Other libations include the FrAmbrozia (Bonny Doon Framboise, sake, and ginger ale) and Kir (white wine and blackberry muscat). Ambrozia’s wine list boasts 130 varietals, 60 percent of them domestic and 40 percent imported.

From the start, Etheridge rejected the idea of a typical buffet brunch. Rather, he cooks each diner’s order from a select menu of staples supplemented by dishes modified from the dinner menu. Those unique huevos rancheros, for instance, originally came from a dinner appetizer, pancetta-wrapped shrimp over grits. Etheridge uses egg yolks instead of the whole egg because he personally likes just the yolks. He separates the eggs, using the yolks for the huevos and the raw whites for some other dish. (Frying an egg yolk, he says, is dicey and requires a well-oiled griddle.)

French Toast Crusted with Corn Flakes
(serves 3–4 people)
4 slices brioche or thick cut bread
1 cup corn flakes
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 New Mexico whole red chile pods
1 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 banana sliced
1/4 cup roasted pecans

Bring syrup and chiles to a simmer in a saucepan. Turn off heat and let steep for 1 hour. Strain. Break up corn flakes in a plastic bag or food processor and put on a plate. Beat eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Dip bread one at a time first in egg mixture, then in corn flakes. Press corn flakes into bread to make the crumbs stick. Preheat a pan or griddle over low heat and melt oil and butter in it. Add crusted bread and cook each side until crispy, approximately 4 minutes on each side. Top with warm syrup, banana slices, and pecans.

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