I brunched at Volterra

From K.

Brunch is my definition of the perfect meal. It's rarely eaten in a hurry; we love to linger over our plates, perhaps because we're stuffed to the point of immobility. It's typically rife with bacon, cheese and yeasty goodness like waffles and cinnamon rolls. It's often fancy and casual simultaneously.

I experienced all these things at Volterra, a Ballard restaurant I'd long maligned after a bad dinner experience on a recent birthday. "Go for brunch. It's their best meal," my friends advised me. How right they were.

Our table of six lovely ladies ordered a frittata, the wild mushroom scramble with truffle cheese, the chestnut pancakes, their un-traditionally good Traditional Breakfast and plenty of their delectable sausage and bacon. I thoroughly enjoyed my scramble, the way it blended salty and sweet and savory. I was surprised by what I admired most on my square white porcelain plate, though: the most ideal hashbrowns I've ever encountered.

Best of all, we walked out into the crisp fall sunlight with the Ballard Farmers Market just steps away. After all, it was time to start pondering dinner ingredients...