Cuisine Review

What is it with all of you hounding me to write a bad review? I cannot help it if I continue to eat good meals, and my goal is truly to support local restaurants and always with a dose of criticism if warranted. This one is good.

Mother’s Day was beautiful, the perfect day to eat outside if possible. While I frequent Oakleigh eatery Callaghan’s for lunch, I had not tried their Sunday brunch. An institution, the neighborhood establishment was purchased several years ago, cleaned up and brought back to life as both a bar and grill.

While always lively, it was especially so on Mother’s Day, with extended families crammed into tables and young adults drinking at the bar. There were even several grandmas with their walkers. We arrived right at 11, as owner John Thompson had told me I would not have problem with a table at that time. We severely underestimated Callaghan’s popularity on Mother’s Day. It was packed, but one four-top was empty and I quickly hopped over to claim it, lest anyone else slide in the door.

One of the things I like about Callaghan’s, beyond the rich wood paneling on the walls, is their ability to throw open the windows on nice days. A gentle wind blew through the wide opening and across the tables. We arrived hungry and were quickly ordered a basket of chips with onion dip. The dip arrived cold and thick and full of onion. There was a volcano of salty Golden Flake rippled chips, my favorite. I tried not to eat too many lest I spoil brunch, and finally had to hail down someone to take them away before I demolished the basket. Everything you want to drink is here, but I highly recommend the coffee, a Community Coffee dark roast.

The brunch menu starts off with a basic plate, called the Marine Street breakfast ($6.95). You get three extra large eggs to order, hash browns or cheese grits, toast and either bacon or sausage. My daughter asked for poached and they came fried, which was the only glitch in our meal. We had waited a while, and she was comfortable eating them so no worries.

There was a mountain of bacon, thick, meaty and crisp. She could not eat it all and despite my being full, I snatched up the last three strips. The next item ordered was their signature dish, the Charleston Street ($9.95), poached eggs atop creamed spinach on an English muffin ladled with a shrimp and white wine sauce.

Their eggs truly are large and all of them, but for the mix up, were prepared perfectly. The Charleston is a light tasting dish, with smooth mellow creamed spinach. The shrimp were a little shy of medium in size swimming in a fluid white sauce that was not overpowered with white wine. Very good and it came with hash browns or cheese grits. The cheese grits are thick and heavy, subtle on the cheese, but enjoyable.

I chose the create your own omelet ($7.95) where you can pick four from a list of items – onion, tomato, green pepper, ham, sausage, mushroom and a couple others that escape me at the moment. I selected tomato, peppers, mushrooms and sausage. The omelet was chock-full of everything, fresh and with sliced-up patty sausage. The toast and English muffins had been grilled versus toasted, which was a big hit at our table. The omelet came with hash browns or cheese grits. My daughter and I wanted to try the grits, so I got an extra order ($1.50) to share that came in a medium-sized, wide-mouthed cup. The hash browns are chopped and cubed and none of ours were mushy and soft, but perfectly sautéed.

Other selections for brunch are the Dublin, an omelet with seafood, pepper jack cheese and topped with a Creole sauce. The Belfast came by our table and looked tasty, a breakfast burrito with eggs, corned beef, onions, peppers and cheese in a spinach tortilla.

You can also order a Western, ham and cheese, mushroom or cheese omelet. The regular menu is also served on Sundays. To me, their burgers are about the best in town, big and always well prepared. My son ordered the cheeseburger and had to take half home. I typically order the patty melt on fresh rye with sautéed onions.

Of course their Reuben is great, as you would expect using fresh corned beef. The chicken Philly has large chunks of breast meat with sautéed peppers, onions and melted cheese, nestled inside crispy on the outside, soft on the inside French bread is worth a consideration as well. You get a choice of several sides, among them cole slaw, chips and a tangy tomato, onion and cucumber salad. On Fridays, or at least they did during Lent, they had a blackened grouper sandwich that, as a Catholic, I faithfully ate several times. The fish was always clean and fresh tasting, sometimes grouper can taste otherwise. I have yet to try – but want to – some simple Mexican items Callaghan’s serves on Tuesdays. I understand it is made up of quesadillas, I think some soft tacos and maybe burritos.

Callaghan’s is really the only neighborhood bar in town, laid back and friendly. They have established themselves as both a popular bar and a worthy grill. It is hard to not have your expectations met there, and would be even harder for me to give them a bad review. Sorry all you folks still looking for bad places to eat.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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