I had heard from several foodie friends about the fabulous meals served at A Toute Heure, so when I had guests in town, I secured a reservation for the brunch, exclusively served on the last Sunday of the month.

A Toute Heure, which opened in May 2007, offers seasonal foods sourced locally to feature the freshest produce, meats, dairy and more.  The menu is ever-changing depending on what chef de cuisine Kara Decker is presented by co-owner Andrea Carbine from her market sourcing visits.

The cozy space seats 38 and is bright and inviting with its high ceilings and large windows.  The wait staff is young, informed and helpful about the menu and ingredients.  A Toute Heure is a BYOB which makes dining at this lovely bistro an affordable option.

For our party, brunch began with hot bowls of powdered sugar-coated beignets ($8).  Beignets can also be served coated in cinnamon sugar.  A Toute Heure’s version of the puffy, dough balls are light and addicting and were gone moments after being delivered to our table.  The coffee is strong and simply great.  It’s a special blend created for A Toute Heure by Small World Coffee of Princeton, NJ.

There were ten brunch entrées available when we visited and each was described in a way that made it extremely difficult to decide on.  We selected the breakfast tart ($9), the housemade jalapeno cornbread with spicy beef chili ($16), the egg-in-a-hole ($16) and the brunch burger ($16).  The breakfast tart begins with a hand-made puff pastry base that is topped with crispy pancetta, melted Manchego cheese and a barely set farm-fresh egg.  The combination of the buttery pastry with the tangy cheese and crispy ham is a must-try.  The cornbread topped with chili, cheese and two sunny side up eggs was flavorful, but a bit dense and heavy for one of my guests.  The egg-in-a-hole  consists of a thick slice of sourdough bread with two fried eggs baked in the center then served with crispy, high quality bacon.  My guest who ordered the brunch burger stated it might be the best he’d had.  The house-ground beef patty is stuffed with Gruyere cheese and topped with sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions then sandwiched between English muffin halves.  The burger is paired with uber thin house chips.

The vibe of the place is simply fantastic and I look forward to visiting for dinner very soon.

232 Centennial Avenue

Cranford, NJ 07016

908.276.6600

Lunch: Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Dinner: Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.

Brunch: the last Sunday of each month, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Cheers,

Veronique