New weekend brunch at Girasol, Caulfield’s and Mari Vanna

Weekend brunch usually means three things: You need something hearty to soak up last night’s drinks, you welcome a little more alcohol for some hair-of-the-dog action, and you’re looking to relax somewhere that will provide you with both. Most people have their neighborhood favorites, but here are a couple of spots around town that are new to the brunch scene.

“Top Chef� alum CJ Jacobson’s new restaurant Girasol in Studio City has recently launched a new weekend brunch. Menu items include grilled octopus gazpacho with tomatillo, cucumber and avocado; house-made bread pudding French toast with berries and figs; and steak and eggs with foraged pickled walnuts, crispy Kennenbeck and potatoes. Jacobson is also serving seasonal agua frescas, coffee and housemade croissants and pain au chocolate. Brunch is served every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 11334 Moorpark Street, Studio City, CA 91602, www.girasolrestaurant.com.

Caulfield’s Bar and Dining Room at the Thompson Beverly Hills will be open for brunch beginning Sunday. Chef Stephen Kalt is dishing out a menu of frittatas, huevos chilaquiles; an in-house pastry program with whole grain blueberry muffins and warm braeburn apple turnovers; and a meats section with a crispy buffalo chicken sandwich and a wagyu-blend beef burger with fries. Brunch will be served Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations are recommended. 9360 Wilshire Blvd., (310) 388 6860, caulfieldsbeverlyhills.com.

Mari Vanna, the newly opened home-style Russian restaurant in West Hollywood, has launched a $29 prix-fixe weekend brunch that includes one appetizer, one main course, one dessert and bottomless mimosas and Champagne. Menu items include a sardelki with pshennaya kasha, cabbage pie and blini with salmon, and signature cocktails will include the Pomidorchik (a Russian bloody Mary with spicy mustard) and a cherry vareniki for dessert. 8475 Melrose Place, West Hollywood, CA 90069. (323) 655-1977, www.marivanna.ru/la.

ALSO:

Mollywatr: New water company touts a drug name

Jonathan Gold: A soulful cauliflower taco in a league of its own

Chef of the Moment: Alma’s Ari Taymor, transforming beets into emotions