Have I mentioned I’m going to Europe for the first time this summer?

Have I mentioned I’m going to PARIS?

Have I mentioned how excited I am to eat hella butter and bread? Because I am.

The other weekend I came to work bright and early only to find out someone had cut the wires to our restaurant’s power line in order to break in to the building next door. Scary stuff. Also, annoying that I got up and hauled my ass out there at 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday, only to find out I could have slept in.

However, I’m an optimist. And my best friend happens to work with me. So we turned lemons into lemonade and took advantage of the rare fact we were free for weekend brunch!

La Note is one of the most popular restaurants in Berkeley. They serve up provencal French cuisine, and they are famous for brunch. How famous? Like a 20 minute wait at 9 AM famous. The place is charming and quaint, with a bunch of tables packed together inside, and a fantastic garden patio in the back. I’d much prefer dining on the patio, as the interior can get a little crowded.

This place is hella French. Like everything on the menu is written in French, and you will probably embarrass yourself trying to pronounce your order. Also, their mimosas are crazy strong. My mimosa was a super pale orange, and tasted like a glass of champagne with three drops of orange juice dropped in there. Master Lee approves.

We tried Les Ouefs Lucas (eggs scrambled with goat cheese and chives, served with beautifully roasted roma tomatoes and baguette), Cote Ouest (a ratatouille omelette, served with home fries and toast), their spicy merguez sausage (fantastically spiced lamb sausage), and pamplemousse (literally just grapefruit sprinkled with some powdered sugar, but it’s so fun to say). Everything was cooked perfectly, and we left full but not feeling heavy and weighed down. The merguez sausage is a must-order here, and it’s overall an extremely charming brunch experience.

La Note is located at 2377 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704. They are open Monday – Friday from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM for breakfast and lunch. Dinner is served Thursday to Sunday from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and brunch Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM.