Felice Urban Café: Northeast Ohio’s best weekend brunches, breakfasts

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Our brunch and breakfast series continues as we check out Felice Urban Café. Here’s a look at what to expect:

Location + hours: 12502 Larchmere Blvd., Cleveland, 216-791-0918.

Sunday brunch 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Parking is on nearby streets and is across from Big Al’s Diner, which we also reviewed awhile back.

Menu or buffet? Menu.

About the place: It's a cozy house built in 1910 that has an enclosed porch for dining and rooms throughout for customers. Bars are downstairs and upstairs. It's been around 10 years. Smooth jazz played in the background.

About the menu: Very wide-ranging. Small plates include breakfast pizza, grilled octopus tostada, and avocado and grapefruit salad. More than a dozen mains cover chicken taquitos, French toast, macrobiotic bowl, fried chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits and more. A Belgian waffle was one of the lightest we have ever tried, and mix of whipped cream and goat cheese - served as a dollop the size of a tennis ball - was light and creamy. Fresh-cut apples and bananas also were served with the waffle.

Kudos: Breakfast burgers have gotten to be in vogue with many places simply tossing a fried egg on a patty and serving it for breakfast. But this one is unique: Fried plantains serve as the bun. The top is crispy and the bottom is soggy from the burger's juice, and it's delicious. The cooked-to-order burger also includes whipped avocado, and fries came with a cold, slightly sweet salsa that had a nice kick of heat on the end.

About the drinks: Tons of cocktails. Mimosas come with freshly squeezed juice.

Don’t miss: Checking out the overall décor. It's funky and gets funkier the further up the stairs you go, with giant flower patterns. The upstairs bathroom has a Lite Owl. Designed by Brian May, it's - well you have to check it out for yourself.

Nice touch: The bill comes in a book. Ours was a collection of Ralph Waldo Emerson works. Its opening line in the introduction: "We have heard a good deal lately about the American way of life and its concern for the individual. Simply stated, the momentous question of our time is whether a man shall control his own affairs or obey the orders of some central authority." Written in the 19th century, prescient words to end our brunch.

Have a brunch spot you’ve wondered about and want us to visit? Email me.

Previous eats: Northeast Ohio breakfast-brunch spots we’ve tried:

1815 Tavern - Aurora

111 Bistro - Medina

35 Brix - Green

Adega - Cleveland (downtown)

Akron Family Restaurant - Akron

Alexandris - Medina

Alley Cat - Cleveland (Flats East Bank)

Astoria Café & Market - Cleveland (Gordon Square)

Austin’s Wood Fire Grille - Brecksville

Barrio - Cuyahoga County (multiple locations)