Villa de Flora

FOOD

Villa de Flora’s breakfast puts made-to-order eggs, hearty hot dishes and sweet griddle favorites within reach of the same appetite. Cage-free eggs, breakfast meats, bakery items and seasonal fruit form the buffet’s foundation; freshly brewed coffee, tea and juice selections are included. The selection varies, but the breakfast markets can range from applewood-smoked bacon to banana bread. The Mediterranean address belongs to the villa. The country biscuits and sausage gravy have their own ideas.

The create-your-own three-egg omelet is the clearest invitation to make breakfast your own. Choose from the available fillings and let the chef handle the eggs. Three eggs make a substantial commitment, especially with crispy potato wedges on the side; the wedges are prepared with peppers and onions. Scrambled eggs are another option, and an entirely sensible one when biscuits and gravy are already commanding your attention.

Those country biscuits with sausage gravy deserve a place near the top of the hot-breakfast priorities. They bring a Southern-style choice into the specialty-market selection, along with grits and oatmeal. Breakfast strata adds a savory baked dish. This is a hearty group, with enough choices to let an egg enthusiast change her mind at the sight of a biscuit. An omelet remains an appealing starting point.

Applewood-smoked bacon and breakfast sausage put the butcher’s block firmly in breakfast territory, though deli meats and cheeses offer a quieter invitation to linger. A few slices of cheese, something from the bakery, coffee: that can be a perfectly agreeable morning without an egg in sight. Or it can be the intermission before an omelet. The buffet is admirably unbothered by either interpretation.

Pancakes, waffles and French toast give the griddle selection three familiar contenders. Waffle loyalists generally know who they are, and there is no reason to ask them to become pancake people before coffee. Banana bread and mini muffins extend the sweet choices into the bakery, particularly welcome when a full griddle breakfast wasn’t the original intention. A little baked finish after eggs is an appealing proposition. “Mini” is an adorably optimistic unit of measurement here.

The granola bar is there for mornings when breakfast ambition runs more toward yogurt than gravy. Flavored yogurts, dried-fruit toppings, seasonal berries and fresh fruit make that a proper breakfast in its own right, with cereals available too. There is room here for the person who genuinely wants fruit and the person who would like a little fruit before returning to the bacon. Both have found the right counter.

A separate à la carte menu gives diners another route. Avocado toast comes on nine-grain bread with arugula, two poached cage-free eggs and hollandaise; the fried egg sandwich uses bacon, aged cheddar and a brioche roll, with breakfast potatoes. These are individually ordered and priced dishes, rather than buffet inclusions.