Parallel Seventeen triggers thoughts of happy-hour martinis, nibbles of ginger and coconut encrusted calamari, and late-night DJs. So, it was with surprise that I learned the restaurant now serves Sunday brunch.

When we strolled in at 11 a.m. last weekend, an alert server led us to a sunny patio table, and our dishes impressed with their stylish creativity. A Vietnamese baguette was hollowed, filled with blueberries, walnuts, and ricotta cheese, and battered with corn flakes for our almost-pastry-like French toast. And the spicy lemongrass steak-stuffed chili relleno came with two gently poached eggs and a slightly sweet tomato salsa. Uptown should consider itself lucky because P17 just upped the ante for brunches in the ‘hood. Bonus: This Sunday, for its third anniversary, the restaurant hosts an international street food party, with food stalls, live music, DJs, and tarot card readers.1600 E. 17th Ave., 303-399-0988. –Kazia Jankowski