Go Now: Brunch at Parallel Seventeen

Brunch can get a bad rap: waiting an hour for a table, overpriced menu items, a drawn-out event that eats into your blissful day off. Not so at Parallel Seventeen, where chef-owner Mary Nguyen recently expanded brunch service to 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week.

Here, the crowds are thinner and the service is quick: you can be in and out in 45 minutes or so. Or, relax in the sunlit space with a bottomless mimosa and bottomless pho and stay awhile. Nguyen leaves it up to you.

The menu offers a smart Vietnamese twist on favorite American brunch items. Think chicken and waffles with Thai chile butter or the Saigon sandwich (pictured, top), a refreshing and filling update on banh mi. Many of the herbs on the summer menu—it changes seasonally—come from Nguyen’s mother’s garden.

Your best bet: Share the sinful blueberry-and ricotta-stuffed French toast (pictured, right) with the table and order a guava mimosa and the caprese Benedict (pictured, left) for yourself. (This ensures you don’t have to share the herb-forward Thai basil hollandaise.)

Bonus: Being gluten- and dairy-free herself, Nguyen understands the importance of having diverse offerings. Many dishes can be made gluten-free or vegetarian.

On the horizon: Look for Nguyen to open Olive & Finch Eatery, Bakery, and Market at 1552 E. 17th Ave. in October.

1600 E. 17th Ave., 303-399-0988

—Images courtesy of Parallel Seventeen

@daliahsinger.