Brunches here span the globe

Need a break from omelets and pancakes on the weekend? Three Washington establishments are expanding the notion of what it means to “do brunch.”

One is putting an Asian spin on the meal. A second lets patrons lounge in Greece. Late-sleepers will most appreciate the third innovator: a watering hole that doesn’t open its doors until 2 p.m.

All I can think of as I make my way through the dim sum menu at the Source is: I wish its talented chef would open a Chinese restaurant in the city.

Scott Drewno’s soft bao buns cradling crackling duck slices, cool cucumber and intense hoisin sauce deserve a wider audience. The chef’s crisp chive dumplings excited by Chinese mustard ought to be served beyond the glass walls of Wolfgang Puck’s sleek gift to Penn Quarter. What look like English Christmas crackers — golden spring rolls with thin ties of blanched chives — snap open to show off pearly centers of mousselike shrimp and lobster. The snacks need no adornment, but they blossom after a dip in spiced honey sauce. If only they were served other than just Saturday at the Source!

Not every little dish — carried, rather than ferried on a cart — fulfills dim sum’s translation of “heart’s delight.” The fragrance preceding the arrival of the chicken wings is better than the actual eating. And although I admire the curry lilt in an order of Shanghai noodles, the noodles are pasty. Those laggards are outnumbered by the kitchen’s many winners, including glassy mung bean noodles topped with garlicky clams, and tiny shrimp dumplings dressed with XO sauce and fried basil. (A splash of Sprite in the wok makes them crisp but keeps their color, the chef shares.)

The bar raises the bar for drinks, too. Its Shanghai Mary leaves everyone else’s bloody mary in the dust, fueled as it is by fresh lime juice and chili paste in the glass and garnished with a skewer of olives and red Thai chilies. Go-o-o-o-d morning.

You might know Kellari Taverna for its Greek wine happy hours (the first Monday of every month) or its Sunday lobster specials or its weekday business lunch that delivers three courses for less than $25. Let me introduce you to yet another of this seafood specialist’s charms: brunch on Saturday and Sunday. If there’s a more civilized but unstuffy place to ease into or out of the weekend, I have yet to discover it.

The dining room’s wood floors gleam. Pools of space surround linen-draped tables. The background music and the letters stenciled on the borders of the ceiling gently place you in Athens. Of course there’s a hint of mint in the hollandaise draped over the poached eggs and smoked salmon.

There are two ways to play in this New York import. One is to order a la carte; the other is to choose an entree with free-flowing champagne or mimosas for $24.95, a tab that includes a basket of pastries.

Our waiter has bad news to share the morning friends and I drop in: “We’re out of lamb burgers and octopus.” Apparently, there’s still lamb in other forms, just not as a patty. I briefly contemplate following Jack Nicholson’s lead in the “Five Easy Pieces” diner scene. I settle instead for tender lamb chops, rounded out with big potato wedges that pick up flavor from chicken stock, oregano and Parmesan. A companion’s seafood sampler displays big shrimp and soft squid, both smoky from the grill and dressed with little more than lemon juice and olive oil.