Before we tried the weekend fare at Hampden's Café Pangea, this category was a dead heat between the down-home consistency of Fells Point's Blue Moon Café and the indulgent elegance of Locust Point's Hull Street Blues. And we still love both of those places; no one in town does country cooking better (or cheaper) than Blue Moon, and Hull Street has the all-you-can-eat concept handsomely (and inexpensively) covered. Trouble is, we're not the only ones who love those two bistros, and they've become ever more crowded on weekends. Ideally, we decided, the Best Brunch should be tasty, should be served cheerfully and efficiently, shouldn't cost a bundle, and shouldn't require a long wait. Café Pangea, with its dining room and outdoor porch, hits on all four cylinders--especially the last one, as we discovered a recent Sunday when we arrived to find only one other party occupying the place. After chowing down on some of Pangea's brunch offerings--pecan waffles, crab eggs Benedict (with a generous mound of meat on each English muffin), and a delectable light frittata (kind of a browned, unfolded omelet), all served on the sunny porch with mugs of rich coffee and cool jazz on the PA system--we couldn't understand why people weren't beating down the doors. The waiter let us milk our meal for all it was worth, and we headed out the door more than two hours later, with full bellies and a caffeine buzz. We liked having the place to ourselves, but wouldn't mind some company if it helped keep Café Pangea going strong.

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