Bacon: It’s what’s for brunch at FIG

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Ah ... brunch. A perfect and perfectly civilized mix of bacon and pre-Happy Hour drinking. When FIG Restaurant began serving brunch on June 28, chef Ray Garcia didn’t skimp on either.

Nearly a quarter of the menu is devoted to a section called ‘Bacon & Sausage,’ which offers a pancetta burger ($17); corn fritters in a bacon crème anglaise ($17); bacon grits with prawns and habanero marmalade; a bacon waffle served with Trockenbeerenauslese syrup and (what else?) bacon ice cream ($16); and the pièce de resistance: bacon-wrapped bacon ($17). That would be thinly sliced smoked bacon wrapped around braised pork belly that’s crisped to order then served on top of berry bread pudding. Think of it as an upscale version of the Bacon Explosion.

What do you drink with that much bacon? More bacon. We’ve already noted the Bacontini at Bigfoot Lodge. Now, FIG offers the Bloody Maria ($13) made with fresh tomatillos, heirloom tomatoes and Gran Centenario Reposado tequila, then dusted with a rim of a bacon salt and served with a strip of Applewood-smoked bacon. While the Eggs and Bacon ($12) mixes bacon-infused gin, lemon juice and egg whites. It’s pork you can drink.

FIG Restaurant: 101 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica. (310) 319-3111, www.figsantamonica.com.

--Elina Shatkin