From last call to wake-up call at Audubon and Miracle

Over the past seven years, Audubon Circle has become synonymous with after-work beers and late-night noshing. All sleek angles and grainy wood, the popular watering hole and eatery roars with conversation on Friday nights. Voices compete with the Clash and the clanging of plates as waitresses hustle pot stickers and steaks out of the kitchen. It's a formula that works exceedingly well. In fact, it's a shame to call Audubon's victuals bar food because owners Chris Lutes and Matthew Curtis have taken this cuisine a giant step beyond happy hour at Chili's. Given the strong nighttime reputation, we were surprised to hear that the pair decided to introduce a Saturday and Sunday brunch at Audubon Circle. They have also begun serving breakfast seven days a week at Audubon's sister bar, Miracle of Science in Cambridge.

Do people want eggs from the same place they were downing kamikazes while flirting shamelessly the night before? At the moment it's hard to know. Brunch is still new, and it appears that word is slow to circulate. The Saturday morning we visit Audubon Circle we practically have the place to ourselves for more than an hour. It's the most peaceful meal we've ever experienced there. The brunch menu at Audubon Circle follows the simple lead of lunch and dinner with a few well-chosen items and cocktails aplenty. We start with mimosas that are strong enough to grow hair on your chest and move on to a breakfast enchilada made with fluffy scrambled eggs, spinach, and mushrooms with a side of salsa and sour cream. The dish is the missing link between breakfast and lunch that is usually lacking at brunch.

The steady stream of bluegrass music is relaxing but comes with unintentional dangers. Midway through breakfast, we spot a new arrival: a gent with a penchant for Eddie Bauer clothing, down to a pair of those hideous all-weather, slip-on mocs Lands' End now sells in as many colors as Baskin-Robbins makes flavors of ice cream. There should be a law against such fashion atrocities so early in the day.

Despite feeling queasy at the site of the plebeian footwear, we bravely forge ahead with French toast and homemade apple and chicken sausage. The one misstep we encounter is the corned beef hash and grits. Inexplicably, there are three climates on the plate: The grits are hot, the eggs are warm, and the corned beef is cold.

Unlike the sparse crowd at Audubon Circle, Miracle of Science is practically bustling the next morning. With the exception of a lone MIT hobbledehoy studying the latest issue of Popular Science, most of the patrons are cozy couples who look as if they're still on dates begun the night before. It's a scene that Maureen McGovern herself would be proud of.

Breakfast here is a simple affair, with a choice of four specials, a bevy of sides, and pastries from Nabob Brook Bakery. We begin with a chilled pot of incredibly rich, custardlike vanilla yogurt imported from France and a buttery black-currant scone.

As at Audubon Circle, the dishes bridge breakfast and lunch without resorting to waffle cliches. The breakfast sandwich is made with egg, cheese, and Canadian bacon, but in a nod to lunch it comes on a bulkie roll topped with lettuce and tomato. The Brazilian steak and eggs comes with a small arugula salad. Our waiter, who looks fresh off the pro skateboard circuit, neglects to ask how we want our eggs prepared but is perfectly gracious and exchanges fried for scrambled with a smile.

We love lunch and dinner at Miracle of Science and are happy to have found an excuse to come earlier in the day. Aside from an absent-minded Saucier's leaving behind his iPod (later happily recovered), it was indeed a good morning.