As you might know from a previous post, we’re a fan of brunch, and, in particular, Majestic Café’s renditions of Southern and Creole. But Majestic doesn’t offer eggs Benedict, which is a standard in most brunch-oriented places. Even the worst of the worst access-road diners offer the stuff. So, sadly, we have to go elsewhere for our Benedict fix.

This past weekend, we were moved by several good reviews to try out Tallula — the Arlington outpost of the burgeoning Evening Star empire, located on a quiet corner of Washington Boulevard in Arlington. Brunch at Tallula is totally inspired. It stays true to the standards, but adds a creative twist. And in keeping with today’s competitive culinary world, it throws a few curve balls (meat chili paired with grilled cheese, and sweet potato corned beef hash, to name two). We tried the eggs Benedict, made with bresoala ham, a fried green tomato in lieu of the English muffin, and jalapeno Hollandaise. It actually took us a few bites to fully realize there was no bread under that ham; the crispy coating on the tomato gave the “illusion” of eating bread. Pure genius. Plus, we just love fried green tomatoes. The Hollandaise had just enough kick while maintaining the creamy consistency. The dish came with a generous salad of greens, slivered almonds, goat cheese, dressed with a light vinaigrette.