Earlier this winter, Alameda Café, the 30-year-old Beaumont breakfast spot, got a serious facelift.  The new blood is Cameron Addy, former owner of Belly Restaurant on Fremont, and longtime chef-de-cuisine at Division’s celebrated Ava Genes. While the space is still reliably unhip and neighborhood-oriented (the median age remains around 70), Addy brings with him an unfussy menu inundated with the vegetable worship he learned from Ava Gene’s chef Joshua McFadden.

At the top of the list: a pitch-perfect barley risotto. Pearl barley is toasted, soaked in vegetable stock, tossed with creamed leeks, delicata squash, and chanterelles and topped with a bramble of crispy shallots. It’s a creamy, umami-rich bowl for the deepest winter chill.

We’ll be back for more, and to check out brunch, launching this weekend, with Fluffernutter French toast, griddle burgers, and fried chicken sandwiches.