Numerous area restaurants are serving up Easter brunch this Sunday, and all of them promise something fantastic for every palate, age group and budget. If you plan on dining out, make your reservations before it's too late:

Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa (983-6377) offers its annual buffet spread ($29-$59 per person, ages 5 and younger no charge, tax and tip not included) with complementary digital family photos, an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos and self-guided tours of the Lamy Chapel. Oyster shooters to go with your panoramic views? Bishop's Lodge has you covered.

The Eldorado Hotel (995-4508) also offers its legendary Easter buffet ($40-$48, ages 4-12 years $24, tax and tip separate), which includes a carving station, kids' menu, a cold-seafood bar, Easter main-course classics with a twist and a multitude of scrumptious salads and desserts.

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A number of restaurants are offering a la carte or prix fixe menus that include special dishes for the holiday.

About 40 miles north of Santa Fe, chef/owner John Johnson's luxurious Rancho de San Juan restaurant and resort glistens like a jeweled mirage in Northern New Mexico's high desert — the middle of O'Keeffe country. For Easter, Johnson offers a $35-per-person (excluding tax, tip, and beverage) two-course prix fixe menu with your choice of four entrées — pan-seared duck breast, poached salmon, Mexican white prawn, or pork tenderloin salad — and two desserts. Call 505-753-6818 for reservations and details.

Closer to home, The Compound (982-4353), Luminaria at the Inn and Spa at Loretto (988-5331), La Casa Sena (988-9232), Fuego at La Posada (986-0000), The Inn of the Anasazi (988-3030), and the Railyard Restaurant & Saloon (989-3300) are all presenting special menus or dishes this coming Sunday.

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As far as I know, the most gorgeous and indulgent Easter brunch menu offered this year — in New Mexico, at least — comes from Chef Mark Ching of Corn Maiden restaurant and Santa Ana Café ($45-60 per person plus tax and tip, 12 and younger half-price, call 505-867-1234 or 800-55HYATT for reservations), both located within the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa on the Santa Ana Pueblo in Bernalillo. The 38-year-old Ching — who first cut his teeth in restaurant kitchens as an 11-year-old dinner cook at his family's restaurant in San Francisco — brings a ton of experience and professionally honed creativity to his Asian- and Southwestern-influenced global cuisine. For Easter brunch, Ching and his staff pull out all the stops: omelet station, waffle station, inventive cold salads, carving station, cold seafood bar, pasta station and a cavalcade of desserts — including low-sugar options — to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Recipes

Ching is a veteran of the Hyatt group, and paired with Tamaya's amazing views and cozy dining rooms, his brunch table is perhaps the place to be this Easter. But if you plan on staying home or joining family or friends at their homes, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to enjoy some of Ching's signature dishes. Below are two recipes adapted from the resort's Easter menu, generously offered by the chef.

LAMB GYRO SALAD

(Serves 8)

1 small leg of lamb, boneless (about 2-3/4 pounds, ask your butcher to tie it for roasting or braising)

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

2 sprigs fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

3 Tablespoons ground cumin

Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper

2 English cucumbers, seeded and thinly sliced

1 red onion, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 yellow bell pepper, white parts and seeds removed, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives

2 pieces pita bread

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 ounces feta cheese

1 pound baby spinach leaves, washed

9 ounces olive oil

4 ounces red-wine vinegar

Honey to taste

Rub lamb with garlic, 2 Tablespoons of the cumin, salt, black pepper and 1 ounce of olive oil. Roast in 350-degree oven until desired doneness is achieved. Use an instant-read thermometer or oven-safe temperature probe. Allow lamb to cool. Cut pita bread into eight wedges, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and remaining cumin. Bake in 350-degree oven until crisp. Cool on paper towels.

For vinaigrette: Mix remaining olive oil, vinegar, oregano and cumin. Season to taste with honey, salt and pepper. Toss with spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, kalamata olives and onions.

Thinly slice cold lamb and place on top of salad along with feta and pita crisps.

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The pork belly in this recipe requires 24 hours of cooling and pressing before reheating.

CRISPY BRAISED PORK BELLY

(Serves 4)

4 pounds pork belly

12 peeled garlic cloves

Smoked sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper

6 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

4 large bunches fresh thyme

White wine

1 quart chicken stock

Place garlic, shallots and thyme in the bottom of a roasting pan. Generously season the belly with sea salt and black pepper. Place pork belly on top of thyme, garlic and shallots, sprinkle with wine, cover with foil and roast at 300 degrees for four hours. Remove pork and allow to cool, reserving jus, garlic and shallots for later. Place plastic wrap over pork; place in clean pan with another pan on top, and weigh down with heavy cans or pots. Let chill in refrigerator for 24 hours. Unwrap pork, portion into 1-inch squares, and reheat in 350 degree oven until squares are crispy on top. Remove squares and keep warm, uncovered. Add reserved jus and chicken stock to hot pan used for reheating the belly squares and reduce the liquid by half. Purée jus and strain. Plate squares as desired, and top with hot jus.