RESTAURANT REVIEW / FOUR SEASONS BRUNCH : Brunch Bacchanal : The Sunday buffet at the Four Seasons Biltmore presents an opportunity for epic indulgence.

It would be fair to say that I approach the concept of brunch with trepidation, in the same manner I approach buffet .

Brunch is neither one thing nor another. Is it breakfast eggs? Is it sandwiches? Is smoked fish really something Americans want to eat for breakfast? Are omelets really to be dished out continuously between 10 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon? More to the point: Am I able to decide whether it’s breakfast or lunch that I want, and does it make any difference?

My problem with buffets is much simpler. I have seldom, if ever, found one that has--no matter its steam tables and warming plates--consistently managed to keep things warm, crisp and fresh without drying them out.

All of this gibberish leads me to the Sunday brunch at Santa Barbara’s Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel.

This meal has reached a sort of legendary status in the region--primarily for its lavishness, but also for its price of $35, including all that champagne. And it delivers, I must confess, the most stunning array of foods one is likely to encounter this side of Rome’s earlier Bacchanalias.

The Biltmore’s Sunday display has not solved all of my problems with brunches or buffets, but it’s the best of either that I’ve come across in recent years.

Although the brunch has been around for a long time, the hotel’s fairly new executive chef, Carrie Nahabedian, has helped make it her own with a series of seasonal menus. “Eating,” says the chef, “is entertainment,” and entertainment is certainly one word that describes this feast.

Fall is in season right now, and a favorite dish--of the more than 50 and as many as 80 that may be available--typifies the season.Roasted whole fall vegetables are tossed with celery root, parsnips, beets, rutabagas, potatoes and, delightfully, chestnuts.

In this multitude of aromas and tastes, one could go on forever. The serving tables are spread out in two rooms that adjoin the main dining room, called La Marina, and the patio and outside patio terrace.

Any of these sites guarantees one of the loveliest vistas available anywhere on the California coast. La Marina itself is all formality and elegance. The other areas are a bit more California casual.

One morning I spied the kids’ table. Later, I noticed that I wasn’t the only adult to help him/ or herself to the goodies there. There was fried chicken, pizza, candy apples, onion rings, popcorn and jello. My plate was heaped with macaroni and cheese, just like Mom used to make, with a Velveeta-like sauce.

Farther in, there was a large table of seafood--raw oysters, clams and mussels on the shell, plus smoked and marinated black pepper salmon. Its drama notwithstanding, I’d pass on this table. I found the salmon dull, I couldn’t dig up any horseradish at all. And by late in the day the oysters had lost much of their moisture.

But at the other end of the room, an inside cut of beef was replaced with a whole roast sirloin--one beautiful piece of thickly carved red meat. The whole glazed smoked ham on the bone, which replaced the pork loins, was as good as any ham I’ve eaten. It was succulent, tender and not too salty.

Between the shellfish and the meats were tables of savory confusion. On one side was a table, with three fresh pastas, an Alfredo and a marinara sauce.

I loved the sweetish ravioli of acorn and butternut squash, but I wish I’d had the Alfredo over it rather than the watery marinara.

On the other side of the room was the egg table. There, the Biltmore has taken a major step in overcoming my aversion to brunches and buffets. I commend them for keeping the poached eggs warm without becoming overdone. I do not commend them for the Benedict sauce, which lacked the requisite lemony tang.

On another side was a stir-fry table, and across the room a table of smoked fish, which always includes salmon, usually trout and a third fish. But what’s smoked fish without horseradish?

I almost forgot the crispy tempura catfish next to the meats. In hot chili oil and scallions, it stayed warm, tender and exotically Eastern. It was a dish I went back to for second helpings. The glazed, scalloped sweet potatoes, cooked with white potatoes and Gruyere cheese, were also worth seconds.

In the salad area, there was seared salmon with glazed red onions, wild lettuce and red potatoes. The combination of flavors and textures was great. The spicy calamari and Caesar salad, a combination new to me, worked better than I expected, with the squid being replaced, apparently, often enough to keep it warm and tender.

In this group, I’d include the salad of roasted eggplant, goat cheese and grilled lamb. The eggplant and the cheese melt together in your mouth.

You could go on and on. There’s a table of breads, cheeses and dried fruits, another of cappuccino, espresso, waffles, ice creams and sauces. Across the way was a big dessert table. The bread pudding is one of the best, rich and eggy and very crisp on top. But I found the fruit cobbler grainy and not doughy enough.

I should have grabbed some blueberry jello--or perhaps a caramel apple--from the kids’ table.

WHERE AND WHEN

Santa Barbara Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel, 1260 Channel Drive, Santa Barbara; 969-2261. Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Full bar. Reservations, major credit cards accepted. Food for two, including champagne, $70.