We've talked about brunch a lot here, and I've done a Top 10 list on places for brunch you might not have thought of. I even have a brunch category. But I've never made up a list of the restaurants that I recommend for brunch when I get asked, which is frequently.

Last time we discussed this, someone made the excellent point that brunch isn't breakfast. (We have done a Top 10 breakfasts.) Even if the restaurant doesn't offer both breakfast and lunch choices, some of the dishes will be too elaborate for an ordinary breakfast, like eggs Benedict.

I've tried to offer a selection of both extravagant fixed-price buffets and smaller a la carte choices. (The latter is my preference, but sometimes the buffets work best -- when you've got kids, for instance.)

Here's my list in alphabetical order: ...

Continue reading "Top 10 places to have brunch" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (35)
        

A friend and I were just talking about brunch, and she told me something interesting: Because of the economy, she and her friends are no longer going out to dinner as much. Instead they meet for breakfast or brunch, which is cheaper not only because of the type of food, but also because they aren't as likely to order a drink or dessert.

I hadn't thought about it before, but that's a natural consequence of not feeling comfortable spending a lot of money eating out anymore -- but not wanting to give up your social life.

I was intrigued because suddenly I'm hearing more about brunch myself. I wonder which is the chicken and which is the egg.

Charm City mom Kate went to brunch at Woodberry Kitchen before a movie at the Landmark, and I hadn't even realized Woodberry had started serving brunch. ...

Continue reading "The best places to have brunch" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (33)
Categories: Brunch
        

I was going to post this yesterday, when it would have been appropriate, and then I forgot about it. Oh, well, maybe it's better for those who want to make their plans in advance.

I got the following e-mail from Queenie:

Hello!  I continually have a restaurant problem:  I can never remember what places serve breakfast (or brunch) on Saturday as well as on Sunday.

Do you have any plans to make a list?  If not, may I suggest it as a topic?  Thanks!

I wasn't planning to make a list because besides Miss Shirley's the only one I could think of off the top of my head was Alexander's Tavern (pictured) in Fells Point, which seems to have let its Web site go. I called to make sure that it still does serve Saturday brunch. It does, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

But there must be lots of other places. Anybody?

(Kim Hairston/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: Brunch
        

Multimedia Editor Mary Hartney tells me she had dinner at Abacrombie the other night and her server told her the restaurant is now open for brunch on Sundays from noon to 7 p.m. (with no dinner service). It's the upscale version of the all-day breakfast trend we were talking about earlier.

Still, those are the most extreme hours for brunch I've heard of at a restaurant that doesn't do all-day breakfasts otherwise.

Here's the brunch menu from its Web site: ... 

Continue reading "All-day Sunday brunch at Abacrombie" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Brunch
        

Everybody knows about the elaborate brunch buffets at Baltimore's hotels. I want to suggest some restaurants you might not have thought of. (You'll find more under the Brunch category to the right.)

N.B.: When we decided on brunches for today's Top Ten, I forgot that this next Sunday is Easter, so the information may not be accurate for the holiday version of brunch. (I know it isn't for the John Eager Howard Room, pictured.)

I also wanted to mention Evil Hamster's suggestion of the Mill Valley Garden Center in case you missed it. I didn't include it on the list because it seems to be breakfast not brunch, but here's the link.

Here's my list: ...

Continue reading "Top Ten Places for Brunch You Might Not Have Thought Of" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (40)
        

When I ate at Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia the other night, I was impressed with the soft, hot buttermilk biscuits (not exactly typical pub fare) that came with dinner. It occurred to me then that brunch might be a good way to experience this offbeat restaurant, which looks like a chain because its building used to be a Bennigan's but is independently owned.

Brunch includes everything from housemade granola to elaborate concoctions like the one pictured, Victoria Eggs Benedict with a biscuit, poached organic eggs, prosciutto, crab meat and citrus hollandaise.

Not to worry if that sounds like a bit much to you. You could get scrambled eggs and bacon or French toast. Sandwiches, burgers, salads and a few entrees are also available for brunch.

Brunch at Victoria Gastro Pub is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

(Doug Kapustin/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Brunch
        

Donna's at Cross Keys has a new brunch menu and a new waffle iron. On Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the restaurant will be serving such specialties as waffles with whipped cream, clementines and burnt orange sauterne syrup, spiced pumpkin pancakes with maple walnuts and mascarpone cheese, and a crab omelet with avocado, hearts of palm and hollandaise. The menu is a la carte, and prices run from  $5.50 to $16.95.

Other area Donna's also serve brunch, but the menus are different at each one.

(Photo courtesy of Donna's)      

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Brunch
        

Don't even think about Sunday brunch Kali's Court in Fells Point if all you want is eggs over easy. This is a three- ($35), four- ($45) or five- ($75) course meal. That last leaps in price a bit because it starts with caviar.

For most of us, a typical brunch at Kali's Court would be the $35 version, which might include a poached pear salad, followed by crab cake benedict, and ending with  a lemon panna cotta. There are several choices for each course.

Brunch is available from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The kitchen, by the way, has a relatively new head, Rashad Edwards. He took over as executive chef from Brian Martin in May.

(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Brunch
        

You probably don't think of nouvelle and traditional Persian cuisine when you think of Sunday brunch, but why not? 

At the hard-to-find  Orchard Market & Cafe in Towson, brunch is a fixed price from 11:45 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and then a la carte until 4 p.m. (But then can we really call it brunch?)

When I called to find out the price yesterday, the woman who answered the phone said $13, but she didn't sound as confident as I wanted her to. I'll call later when the place is open today and make sure.

The restaurant is BYOB, which makes it a little tricky if you must have mimosas or bloody marys with your brunch.

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun Photographer) 

Continue reading "Brunch in the Orchard" »

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Categories: Brunch
        

(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun Photographer)

Continue reading "Brunch on Main Street" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Brunch
        

The Spice Company has just opened its outdoor seating area in the courtyard in front of the Inn at the Colonnade. Outdoor seating is supposed to be available every day for lunch and dinner with a full menu; but when it was exceptionally hot and humid this week, I passed by a couple of times and the courtyard wasn't open.

It's supposed to be gorgeous weather tomorrow, and I'm going to assume you'll be able to eat there for Sunday brunch. (It's too early for me to call and check.) Brunch is a fixed price ($19.95), and features carving stations, omelets and other egg dishes, seafood, Belgian waffles, breakfast meats, pastries and "endless" mimosas and bloody marys.

Continue reading "Spice Company brunch" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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(Amy Davis/Sun Photographer)

I can't give the details of Ze Mean Bean's Sunday jazz brunch because the menu isn't decided on until today. But I can promise you it will be elaborate, with dishes like blackberry-vodka french toast and crab benedict. ...

Continue reading "A Sunday jazz brunch" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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(Photo courtesy of Regi's)

I called Regi's owner Alan Morstein to see how the Federal Hill bistro was doing after the accident a few weeks ago. My favorite of the stories he told me about how supportive the neighborhood has been was that two people involved in the crash came in afterward to pay their bills, explaining, "I couldn't pay because I was being transported to shock trauma."

The glass-half-full part of the whole mess is...

Continue reading "Update on Regi's" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Brunch
        

(Lloyd Fox/Sun Photographer)

I've been hearing good things lately about the food at the Severn Inn in Annapolis. It turns out there's a new chef, Philip Sokolowski, a former owner of Sam's Waterfront Cafe, also in Annapolis.

So for brunch tomorrow, how about sitting at a table with a water view, drinking mimosas and eating french toast "lasagne," which the Severn Inn's general manager, Jami Adkins, describes as involving "lots of cream and fruit"? ... 

Continue reading "Brunch on the water" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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(Algerina Perna/Sun Photographer)

The only problem with brunch this weekend at Helen's Garden in Canton is that there's no garden. Brunch is taken seriously here. A limited brunch menu is served on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., and a much more elaborate version on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Besides the regular brunch menu, there are usually 14 specials on Sundays...

Continue reading "Brunch in Canton" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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(Algerina Perna/Sun Photographer)

People often ask me for brunch recommendations, particularly this time of year. I'm going to have a suggestion whenever I can on Saturdays, so check back here next week. (But if I can't come up with a good one, I'll write about something else.)

Anyway, one I forget about is Abacrombie near the Meyerhoff. ...

Continue reading "Summer brunches" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Brunch
        

There was a time  when I actually cooked for pleasure, but not so much anymore. 

Yesterday, though, I did enjoy cooking brunch for my mother-in-law and a couple of friends in honor of Mother's Day because I had the time to create something nice ...

Continue reading "My Mother's Day brunch" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Brunch