‘Brunch’


Expiring at Patrick’s Roadhouse

January 9th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Quick, before the lettuce attacks!

Through an act of charity (seriously), my lady friend and I found ourselves in possession of a gift certificate to Patrick’s Roadhouse in Santa Monica.  The only catch was that this thing expired at the end of December.  Being the go-getters we are, we finally made our way there on December 21st to get some brunch.  When we arrived, we quickly learned that the whole menu wasn’t being served due to it being the manager’s last day.  I’m not sure why that prompted a special menu, but it still looked great and we didn’t ask any questions. Continue Reading»


Waffling at Bru’s Wiffle

January 3rd, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Chicken and wiffles?

While “the bun” has undergone many iterations (pretzel, brioche, etc…) and sandwich bread is known for its varieties, there is one bread-like breakfast conduit that still hasn’t really seen much glory as far as being put to alternate uses. It is the waffle, but Bru’s Wiffle in Santa Monica is out to change that.  You see, Bru’s thinks that waffles need more of the limelight and they are willing to give it.  At Bru’s, you can get a pizza waffle, taco waffles and even “sliders” with waffle buns.  Of course, Bru’s offers waffles in their sweet breakfast form, but the savory offerings were really what drew me to Bru’s. Continue Reading»


Yolk-y with a Chance of Hair

December 19th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Hairless, I'm sure.

In the Windy City for a cold and lovely weekend, some friends, family and other converged upon a brunch place called Yolk in River North.  On such a cold day, I was surprised to find such a long line of people waiting to get a piece of Yolk’s action. Despite claiming to have a 20-minutes wait, it was a good 35 minutes until we were seated.  It was not a good sign of things to come, but a quick glance at the menu made me immediately forgot the wait it took to get there. Continue Reading»


Southern Discomfort at South

November 9th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This passes for southern, apparently.

A couple years ago, the Michigan Alumni Association started gathering at South in Santa Monica. This struck me as strange, because Michigan is about as north as a state can get. Yet, any place willing to host the legions of Michigan football fans was a winner in my mind. Plus, it didn’t hurt to have Abita on tap. But in these years, I had not attempted their food until the past weekend. I heard some bad things, but sometimes you just have to eat.

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Griddle Me This, Griddle Me That

November 2nd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Straight off the griddle.

For a while now, I’ve been hearing about this place in Hollywood called Griddle Cafe.  “Go to Griddle,” they say.  “You’ll like what you eat there,” they also say.  “They make pancakes with anything in them,” they continue, and then I get excited.  You see, I like me a pancake, but a regular pancake can only be so good.  Usually it tastes the best after a night of binge drinking, and it doesn’t matter if it comes from a box mix or the nicest brunch restaurant in the world.  But I got excited about Griddle and finally made it out to Hollywood to see what all the pancake hype was about. Continue Reading»


Home is Where the Slop is

March 30th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Sure, I'll eat your commie pancakes.

Over in the land of Silver Lake on LA’s east side, my sister, girlfriend and family friend converged upon a restaurant called Home.  The place looked nothing like my home and the menu items barely had some items I’ve ever seen at home, so I assumed the name was derived from some sort of Silver Lake hipster irony.   We sat outside on a relatively cold Saturday for LA and I watched as the workers fumbled helplessly to try to keep the heat lamps lit while the women tried desperately to keep warm.  It was unintentionally entertaining, to say the least, and I hoped the food would at least be half as good as said entertainment. Continue Reading»


Detroit-ish Deli at Nate ‘n Al

March 23rd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Pastrami and eggs is a real breakfast.

For a nice little Sunday brunch with the grandparents in Beverly Hills, we headed to an LA icon.  This icon is Nate ‘n Al and it’s been hanging out in Beverly Hills since before the hillbillies.  Started in 1945 by two good old fashioned Detroiters named Al Mendelson and Nate Reimers, Nate ‘n Al brings the comfort of Detroit delis to Southern California.  Supposedly.  But I would be the judge of that. Continue Reading»


More Soup than Dough at Doughboys

January 28th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Yes that is a giant bowl of soup.

On a beautiful morning, I got a call from my buddy who wanted to grab some brunch.  He suggested Dougboys over in Mid-City.  From what I’ve heard of Doughboys, I expected there to be a huge line, so I wasn’t too into the idea, but we still decided check it out with the intention to go somewhere else if the line was long.  Fortunately, we found a manageable line and the fact that there were only two of us made the wait just about 5 minutes. Continue Reading»


Brunch Clubbing at Lime

December 7th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A limey Ruben.

Something unique about San Francisco is that day drinking is kind a given.  If you don’t enjoy throwing back a few beers on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you’re pretty much considered antisocial in San Fran.  So on Sunday morning when we decided to go out for brunch, I should have known I was in for more than just brunch.

We went to a place called Lime in the Castro.  Walking in, the place looks a lot more like a nightclub than a brunch restaurant.  I love Sunday morning mimosas as much as the next guy, and I have no problem eating at a place that looks like a club, but this is the last place I would have wanted to be if I was hungover.  Not only were the acoustics of the place loud because of all the people, but there was loud music blasting all the way.  One of our friends had arrived early, so we were lucky and didn’t have much of a wait. Continue Reading»


Brunching at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba

October 5th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

So many good things in one bowl.

For my second meal in the Windy City, we went to a tapas place called Cafe Ba Ba Reeba.  It’s a part of the Lettuce Entertain You group, which despite having a suspect name, runs some pretty swanky restaurants.  Although this was a tapas place, it also had a special brunch menu that started at 11 when the place actually opened up.  Arriving at opening time, we took our seats in the back, since the outdoor area couldn’t seat such a big group, then took a look at the menu. Continue Reading»


Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

The taste of skiing?

Colorado is definitely a beer state, and not just because Coors comes from the Rocky Mountain State.  No, it is also home to New Belgium (of Fat Tire fame) and seemingly countless other micro and craft breweries.  While in Breckenridge for a ski weekend, I decided I had to at least try one of these, and because it turned out to be the only one available at dinner, my choice happened to come from the creatively named Breckenridge Brewery.  The brewery, by the way, is actually no longer in Breckenridge, having expanded and moved to Denver in 1992.

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