brunch

Brasserie

by Stephanie on January 20, 2012

in American, Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Good morning! I don’t have much to say this morning, so let’s just hop right into the review! That’s what you’re here for, right?

I went to Brasserie a few weeks ago for a delicious brunch. Brasserie is owned by the same people behind Niche and Taste Bar. While I haven’t visited Niche (yet), it gets rave reviews, and Taste Bar is one of my favorite restaurants ever. I promise I’ll review it soon.

But today – Brasserie! It’s located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis.

While I looked over the menu, I ordered a St. Germaine cocktail. I don’t remember exactly what was in it, but it tasted very grapefruit-y.

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I loved it.

Now it’s time for food! I was super hungry, so I started with eggs benedict.

 

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Can you believe I’ve never had eggs benedict before? Poached eggs were topped with dijon hollandaise and served on top of toasted brioche. It came with a side of breakfast potatoes.

This. Was. AMAZING. I loved the creaminess of the hollandaise, and since the bread was toasted, it didn’t get soggy. The eggs were cooked to perfection. The flavors were fantastic. The breakfast potatoes were also delicious – they were crispy on the outside, but had a hot, almost creamy middle. Fantastic.

I also ordered a grapefruit brulee and a side of bacon. I said I was hungry, right?

 

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The grapefruit brulee was delicious. The crispy caramelized sugar topping was amazing. And holy bacon – that “side of bacon” could have been a meal in and of itself? You better believe I dominated that pile. Smile

Service at Brasserie was attentive and speedy. And prices were reasonable. For my drink, meal, and sides, I paid less than $20. That’s a winner in my book!

I highly recommend Brasserie for brunch. I will definitely be back soon; I hear they serve dinner as well. My stomach is growling just thinking about it!

See you next week!

{ 6 comments }

Home Wine Kitchen: Brunch!

by Stephanie on December 23, 2011

in American, Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Good morning! How’s this Friday treating you? I honestly can’t believe that Christmas is in two days. TWO DAYS! And guess who hasn’t started Christmas shopping yet?

I know. I knowwwww. Way to wait until the last minute, Stephanie! Every single year I do my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. And every single year I tell myself that I won’t wait until the last minute next time.

Sigh. Looks like I broke my own promise. Winking smile

One promise I’m not breaking? My dedication to food! More specifically, my promise to update the good old bloggy every Friday. So let’s hop to it!

As you probably know by now, brunch is my favorite meal. There’s something about brunch that evokes feelings of lazy weekend mornings, surrounded by the smell of coffee, bacon, and french toast. I love how everything slows down on Sundays, and for me, brunch is the epitome of relaxation.

Clearly, I’m not the only one who feels this way. These girls love brunch just as much as I do.

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Hi Joselyn and Sarah! I *heart* these ladies.

We met up for brunch a few weeks ago at Home Wine Kitchen. You might remember my previous visit to this Maplewood gem where I enjoyed dinner with friends. Well, we’re baaaaaack!

Home Wine Kitchen offers a delicious (and affordable) Sunday brunch that I adore. The menu changes depending on what’s in season. When we visited, their fall brunch menu was in full swing.

We were all pretty hungry, so we started with HWK’s cinnamon bread:

 

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This lovely treat was made with buttermilk, brown sugar, and butter. And a delicious caramel glaze. It tasted like a deliciously soft cinnamon biscuit. Amazing. Is it bad that I wanted this all to myself? I’m pretty sure Jos and Sarah felt the same way; we dominated this baby! It took every ounce of willpower inside me to not lick the plate. Yes. It was that good.

Next up? I decided to go with pumpkin french toast:

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Oh baby. It was topped with a cream cheese-like topping, and oodles of maple syrup, of course.

I loved this. It tasted like pumpkin bread pudding! Dessert for breakfast? I can dig it. Smile

Joselyn and Sarah’s choices were also pretty fab. Joselyn went with a dish called The Sequel:

 

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It was a sandwich with fried egg, bacon, spinach, cheddar, and bacon jam. Read that again. I’ll give you a second. BACON JAM. This sandwich doesn’t look too special – I know — but the bacon jam is what took it over the top. Joselyn let me try a bite, and I briefly considered grabbing the entire sandwich and running out the door with it.

Sarah went with the cornmeal pancakes:

 

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I’ll admit it: I’m not a huge pancake person. Oh, I’ll eat them, but when I go out, they’re not usually the first thing I think about ordering. But these pancakes? They were different. In a good way! The cornmeal gave them a grainy sort of texture that I enjoyed. And they were super filling! I just had one bite (thanks Sarah!), but I wanted more. Delish.

Josh, one of the owners of HWK, came out and chatted with us quite a bit. He told us a little more about the dishes we were eating, and then he brought this for us to sample:

 

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Holy crepe! This crepe was quite tasty, and was stuffed with rich ricotta cheese. Truthfully, it didn’t hold a candle to my french toast, but it was still quite yummy. Thanks, Josh!

So there you have it. Brunch at HWK was a success. I’m so lucky to live pretty close to such a wonderful place. Will I be back? You better believe it. I highly recommend it!

Have a great weekend, and Merry Christmas!

{ 2 comments }

Half & Half!

by Stephanie on October 28, 2011

in American, Breakfast, Lunch

When I visit restaurants, one thing I try to do is figure out the origin of the restaurant name. Last week’s visit to Farmhaus was easy; they specialize in farm-to-table cuisine, so it’s easy to see where that name originates. Same goes for Truffles. It’s in Ladue, which is a ritzy part of St. Louis. And truffles are known for their high price. So it makes sense.

However, with Half & Half, I couldn’t quite figure out what the name was supposed to mean. It’s a restaurant in Clayton that specializes in brunch. Maybe it’s named Half & Half, because half of the menu is breakfast, and the other half is lunch? Hmm…makes sense to me! Let’s roll with that. Smile

Anyway, while my dad was in town, we decided to check out this curiously named place for some brunch-y goodness.

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The interior was very sparse and clean. We visited on a Saturday morning and the place was packed!

The menu at half & half is interesting; there are lots of popular breakfast options, like pancakes, french toast, and oatmeal. However, there are more adventurous options as well. The crispy pork belly stood out especially. I intended on ordering that, but the waiter informed me that they were out of pork belly for the day. It was only 10am! Sad smile

I went with the Cornbread & Chorizo dish instead.

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Good choice, Stephanie! This dish consisted of cornbread, chorizo, two sunny side up eggs, cilantro, and red onion.

The chorizo was delicious. It had the tiniest kick of spice that I loved. You all know how I feel about spicy foods! I love them, and this dish delivered. The eggs were a good addition, but to be honest, I wasn’t crazy about the cornbread at all. It was cold, dense, and quite flavorless.

My dad also made a good choice. He went with the salmon hash:

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The dish consisted of two sunny side up eggs, potatoes, chives, and hollandaise. I tried a few bites and fell in love! The creamy hollandaise was the perfect addition to the dish, and provided a richness that was unbelievable. The salmon was flavorful, and the potatoes were perfect! I think I liked his dish more than mine! Dad knows best.

Despite the crowdedness of the restaurant, service was friendly and attentive. Prices were a little steep, but I think the cost was worth it!

Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week!

{ 5 comments }

Time for Brunch!

by Stephanie on October 7, 2011

in American, Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

It’s obvious that I love to eat. Why else would I have a food blog? But what you probably don’t know is that my favorite meal is brunch. I love having the choice between sweeter breakfast food or savory lunch food – or a little bit of both!

Needless to say, I was very excited to try the brunch menu at Scape.IMG_95922

It’s a cute bistro located in the Central West End. The interior was beautiful!

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Very spacious and open.

I was drooling over just about everything on the menu, but I decided to go with the Wimbledon French Toast.

 

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Cornflake crusted brioche with strawberries and cream? Count me in!

 

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I thought the presentation was just amazing. I liked the way the french toast was stacked! The strawberries and cream were quite amazing, as well. I didn’t even need syrup!

I also ordered a side of chicken sausage:

 

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They looked terrible, but they tasted like heaven. Very flavorful, with just a hint of spice! I like spicy things. Smile

I went with a pretty big group, and service was surprisingly good despite our group’s size.

Scape also serves lunch and dinner; I absolutely can’t wait to visit again! Chances are I’ll be headed back for brunch in the near future. Smile

Check back next week for another fun post!

{ 5 comments }

As days go by…

by Stephanie on November 13, 2010

in American, Breakfast, Lunch

So my mom, sister and I went to Winslow’s Home today for brunch.

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Every time I think of Winslow’s Home, I’m reminded of Carl Winslow:

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Am I the only one? Did anyone else watch Family Matters as a kid? Best. Show. Ever.

Back on topic! We went to Winslow’s Home for a lovely brunch. Located on Delmar Boulevard in University City, MO, Winslow’s Home is a cute little building with a lot of character.

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It reminded me of a more upscale Cracker Barrel. Lot’s of cute kitschy goodies, as well as wonderful food with lots of local ingredients. Let’s dig in!

If you follow me on twitter, you know how obsessed I am with chai lattes. They’re rich, creamy, and spicy…and the chai latte at Winslow’s Home was no different!

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I enjoyed every drop.

My sister ordered a hot chocolate, which she enjoyed.

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All together now:

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Fancy!

Winslow’s Home offers many delicious options for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. I decided to go the brunch route and order a breakfast burrito. It contained eggs, spinach, crème fraiche, goat cheese, and a few other goodies that escape my memory. It came with a creamy sauce for dipping.

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Delish! The eggs were soft and warm, and the goat cheese added a layer of depth that I really enjoyed. So creamy!

My sister went with the french toast. It was covered in sticky sweet maple syrup, fresh bananas, and bacon.

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She wasn’t a huge fan (said it was too soggy from the syrup), but I stole a bite and thought it was pretty good. It tasted like they cook some banana in with the batter. Very strong banana flavor, if you’re into that sort of thing.

My mom ordered pancakes with butter and syrup. I snapped a quick photo before she dug in.

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I also snagged a bite of her pancakes, and they were light and fluffy. She seemed to like them as well.

I was quite stuffed after my breakfast burrito, but that I managed to save some room for this:

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3 words: Goat Cheese Cookie. Delightful! My mom spotted this in the case and urged me to try it. I’m always up for trying something new! It was soft and cheesy – it tasted just like a cheese danish in cookie form. Wonderful!

Service was quick and super friendly. It wasn’t long after we placed our orders that our food came out to our table, fresh and hot. However, while the food was tasty, it was a bit overpriced for my tastes. Breakfast for 3 came to over 30 bucks. Ouch.

Score time!

Food: 3 stars (out of five)

Ambiance: 4 stars

Service: 3 stars

Value: 2 stars

The food was decent, but at those prices, I’m not dying to come back. However, this is definitely a great place to relax and chat with a friend over a hot cup of coffee (or chai!).

Until next time, friends!

Pssst…are you a fan of Off The Eaten Path on Facebook? What are you waiting for? Click here to become a fan! Pretty please with sugar on top! Smile

{ 5 comments }