Sunday Brunch: Libertine

Ladies and gents, I have a monumental brunch milestone to share with you. I ordered sweet breakfast. 

This is a big day for me. Let's celebrate the little things, okay? I'm almost 100% committed to savory breakfast. Eggs Benedict or a breakfast burrito...totally my jam. Omelets and toast? Yes please. Pancakes, waffles, French toast? Not so much. This weekend, though...it was sweet breakfast ALL the way. 

Alyssa, Courtney and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to give Libertine a try. Located in the old home of The Cafeteria Uptown, Libertine has taken the formerly kitschy space and classed up the atmosphere, menu, and rooftop in a truly spectacular makeover. 

Location/Ambiance: 

Like I mentioned, Libertine used to be a turquoise-and-orange shrine to the 50's called Cafeteria. Libertine stripped away the vinyl and primary colors and sleeked everything up beautifully. The long bar dominates the space, the subtle, unmarked red door invites diners in, and the space feels sophisticated and kitschy...but in a grown-up way. 

Score: 8/10

Beverage: 

Courtney stuck with coffee, which she said was great. Alyssa and I each sampled one of the mimosas; she went for the "Tiny Bubbles," a blend of guava, pineapple and sparkling white rum. I tried the "Starchild," which featured orange juice, negroni, and cava, topped with lemon foam. Mine was tart, sweet and tangy in all the right ways...a total sipper, but so refreshing. 

Score: 10/10

Food: 

SWEET BREAKFAST, folks. Alyssa and I split a bunch of fun things: first, we ordered a Whiskey Caramel Pecan Roll, expecting it to be Cinnabon-sized and splittable. Imagine our surprise when this is what we received instead: 

Yup. Two giant cinnamon rolls, dripping in bourbon caramel, covered in gooey pecans. We barely ate half of each. They were intensely delicious, though. 

Then we ended up going half and half on two menu items: the Banana Bread Nutella French Toast and the Lemon Blueberry Crepe. The crepe, filled with lemon curd and topped with whipped mascarpone and macerated blueberries, was good, but the true standout was the French toast. It was Frenchified banana bread, covered in generous globs of Nutella (yum), dark rum whipped cream (yummier), and sliced caramelized bananas (yummiest). I could have had just this for brunch and spent the rest of the day a happy camper. 

One note: we also ordered a side of beef bacon, and this was eminently skippable. It tasted like not totally jerkified beef jerky. No thanks...I clearly should have stayed all sweet on this one!

Score: 9/10

To check out Libertine for yourself, visit http://www.libertinempls.com, or check out the rest of my Sunday Brunch Challenge here. 

Sunday Brunch: Special Edition! Viddles and Joe

So I figured out where I get my breakfast addiction from: my Papa Bear is obsessed. I'm shocked it took me this long to make the connection...there are a few legendary family anecdotes about cinnamon rolls and caramel rolls in our annals, and I don't think he's ever met a breakfast burrito he didn't like (it's clearly genetic!). In his eyes, the best breakfasts come from the small-town, mom-and-pop "joints" that populated his Central Minnesotan childhood and were the cornerstones of our cabin summers. While my fam was up north a couple weekends ago for Fake Uncle Steve's Wedding, we indulged my dad's obsession with breakfast joints on Friday morning, when we made the trek into Hackensack, MN (population 309) for brunch at Viddles and Joe.  

Obviously, at population 309, Hackensack is not exactly a hopping metropolis. It is, however, "home of Lucette," Paul Bunyan's girlfriend/wifelady. Check her out: 

Her hips don't lie. 

I also enjoyed the fact that Hackensack is the home of the Original Chainsaw Carving Event, which sounds dangerous and fairly amusing, and also has potentially the world's tiniest cutest library. 

Enough claims to fame: here's brunch!

Location/Ambiance:

It's a cute little small-town diner. We're not going for industrial-chic like Spill the Wine or modern French Country like Copper Hen. Instead, I loved on cute wood-paneled walls, up-north themed carved wood decor, and of course the obligatory explanatory sign. Because when you're running a restaurant called Viddles and Joe, you obviously need to self-define. 

Score: 6/10 

Beverage

Coffee. Yum. Basic, no picture necessary. It was freezing in there and the bottomless refills got the "warm me up" job done. 

Score: 7/10

Food

For starters, check out these buns (no, I'm not talking about Lucette, up above): 

Yeah. When we saw those upon walking in, we knew we were in for solid, good old-school food. I ordered the "Hackensack Omelet," which featured hash browns, cheddar cheese, ham, onion, and sour cream. It was giant and came out steaming hot, and all the fillings melted together into a super-indulgent melange of rib-sticking yumminess. I barely ate half before I passed the plate over to my padre. I did, however, sample my mom's blueberry-buckwheat pancakes, with homemade blueberry syrup and whipped butter, and they were sinful. 

Score: 8/10

Sooo...if you ever find yourself in Hackensack, take a selfie with Lucette, and then get your hungry butt to Viddles and Joe. It was charming, and if you have even a hundredth of my dad's affinity for small-town breakfast joints, you're guaranteed to leave satisfied. 

Sunday Brunch: Spill The Wine

Sometimes, when I sit down to write up these brunch posts, I think to myself, "Oh goddddd, not another brunch recap, I mean, how many interesting ways can you describe eggs?" Then I look at pictures, and I think to myself "Oh holy shit, pear ginger mimosas, the world NEEDS to know about these, why the hell not." And that, my friends, is why you are being treated to 100 different brunches over the course of the next three years. Virtually, not in reality, duh, because who could afford to treat someone to 100 brunches? Not me, campers, not me. 

Now that I've shamelessly justified my continuing obsession with all things breakfast-and-boozy, onward! I genuinely feel the need to preface this recap with the fact that this is the drunkest I have gotten at brunch in awhile. I wasn't drunk, but I was definitely, deliciously tipsy. This is due in large part to the aforementioned mimosas. 

I hit up Spill the Wine on a Saturday with my favorite girls. We had a blast chatting about everything from crop tops to boy drama, as per usual...life is good when you have friends, food and endless time to kill!

Location/Ambiance: 

Spill the Wine used to be riiiiight across the street from the Guthrie Theater, one of my absolute favorite places in the Twin Cities, and my mom and I have had many a pre-show wine flight there (by that, I mean we've had exactly one. But whatever.). Since the location moved to Uptown, the menu has dramatically expanded, the space has been revamped and the ambiance has rocketed off-the-charts. The bar is made of wine barrels, the light fixtures are classic industrial-chic, and the entire space feels like a young, trendy open loft. Use of gorgeous woods, including planter-wall pallets and shining polished wine rack ladders, warmed up the space, while concrete floors and metal chairs/bar tops kept things modern. One downside? Parking is absolutely atrocious...it's in a super-congested area of Uptown and there's just a tiny backlot, so leave a few extra minutes to find a spot on the street!

Score: 9/10

Beverage: 

Here's where you completely lose me to my delicious cava-soaked memories, team. Spill the Wine's brunch beverage feature is the "Mason Jar Mimosa:" infusions of delicious Spanish cava wine with four different, totally out-of-the-box flavor combinations. I sampled three of the four through their $12 bottomless mimosa deal (price for one: $8): ginger pear (top right), strawberry basil (left), and coconut pecan (bottom right). The ginger pear was easily the standout, followed closely by the coconut pecan--both combinations played nicely together and were as surprising on the last sip as the first. 

Score: 10/10

Food:

Let's combine three of the trendiest, yuppiest things in food right now, right this minute: skillets, macaroni and cheese, fried egg. Bam! You've got Spill the Wine's breakfast mac and cheese, which was served on an English muffin crust in a precious little skillet with caramelized onion, crumbled bacon, and a delicious soft-yolk fried egg on top. It was heavenly. It was scrumptious. It was equal parts gooey, crispy, savory and toothsome. It was something I would eat every day...except then my friends would have to roll me out the door...

As a side note, Steph's lemon curd and ricotta pancakes looked amazing too. The menu in general was super intriguing and appealing. This is a place I'd repeat for sure. 

Score: 9/10

To check out Spill the Wine for yourself, visit http://www.spillthewinempls.com, or check out other awesome Twin Cities brunch spots here!

Sunday Brunch: Copper Hen Cakery & Kitchen

Last weekend turned out to be a weekend that called for a LOT of girl time. What is it about late July that causes drama? Does the heat make people go nuts? At any rate, several of my girlfriends had that kind of week last week, and I can't think of a better environment to bitch it all out in than over brunch. (Isn't there something just girly and fun about brunch in general?)

It seemed particularly appropriate that Courtney, Steph and I ended up at the cutest little brunch place I've ever seen for a ladies-only catch-up. The Copper Hen Cakery & Kitchen, which opened in May, was easily one of the most cohesive and appealing brunch destinations I've visited lately...and we all know I love my brunch :)

Location/Ambiance: 

Described in a Yelp review as "Pinterest-y, but in a beautiful way," Copper Hen fused the best of farmhouse chic with French country appeal. The façade of the building immediately made me think of my favorite pubs in London, but upon entering the bright, whitewashed brick and exposed beaming brought "Under The Tuscan Sun" to mind. Add some pretty, dark wood tables, exposed bulb lighting, and the cutest little crocks of wildflowers on each table, and I was sold. And there's the most darling quote about a hen on the wall too, which won me over right away. 

Score: 10/10

Beverage: 

Meals at weekend brunch include a glass of fresh-pressed orange juice or Dogwood Coffee, and all three of us went with the coffee. I really enjoyed it...it was a really robust brew and didn't really need the copious amounts of fresh cream and raw sugar that I liberally added. Free refills for the win. 

Score: 6/10

Food: 

In a very unique structure that really worked for them--Copper Hen runs a limited weekend breakfast menu of only three entrée options.  The menu always features the fresh yogurt parfait with local honey, as well as the farmers' breakfast, which consists of eggs prepared to order, bacon or sausage, creamed kale, a root vegetable hash, and french toast with whipped bourbon butter. Additionally, every weekend features a chef's choice, which was quiche on Sunday. Because I am a quiche fiend, I ordered the vegetarian option of spinach, tomato and chevre--Steph and Courtney both had the farmers' breakfast. My quiche was served with a small arugula salad, and was pretty good despite the super small portion--covered in rich bearnaise, the crust was bready and the eggs were dense but fluffy. The fillings, however, were sparse. Steph said the creamed kale was the best thing she's ever tasted, and the french toast (in gluten-free format, too!) won solid reviews from Courtney. 

BUT. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the best best part of the entire meal. Copper Hen is, after all, called a "cakery and kitchen," and they've already garnered local fame for their fantastic pastries. I was informed by a coworker that I would be hugely missing out if I skipped the Blueberry Bacon Breakfast Cupcake...which was as weird and perfect and out-there as it sounds. With a tangy cream cheese frosting and liberal amounts of both candied bacon and blueberries in the dense, almost pound-cake-esque cake, Steph and I were nearly licking our fingers. See below: 

Score: 7/10 (mostly for the cupcake!)

 To check out The Copper Hen for yourself, visit http://www.copperhenkitchen.com. And just to end on a high note...with attractive lady friends like this, who wouldn't want to eat girls-only brunch every weekend? 

Sunday Brunch: Bryant-Lake Bowl

Another day, another delicious brunch to check off my challenge!

When Emily was home last weekend for the Fourth, we kept the holiday going and took advantage of the beautiful weather Saturday morning to adventure up to the Lakes as a family. We've always enjoyed walking around Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet, or Lake of the Isles, checking out the stunning houses, enjoying the bustle of activity, and peoplewatching. We lapped Lake of the Isles this time and couldn't believe how high the water still was from all our crazy June rain...the whole walking path was underwater in places, so we stuck to the side of the bike trail like the rest of the pedestrians. 

After our 3-mile circuit, we were all craving breakfast in a big way and headed up Lake Street to Bryant-Lake Bowl. Looks like we weren't the only group intent on keeping the Independence Day party going...the place was packed, and many tables were still sporting red, white, and blue. I don't think I've ever felt more sorry for a waitstaff...from what I could tell, it was just a hostess, a bartender, a cook and two waitresses, and every one of them were running their asses off. 

After about a 20 minute wait, we were seated, and ended up waiting about 20 more minutes for service...like I said, it was nuts. Fortunately, we passed the time checking out a darling family sporting Miami-Ohio gear (my siblings' alma mater)...their son was a year older than me and totally adorable. Too bad I was wearing full Irish gear and didn't get him my number ;) 

Enough rambling: onto the rankings!

Location/Ambiance:

Bryant-Lake Bowl is a super-old, quirky restaurant SLASH bar SLASH theater SLASH bowling alley, and that in and of itself scores it a pretty darn high location rating. The ambiance is classic 1950's bowling alley, replete with bright, punchy colors, retro logos, and a view of the lanes from most of the dining tables. Super kitschy, super fun. 

Score: 10/10

Beverage: 

Mom had a mimosa. Dad had a bloody Mary. Emily and I...had nothing, because we didn't have our IDs, because we didn't anticipate that brunch was in our future when we headed up to the Lakes for walking. FAIL! According to both parents, though, the drinks were a letdown...the bloody was super acidic and the mimosa was pulpy to the point of being undrinkable. Sad day!

Score: 0/10 (because I abstained)

Food: 

Amazing. Dad, Em, and I had scrambles...theirs was bacon, onion, green pepper and blue cheese, and mine was sausage, red pepper, and smoked Gouda. Both were served with potato medallions and toast. I loooved mine...the smokiness of the melted cheese, sweetness of the seared peppers and spice of the sausage melded perfectly. Mom had buckwheat pancakes and similarly raved. 

Score: 9/10

To check out Bryant-Lake Bowl for yourself, visit http://www.bryantlakebowl.com/.