Sunday Brunch: Harriet Brasserie

With the recent stretch of beautiful spring weather, it finally feels like everyone in Minneapolis has hit that fever pitch of needing to be outside. After a long (albeit more temperate than usual) winter, nothing sounds better to me than soaking up as much Vitamin D as possible. Claire, Eva, and I took full advantage of a gorgeous Sunday a few weeks ago with one of the most charming brunches ever at Harriet Brasserie!

Location/Ambiance:

The Harriet Brasserie is located in a beautiful old firehouse in the Linden Hills neighborhood on the west side of Lake Harriet. The neighborhood itself couldn’t be more charming, boasting one of my favorite bookstores, The Wild Rumpus, along with gorgeous old homes and tall, wide-branched trees. We were lucky enough to score a prime patio location…intimate wrought-iron tables and chairs looking over a busy sidewalk. I got to spend my entire meal flirting with babies and petting dogs at neighboring tables, and the entire atmosphere just felt totally congenial and chic in the best way.

Score: 10/10

Beverage:

Having played a bit too hard on the Saturday preceding, none of us were really in the mood to Sunday Funday. I treated myself to the Nutella Mocha instead, and it was overwhelmingly decadent. Think dark chocolate ganache-y magic. Adding Nutella put it over the top. One of those beverages where you know you should chain yourself to the treadmill afterward, and still don’t care, because it’s SO GOOD.

Score: 10/10

Food:

The best thing about brunch with Claire, and now Eva, is getting to go splitsies on dishes and try more! Eva and I were both torn between the crab cake Benedict and the pancakes, so obviously the solution was to get both. The Benedict was perfect…crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside crab cakes, a great, super-light poblano Hollandaise, and amazing avocado lime crema. The pancakes, similarly, blew me away…made with browned butter and with cacao nibs and bananas, they weren’t overly sweet, but made the perfect contrast to the savory Benedict. We cleaned (both) plates. Claire ordered a “Bauru,” a Brazilian-inspired steak sandwich, that also looked amazing.

Score: 10/10

Enough gushing to convince you that Harriet Brasserie should rocket to the top of your brunch list? Check it out here, or pick another place off my brunch list! Happy patio brunching, campers!

Sunday Brunch: Highland Grill

Let me share with you, friends, a universal truth I learned this weekend. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a friend who will go halfsies with you at brunch is the kind of friend you should have brunch with OFTEN. 

I kidnapped everyone's favorite, long-suffering public accountant, miss Claire, this Sunday morning and basically dragged her to brunch with me to ensure she met her weekly quota of fresh air and girlfriend time. Knowing a good brunch would cheer her up, I decided one of my family's favorite places ever, Highland Grill, would do the trick! Without further ado: 

Location/Ambiance: 

Okay, here's my thing. Highland Grill has some of the best brunch food around. As such, it gets craaaazy-long wait times, and needs to be "at least three times bigger!" (Name that movie!) Decorated like a kitschy, cute 50's diner, it's totally full of charm...but being crammed in so tight you're rubbing elbows with the table next to you isn't ideal. That said...the ambiance has never detracted from the deliciousness in my eyes. 

Score: 6/10

Beverage: 

Claire had, as usual, "a water with a lime, a lemon, and a straw." And a skim milk with her meal. She is 100% consistent and that is wonderful. I had a mimosa. And it was a perfectly nice mimosa. Not too orangey, not too pulpy, not too champagney. It made me happy, and that's just about all that you can expect from a mimosa. I'm just noticing now in the picture above that they have a great craft beer list...and if I could have a do-over, I'd probably just have a Sugar Shack Maple Stout because that stuff is yummmmay. 

Score: 7/10

Food: 

And here, my friends, is where the magic happens. Claire and I were both mulling over the menu and struggling with the fact that everything on it sounded amazing. We came to the conclusion around the same time that the only possible solution was to go splitsies on two dishes. We quickly settled on a  savory breakfast: Eggs Benedict; and a sweet breakfast: a "Killer Banana Waffle." This might be the first time I've ever failed to photograph my breakfast, but there are no pictures of the Eggs Benedict because of these babies: 

YES. Talk about a cheat meal! The "Killer Banana Waffle" was served with grilled bananas, pecan praline caramel drizzle, and a side of house-made syrup. Excuse me while I go cry because I can't eat that for every meal and still fit in my pants. It was so amazing that the also-delicious Eggs Benedict ended up completely ignored on my part. One of the best breakfasts I've ever had. 

Score: 10/10

Best part of brunch, though? The hour and a half of random-but-profound girl talk and laughter that helped me wind down my weekend. Times like that, when you and your brunch partner are both stricken dumb by just how amazing the breakfast is and you can't stop laughing at your own awesomeness, are why I enjoy brunch so much. It's the friendliest, happiest, most easy-going meal ever. 

To check out Highland Grill for yourself, go to http://www.highlandgrill.com, or check out the rest of my brunch challenge here!

Sunday Brunch: Haute Dish

Remember last summer when Hannah, Kyle and I went to Haute Dish over Restaurant Week and I waxed rhapsodic over their innovative, creative menu and plating? Well Kelsie and I headed back for brunch last Saturday and my expectations were met yet again. It's the perfect place to head for a boozy, cozy breakfast on a frigid Minnesota morning!

Location/Ambiance: 

Haute Dish's next door neighbor, Sexworld, doesn't exactly set the premises up as promising. Upon entry, however, the high, vaulted ceilings, wood paneling, and massive mirrors and light fixtures instantly create a cozy, shabby-chic vibe I love. It's like brunching in (what I imagine to be) a cozy old Roaring Twenties-era supper club. 

Score: 7/10

Beverage: 

Kelsie had (and raved about) the grapefruit mimosa, which was a pretty pink confection that she described as "perfectly tart and grapefruity."  I went with Haute Dish's signature brunch beverage, the "Frozen Screwdriver." Concocted with house-made vanilla vodka and orange purée, and garnished with whiskey-soaked cherries, it was akin to drinking an Orange Julius on crack that got me perfectly buzzed and tasted like childhood. You know, if your childhood tasted like house-made vanilla vodka. 

Score: 10/10

Food: 

Above you see the "Cereal and Milk Panna Cotta," which we selected from a wide range of appetizers that all sounded quirky and intriguing. Our server tempted us with caramelized banana, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and custard...but what we ended up deciding it tasted like was milk-flavored Jello. The texture was just off...maybe panna cotta lovers around the world would enjoy it, but I think that's a food I'll be checking off my "you don't really like this" list. 

Good thing our mains turned everything around! Kels is a Reuben lover, and picked the "Reuben Benedict." I went with the Brunch Burger, a sausage patty on a giant English muffin topped with fried egg, melted cheese, and "bacon fig jam." Oh man. It turned out to require a knife and fork to eat it, but it was delicious. The jam was this amazing savory, smoky smooth texture coupled with the melty cheese and the perfectly spicy patty. I housed it...at the expense of my fries, which were left basically untouched apart from a cursory taste test (they were really good too). 

Score: 7.5/10

To check out Haute Dish for yourself, head to www.haute-dish.com. Otherwise, check out the rest of my Twin Cities Brunch Challenge here!

Sunday Brunch: Louie's Wine Dive

Hannah and I have officially made a New Year's tradition! While primarily incidental, it's happened two years in a row, which qualifies as tradition for sure: every New Year's Day, we and any combination of our favorite girlfriends go out for brunch. Last year we hit Loring Kitchen, my all-time favorite, and this year seven of us headed to Louie's Wine Dive in Uptown to recap the closing of 2014 and nurse our (varying) hangovers. 

Location/Ambiance: 

Louie's is located in the heart of LynLake, across the street from Spill the Wine and across the other street from Bryant Lake Bowl. With such great brunches in the vicinity, it set my expectations high. The inside was welcoming and bright, nothing to write home about, but a totally laid-back, relaxing atmosphere for brunch. We had a high-top by the windows, which made people-watching a blast. 

Score: 6/10

Beverage: 

Oh dear. See, when I said we were nursing varying hangovers, I failed to mention that mine was by far the worst. I blame the bottle of champagne at 1am...oops. That said, Louie's is one of the few establishments in Uptown offering bottomless mimosas, and they offer them in flavors! I had the Ruby Red, made with grapefruit juice, but didn't even make it to the bottom of one. Everyone else had to go with regular, because they didn't have enough grapefruit juice to do bottomless. One thing I will say: the wait staff, though swamped, was appallingly slow with refills. We ended up waiting around 20 minutes for each carafe, and a carafe was nowhere near enough for seven girls. That said, they were good!

Score: 6/10

Food: 

Do I sound lukewarm on Louie's? Well, my dear friends, let me turn all that around right now for you. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Mac Daddy. 

What is the Mac Daddy, you may ask? It's an omelet, filled with macaroni and cheese and bacon. Yes, as a matter of fact, that IS one of the best ideas anyone has ever had. That hangover I was struggling through? Mac and cheese and eggs and bacon and crispy breakfast potatoes may not have totally eliminated it, but they sure turned me around and got me back on the right track. Total brunch redeemer, right there. I think most of us ordered it and most of us loved it. 

The highlight of the brunch, though, had to be great girl time! I loved starting the year off surrounded by friends...rehashing how we spent our nights, contemplating 2014 and sharing intentions, goals and resolutions for 2015. It was the perfect way to begin a year that I hope is all about wonderful things. 

To check out Louie's for yourself, visit http://www.louieswinedive.com/minneapolis/, or pick somewhere else to brunch from my brunch list! 

Sunday Brunch(es lately!)

It's been awhile since I've extolled the virtues of breakfast...and part of that is because, in my new  paying-rent life, I've cut back on brunch a little bit! Lately, though, I've checked two more places off the brunch list! Here's a quick little recap:

Good Earth Edina (visited 11/22/14)

Location/Ambiance:

Good Earth is located in the Galleria in Edina. The inside of the restaurant is nothing to write home about...but the patio in the summer is utterly spectacular. 

Score: 7/10

Beverage: 

The menu here is all about healthy, local, organic food, which means the menu is full of fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, and unique, awesome teas. I enjoyed an entire pot of Evening in Missoula, one of my favorite blends that's really hard to find in the Twin Cities. 

Score: 7/10

Food: 

I ordered an organic turkey sausage egg scramble, with mozzarella, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and herby sour cream. It was delicious...light, fresh, and savory. Em's waffle and Mom's pancakes looked great too!

Score: 7/10

Check out Good Earth yourself at http://www.goodearthmn.com.

Patrick's Bakery, Lyndale Bachman's (visited 12/7/14)

Location/Ambiance: 

There are a few different Patrick's locations around the metro area, and the one I visited is inside the flagship Bachman's floral store...it's set up like a gorgeous little French sidewalk café right amidst the flowers and plants. What a peaceful oasis in the depths of a Minnesota winter! I enjoyed my brunch between a towering trellis of orange blossom and a festive display of poinsettias, and loved it. 

Score: 9/10

Beverage: 

A mug of latté so big and deep that it stayed warm for the entire hour I lingered, reading a book on my iPad and smelling the flowers. It was wonderful. 

Score: 8/10

Food: 

I love quiche, and Patrick's has some of the best quiche in the Twin Cities. The crust is melt-in-your-mouth buttery and flaky, and the filling is dense with ingredients. I chowed down the quiche Lorraine like it was my last brunch. 

Score: 9/10

Check out Patrick's Bakery at http://patricksbakerycafe.com, or find something else to satisfy your breakfast craving on my brunch list!