Sunday Brunch: Lucia's

I’ve mentioned approximately a bajillion (okay, five or six) times that Hannah is one of my all-time favorite people, especially to have adventures with. And, while it may make me the most basic of the basic bitches currently roaming the Twin Cities, I consider brunch an adventure. What’s not to love about girl time over some bubbles?!

We hit up Lucia’s about a month ago on one of the hottest days in July, and, in classic Hannah-and-Lizzie form, it was total girly catch-up perfection.

Location/Ambiance:

Located just a few blocks off Lake Calhoun in the heart of Uptown, Lucia’s is a light-filled, spare and clean space. The big windows, white walls, and touches of bright blue, yellow, and pink in the napkins and flowers made the whole space feel open and airy.

Score: 7/10

Beverage:

We skipped the bubbly, knowing we were headed to the Sociable Brewers’ Block Party in a few hours for beers. Instead, we savored coffee, and it was delicious…a perfect, hearty dark roast. I maaaay have let its bottomless nature get the best of me and totally overcaffeinated myself in the process…oops!

Score: 8/10

Food:

Hannah is an ideal brunch companion in that she will go splitsies with me whenever my heart desires…win! We started with a pastry basket featuring a buttery, flaky, delicious house-made popover, along with this cute little guy:

This is a “Baby Buddha Muffin,” and it is a cinnamon-y, crunchy, decadently delicious little morsel of yumminess. I could have eaten like…six of them and called it brunch, it was so good.

We wisely didn’t just order a dozen more baby Buddhas, and instead opted to split the omelet and yogurt with granola:

The omelet held sweet corn, onions, a little crème fraiche and some delectably melty goat cheese, along with the sweetest, freshest basil I’ve ever tasted. As for the granola and yogurt…also perfectly refreshing. The granola, served in the form of giant clusters of oats, dates, and brown sugar, added a hint of sweetness to the yogurt, and the strawberries and blackberries were perfectly ripe.

Lucia’s menu changes constantly to accommodate seasonal produce…there’s a new flatbread on the menu with summer squash that’s practically begging me to make a repeat stop!

Score: 10/10

To visit Lucia’s for yourself, head to www.lucias.com, or find a different place to brunch from my list! Happy munching, campers! 

Sunday Brunch: Barbette

A few (okay, several, like REALLY SEVERAL) weekends ago, Hannah and I met up for one of our usually-long-overdue catchup sessions over brunch, and it was one of those days where you could linger for hours enjoying the sunshine, and people-watching, and appreciating a friendship. I think late spring and early summer are the best seasons for brunching…especially on a patio this charming!

Location/Ambiance:

Barbette is a little French hole-in-the-wall that’s been around on Lake Street for close to a decade now…walking distance from Lake Calhoun and Uptown alike. While the exterior is nothing to write home about, housed in a nondescript whitewashed brick hulk of a building, the interior is all warm wood and interesting light fixtures and a big horseshoe-shaped bar. Their patio, tucked along the side of the building, features café lights strung overhead, bright painted tables, and ivy-covered walls…utterly precious.

Score: 7/10

Beverage:

Hannah stuck with the classic mimosa, and I tried the “Red Dwarf,” which turned out to be a mimosa with cranberry juice instead of OJ. It was yummy! Very little cranberry, so it was just a whisper of flavor, but the champagne was good, and it was tart enough that I didn’t chug it like I sometimes do with the more citrusy counterpart.

Score: 7/10

Food:

It’s funny how, less than a month after returning from Paris claiming I was totally oversaturated with French food in general, I made my way to one of the best-known French places in the Twin Cities. What can you do, I guess?

Hannah went with the quiche of the day, which featured asparagus, onion, goat cheese, and pepper. I picked the breakfast crepe…scrambled egg, Brie, and herbs in a buckwheat crepe, all rolled up with apple compote on top and a delicious bed of mixed greens. It was delicious…exactly the sort of un-fussy, plain old good flavor I loved about crepes in France. Bonus points for the delicious light vinaigrette dressing on the greens…perfectly astringent and fresh.

Score: 7/10

All in all, I highly recommend Barbette for your next girly catching-up…especially if you can grab a colorful table outside! To visit yourself, head to www.barbette.com, or if French breakfast offerings don’t tickle your fancy, pick another place! I’ve got over a hundred of them right here. Happy brunching!

Sunday Brunch: The Dawson (Chicago!)

As previously mentioned, my time in Chicago didn’t wind to a close on Sunday as Melissa’s wedding was that evening. And that, my friends, means that Laura had to take me to brunch. Oh the horror.

Turns out she’s got pretty fantastic taste in brunch…The Dawson, in the West Loop, was a positively idyllic spot to enjoy the mid-70’s sunny day. Their outdoor patio was enclosed and protected from some of the street noise, featured a giant outdoor fireplace and porticos for shade, and teemed with pretty people drinking pretty drinks and eating pretty delicious food.

The giant outdoor bar didn't hurt either!

Naturally we had to start with drinks. Laura picked a frozen Mai Tai...

...and I went with a Capri Sun to start, a super-refreshing concoction of passionfruit, gin, green tea, strawberry, and prosecco. The only thing it was missing was the foil pouch.

Later, I picked the Mellow Yellow...two kinds of rum, banana vanilla bean liqueur, lime, and Triple Sec. It came with a tiny umbrella, and my day was made. (Drew later wore the tiny umbrella around as a boutonniere of sorts all day...it matched his purple shirt perfectly and couldn't have been more Pride-appropriate!)

We started off with two sinful appetizers...a caramelized banana-pecan monkey bread, and a bacon flight. That's right, a BACON FLIGHT. 

Featuring four types of bacon...blackstrap molasses, allspice jowl, Hungarian-style, and maple-glazed...we housed the entire board's worth of meat in near-silence, totally overcome. Each of us preferred a different type: Drew favored the Hungarian-style's thick cut, I loved the savory, crackly allspice jowl, and Laura could've eaten an entire blackstrap molasses cut on her own. The monkey bread made the perfect sweet, doughy counterpart to the savory bacon. 

We probably would've been fine without entrees, but that didn't stop us from indulging in andouille sausage breakfast sandwiches or, for Drew, classic steak and eggs. The sandwiches were spicy and cheesy in exactly the right proportion. The only drawback was that with the bacon and monkey bread taking up so much gastronomic real estate, I couldn't even come close to finishing. 

Best part of brunch, though? Getting to share it with this girl...also please note Drew's clever framing of the Willis Tower in the background! THAT'S SO CHICAGO. 

We followed up brunch with a little (a lot) more day-drinking: headed to the Fulton Market District!

We entertained the notion of hitting up the RM Champagne House... 

...but faced with a dearth of outdoor seating, we headed across the street to The Allis at Soho House, where I drank a "Daisy Buchanan" and sought my Gatsby to no avail. 

All cocktailed out, we headed back to Haymarket to chase our sweet drinks with some beer. Laura and Drew indulged in a cuddle while I people-watched to my heart's content...Chicago's finest were out in full force celebrating Pride and enjoying the sunshine!

Drew and Laura made pretty great hosts, and I'm already looking forward to another stop in the Windy City. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Laura's for dog-walking and wedding prepping. More to come...

Sunday Brunch: Black Coffee & Waffle Bar

Kelsie and I have gotten in this fun habit of having weekend sleepovers every so often, usually after a day of hitting breweries. One of the highlights for me is actually the Sunday morning after...because it's the perfect excuse to try a new brunch place! A few weeks ago, we checked out Black Coffee & Waffle Bar based on numerous recommendations from her teacher friends. 

Location/Ambiance: 

BC&W used to be a coffee shop called “Muddsuckers” which was apparently a total dump. I’m pleased to share that we didn’t find that to be the case. The industrial-minimalist interior and black brick wall outside (hipster photo opportunities abound) worked to create a grunge-chic vibe that, while not exactly cozy, definitely felt appropriate to the area. We went so early that we had the place almost to ourselves, but by the time we left, the tables along the wall were all filled with U of M students and their families/friends. All in all, not my favorite restaurant appearance-wise, but totally suited to the “students who brunch” thing.

Score: 6/10

Beverage:

I went for a basic latte and Kels got a chai…while the wait for the drinks to come out was pretty long at around 15 minutes, it was well worth the wait. BC&W serves Dogwood Coffee, one of my favorite Twin Cities spots, and my latte more than lived up to my expectations.

Score: 8/10

Food:

BC&W really shines in this department, serving basic Belgian waffles trashed-up with toppings enough to make the biggest sweet tooth ache. Kelsie got the “Fat Andrew,” topped with a liberal smearing of peanut butter along with cinnamon, powdered sugar, bananas, and whipped cream. I chose the monthly special for May, a concoction of raspberries and bananas over a blend of Nutella and cream cheese. It was so good that I nearly licked the filling out of every cranny of the waffle when I realized that I would never finish it. The menu’s other offerings made it really hard to decide…other ones we’re looking forward to trying are the Strawberry Cheesecake and S’mores.

Score: 9/10

To check out Black Coffee & Waffle Bar for yourself, visit www.blackcoffeeandwaffle.com, or choose a different brunch spot from my epic Twin Cities brunch list here! 

Sunday Brunch: Union Rooftop

Oh my god, friends, did Hannah and I ever have a brunch before I left for Paris. When I say we had a brunch, I mean, basically, a Brunch with a capital "B." This brunch was a scene. This brunch was a party. This brunch was awesome. As you may recall, we hit up Union Rooftop for Restaurant Week this winter. As the weather is getting nicer, the two of us decided it was prime time for a sunshiny, outdoor-ish brunch to keep celebrating spring. So we did just that! Without further ado, Union Rooftop...

Location/Ambiance: 

From the minute I set foot on the roof of Union, I could tell this was not the way I ordinarily do brunch. Union's "Solar Sundays" are a place where one is clearly meant to see and be seen. Everyone, including the employees, was rocking aviators, while a DJ spun tunes more suited to the Saturday night crowd than the Sunday morning hangover crew. The hostess, a Lorde lookalike with burgundy lips and thigh-high boots, sat me at a prime table overlooking downtown: 

We couldn't have had a lovelier view, until they did THIS!

That's right. They opened the roof, and that took the French bistro party brunch atmosphere skyrocketing to a perfect score. 

Score: 10/10

Beverage: 

Although every other person on the roof seemed to be taking advantage of the $10 bottomless mimosas, we weren't in the mood to let the champagne flow like water, and instead went with the "spiked latte." A concoction of cold press coffee, vanilla vodka, caramel, and whipped cream, topped with a Rolo, it was the perfect marriage of caffeine and buzz. I absolutely loved it...but it was a truly potent little sipper. Next time, we're bottomless'ing for sure. 

Score: 10/10

Food: 

To start off, everyone in the restaurant receives this precious little bundle of delicious, hot blueberry scones upon seating: 

Yeah, I'd call that starting on a high note. Hannah went with the breakfast sandwich, and it looked delicious. I broke out of the box a bit and ordered the "Signature Hashbrowns," trashed-up with bacon, scallion and a fried egg. Just take a look: 

Yeah. Perfect portion size, totally soaked up the residual Saturday night hangover and tasted delicious in the bargain. They were buttery, crispy in all the right places, and the egg just added to the perfection. Would definitely order again.

Score: 8/10

As if the experience weren't already amazing, the brunch ended up costing us a grand total of $2.41, after I applied a LivingSocial deal and our book club friend Ginny, who is the manager, comped us our delicious liquor lattes! We had to head out around 1, but apparently the place turns into a full-on rooftop day dance party around 3pm. Can you say "June Book Club Location?" Because I sure can! To check out Union Rooftop for yourself, head here, or hit up my brunch list for more breakfast inspiration!