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.