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!