Just saw on Facebook that ANOTHER restaurant Downtown, Sauces, is adding a Sunday brunch. Wow Downtown is loaded with choices for brunch now. Here’s a summary of the ones I know about:
– The Majestic Grille, of course, has Sunday brunch from 11 to 3. They have $3 mimosas and Bloody Marys, and they have a special brunch menu with frittatas, steak & eggs, shrimp & grits, and “John D’s breakfast,” a traditional breakfast with eggs, bacon, grits, and biscuits. Other choices too, and their lunch menu is available as well. Glad to see other new brunches popping up, but the Majestic’s is still the gold standard.
– Automatic Slim’s has brunch from 10 to 4 Saturday and Sunday. They have $2.50 mimosas and Bloody Marys, and some incredible items on their brunch menu. My recommendations would be the omelet with jerk meat, the crawfish eggs benedict, and the Tonga Scramble (chorizo and eggs over hashbrowns with sirachi sauce). My friend Air Traffic Mike says they’re the only place outside New Orleans that makes Eggs Sardou the right way. I’ve been there four times now and have been very happy each time. With Michael Patrick in the kitchen, you can’t go wrong.
– The Blue Monkey has a brunch as well, with steak and eggs, breakfast dishes including eggs benedict and such, and they have a few salads and burgers on there. A couple of my friends are especially fond of their crawfish bisque. Brunch runs 11 to 2 I believe, with discounts on mimosas and Bloody Marys, and I believe it’s also happy hour from 11 to 7.
– Circa recently started a brunch, on Sundays 11 to 3. They have cocktail specials, French press coffee, beignets, a variety of egg dishes, crepes, entrees including petite filet of beef and poached salmon, and more. John Bragg was voted “Best Chef” in last year’s Flyer poll, so you know it’s got to be good. This is maybe slightly more expensive than the other brunches listed here (except the Peabody and TdB), but worth it. Apologies to John for not having made it by to try his brunch yet… I feel especially bad about that considering he’s a sponsor of our BBQ team. I’ll get by there some Sunday in the near future.
– Silly Goose is opening their doors at 11 AM on Sunday starting tomorrow. They’ll have a “mix your own Bloody Mary” bar where you can choose from a variety of mixes and spices, to create exactly the Bloody Mary you want. They’ll also have a hangover breakfast of eggs, waffles, sausage, and bacon for $6. This is without a doubt the best value on the list. Bloody Marys will be $3, mimosas as well.
– Just got on Facebook and saw that Sauces is now going to have a Sunday brunch (and soon Saturday too) from noon to 5. $4 Bloody Marys and mimosas – not bad but not competitive with most of the other places listed here. Menu sounds good, with eggs benedict, chorizo sausage balls, beignets, roast chicken hash, huevos rancheros and more. I thought Sauces was changing its name to the Green Room? The sign is still above the door, though, and they’re still referring to it as “Sauces” on Facebook.
– Then there are the hotel brunch buffets, the most lavish of which is of course the Peabody. Worth trying at least once in your life for sure, but Downtown locals usually go to the other places listed here, mainly because it gets mighty expensive to spend upward of $40 to eat there every Sunday.
– Oh yeah… writing about brunches over $40 made me realize I forgot one – Texas de Brazil. They have the best salad bar Downtown, and then gauchos bring cuts of meat to your table and carve them for you, all-you-can-eat style until you can’t take it any more. They also have egg dishes, bacon, and other breakfast dishes on their salad bar during brunch hours. You better be hungry if you do this one. If TdB is in your plans, you should get on their website and get on their mailing list – they’ll sometimes e-mail you coupons for 2-for-1 brunches and other discounts.
The brunch crew has been alternating 2 weeks Majestic, 2 week’s Slim’s recently, but with so many new brunches popping up, I think I’m going to deviate from the group plan from now on, and go wherever I feel like going when I get up Sunday morning. Can’t go wrong with any of these, and I’m sure I’ll know people at all of them.
Tomorrow, though, I’ve definitely got to try the Goose. That Bloody Mary bar intrigues me. I could have a whole lot of fun with that… the $6 hangover breakfast is easy on the wallet too. We haven’t had a good brunch at a true locals’ bar in the Downtown core since Sleep Out Louie’s closed… if I like it I have a feeling that could be my destination of choice a lot of the time.
After brunch, some of the gang is going to a Buzztime NASCAR party at Calhoun’s with prizes… I’m sure it will be a great event for those into NASCAR, but for me, the existence of golf is the sole reason NASCAR isn’t the most boring sport on TV. Unless the Saucer does something really stupid (examples: Turbo Dog on Fire Sale, re-hiring Meghan) I don’t see myself deviating from my usual post-brunch plans. Calhoun’s is great but it doesn’t have the ambience the Saucer does. And by “ambience” I mean “miniskirts.”
All right… gonna go eat lunch at Bardog, after hearing a strong recommendation for their new wings. After that I’ll make my decision where to watch the Tiger game.