Brunchfest at Bainbridge Green

This past Sunday was the inaugural Brunchfest in the Queen Village neighborhood of Philly, organized by The Friends of Bainbridge Green, Queen Village Neighbors Association and South Street Headhouse District. These organizations hosted some of the neighborhood’s best chefs and restaurants in a gathering to raise money and awareness of the ongoing project to build a multi-purpose, open park area on Bainbridge St., between 3rd and 5th streets, called Bainbridge Green.

The public space would bring a wonderful and vibrant green park area to Center City which would benefit local businesses, visitors and residents alike.

The fundraiser drew a huge crowd of hungry brunch fans who were all ready to sample the goods of some of the popular eateries in the area, but it wasn’t all about the grub. The festival had some fun, family-friendly activities too…

Like a silent auction for some really awesome photos, prints, and original artwork.

But of course the main attraction of Brunchfest had to be the brunch, right? The Friends of Bainbridge Green invited me to come and sample…an offer which I was more than happy to agree to. I mean, I had to, right? It’s research!

So, as I arrived, I determined that the best method of conquering the multitude of brunch booths would be to simply start at one end and work my way down. Yeah…that method went out the window as soon as I saw the The Good King Tavern‘s offering. Now, I have a confession to make: I am not a salmon person. I just don’t care for it any way that I’ve eaten it. In fact, I have never been brave enough to order smoked salmon for brunch (GASP…a breakfast/brunch blogger who’s never had smoked salmon before!!), but I’ve always been curious. I knew I was going to try this so I headed straight here first! GKTavern served their Mint Cured Salmon with preserved lemon, black pepper creme fraiche and crispy shallots. I did have a bite but I guess it’s just a matter of personal taste, and unfortunately salmon still just isn’t my thing. It was really fresh though and from what I observed and gathered from talking with other folks, the texture was just right and flavors were vibrant and mixed well. It definitely seemed to be one of the most popular dishes of the afternoon!

As I gathered my first round o’ samples, I noticed that there was no lack of seating at the festival, which was much appreciated by this out of shape dude (I mean me…not the guy in the picture). However, this standing table caught my eye as part of the offered amenities. I’d LOVE to have this in my kitchen!!

Chef Scott Schroeder of The Hungry Pigeon blew me away with this unique sample of what their server called a “deconstructed ham, egg and cheese biscuit”. Actually, I’d consider this a totally reinvented breakfast sandwich. It was a very, very light and airy biscuit which was baked with egg and gruyere cheese. The ham component was a really  fascinating and tasty rendering of the protein blended with dill and other seasonings. The guy who was eating next to me probably described it best…like a savory cream puff.

Ox Coffee was brewing their Ox Signature Line with bottomless refills of their Ethiopia Yabitu Koba coffee. It’s vibrant and dynamic profile enhanced the brunch samples perfectly. They were quite busy.

Equally as popular was 13th Street Cocktails with their Bloody Mary and Mimosa station.

Round two of brunch bites delivered a dish I had never heard of, much less eaten before. Kanella served their fresh-made Flaouna – a traditional cheese, mint, raisin Cypriot Pie served with Labneh. Ok, with all due respect, I’m going to say that this was basically a really good cheesy bread and a side of whipped yogurt w/ cinnamon, honey, and nuts. And it was sooo good! The Flaouna was really flavorful, and I’m not sure if the labneh was meant to be eaten with the bread (it was originally served in a separate cup), but I put it on top of each bite and they were delicious together. Good job, Kanella!

One of the consistently longest lines of the entire festival belonged to one of Philly’s favorite brunch spots, Sabrina’s Cafe. They were here serving a couple different versions of their famous brioche Stuffed French Toast!

Before I grabbed my spot in line, I snuck around to the back of the tent to capture the magic in action. They were offering two versions,  banana and pumpkin.

I opted for the pumpkin stuffed French toast, and if you’ve been to Sabrina’s and had this, I don’t even need to explain. If you haven’t…go there. Now. I didn’t even realize until I was writing this that I didn’t even have syrup on this. I didn’t need it. It was so good.

One of the other features of Brunchfest was this awesome pumpkin painting station for the kiddies. I mean, how awesome is this?

And local favorite band, Sweetbriar Rose, entertained the masses as we ate and mingled. Good stuff!

Ok, for the final round it was go big or go home. I headed over to Ela‘s booth to see what Chef Jason Chiconski had in store for me. What I found was one of the tastiest samples of the afternoon. His Country Chicken Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits was a home run for this biscuits and gravy fan. The gravy was creamy, chunky and seasoned perfectly, and the biscuit was moist and fresh. I heard many folks praising this dish and rightfully so.

Chef Jeremy Nolan from Whetstone Tavern was offering some delicious Buckwheat silver dollar pancakes with cinnamon-maple syrup and cardamom sugar. Yeah, these were as delicious as they look. I’ll be looking for a full-sized order of these soon when I visit Whetstone for brunch!

One of my favorites of the fest in terms of both presentation and flavor was the New Orleans Crostini Sandwich from Plenty Cafe. It was simple yet delicious. House cured and smoked tasso ham, fresh apple, gruyere, and fig jam topped a crusty, grilled bread as a mini open-faced, bite-sized sample. The combination of flavors were expertly assembled. I actually had two of these 🙂

My final savory sample of the afternoon just so happened to be my absolute favorite bite of the day. The Potato and Egg Torta with a spicy aioli from Chef Chris D’Ambro at Southwark was tremendous. It was a perfectly cooked slice of tender egg and potato layers, and the spicy aioli enhanced every bite. It came with a little croissant which really was unnecessary, but generous nonetheless. All I can say is that I’m glad I tried this last, because if I had gone here first, I would have used up all of my food tickets on plate after plate of this torta and would not have gotten to try anything else!

For as full as I was, when I saw what The Little Bird Bakery & Cafe was serving for dessert, I knew I couldn’t leave without it. Their Pumpkin Pie spiced cinnamon roll with cream cheese icing was seriously To. Die. For. It wasn’t just a pumpkin dough, they actually had pumpkin pie filling swirled into the cinnamon roll, and then covered it in a deliciously sweet icing with chopped nuts. I cannot even explain to you how good this was. Just go to The Little Bird and ask them to make you one. They’re contemplating putting it on their fall menu. You can be the reason they do! My wife was mad at me that I didn’t bring two or ten of these home for her.

The first annual Brunchfest, by all observations, was a big success..at least for brunch fans. I hope funding continues and that the park is built soon so that more events like this, and many others, are available to the folks and the businesses in Queen Village to enjoy. Open space is always a good thing – a positive. I know it’s one that many people who live and work in this area are looking forward to. I’d like to extend a HUGE “thank you” to the Friends of Bainbridge Green for their generosity and I’ll be looking forward to checking out Brunchfest next year at the newly expanded site of Bainbridge Green!

This post was sponsored by the folks who made Brunchfest possible. All opinions are my own.

 

Daddypops – Hatboro, PA

If I visited a different diner for breakfast every weekend for the next 147 years, I might come close to sitting at most of the diner counters in the Delaware Valley. Seriously. We all know that diners are a dime a dozen in our area, and diner food is unfortunately just diner food at a lot of them. But sometimes you discover a place that is extra special, and I’m not just talking about the food, but also in the charm and appeal factor. I’ve eaten quite a few diner breakfasts in the last 10 months since moving here, and it’s always a treat to find a place that’s just a little bit unique. That’s what I found when I recently had breakfast on a Tuesday morning at Daddypops in Hatboro.

When you think about old school diners, Daddypops is probably just the kind of place that immediately comes to mind. It’s truly the most “diner-ish” diner I’ve encountered so far. But it’s also very different. Sure, the shiny chrome exterior screams classic diner, but the funky wishing well out front and the surroundings of main-drag Hatboro are a little out of the ordinary. Inside is the long, narrow dining area with the tight booths on one side and a long counter & stools on the other.

But then they mix in the crazy barbershop chairs at the corners of the counter, and beyond that is a collection of coffee mugs brought in by the regulars, so that they can sip coffee from their own mug every time they visit.

There’s also all kinds of nostalgia going on, a lot of which you might expect from a place like this…antique cash registers, a working jukebox, and lots more! Oh, and you can’t miss the auto’d Guy Fieri poster from when he filmed a segment for Diner’s, Drive-In’s and Dives here back in 2008 (watch the whole segment HERE)!!

I have to be fair and honest, and tell you that Daddypops breakfast menu is certainly not the largest or most creative I’ve ever seen, by far. But for what they lack in originality in their menu, I feel that they certainly make up for in execution of their food. That being said, there was one item on the menu that I can honestly say I have NEVER seen on a breakfast menu: the option of a side of baked beans. Seriously, you can substitute your fried potatoes or grits for a bowl of baked beans. I wasn’t brave enough to do it, but was certainly intrigued.

First up was the Brioche French Toast w/ eggs & sausage ($8.45). There were several different options for this platter (different meats, eggs/no eggs, etc.) so it was sort of like a build-your-own. It started as 3 big slices of cinnamon-vanilla french toast, which were grilled nicely on the flat top and sprinkled with powdered sugar. We added scrambled eggs and sausage for an extra cost. I hate it when a restaurant serves butter and syrup in those little disposable packets, so I’ll have to ding them a little for that, but honestly everything was solid and well-cooked.

The sausage links were really, really delicious. When they came out, you could tell immediately that they were not your run-of-the-mill links. I’m not sure where they get them, but they were really plump and meaty, with very little filler. The casings were tight and popped when you cut or bit into them, and the inside was really flavorful.

The Sausage Gravy & Biscuit ($7.10) breakfast was a big plate of classic breakfast goodness. The split biscuit was topped with a huge portion of creamy gravy, and it came with my choice of either some really yummy fried potatoes or beans.

The menu doesn’t specify how many biscuits come with an order, so I was a little sad when it arrived  with one biscuit on the plate. However, looking back, I don’t know if I could have finished a second biscuit after all. The gravy was pretty thick and hardy, and the potatoes made up for whatever might have been missing. The gravy was perfectly peppery and really flavorful, and consistency was good, although I prefer it a little chunkier.

The biscuit itself was fresh and moist, and held up really well under all of that gravy. It was breakfast comfort food in all its glory. Overall, certainly a solid dish that I wouldn’t hesitate to order again.

Pro Tip: Daddypops is a cash only diner, but don’t worry…if you walk in without some greens, they have an ATM on site.

One more thing about Daddypops that I cannot overlook mentioning: The staff here was probably some of the nicest folks I’ve encountered at an eatery in a while. Our waitress (I can’t remember her name for the life of me) was extremely friendly and courteous, and provided some of the most efficient service I’ve had in ages. One of the cooks, who left the kitchen to use the restroom, stopped on his way back to ask if everything was just how we liked it (and I don’t think this guy had a clue I was there taking pictures and reviewing the food). Even the other patrons – the regulars who sat at the counter and joked with the servers – were friendly and welcoming, including us in a few laughs. I’m tempted to say that even if the food was just “meh” (which it certainly wasn’t), I would come back again just for the atmosphere and the service. That’s how good it was.

Daddypops is located at 232 N. York Rd, Hatboro, PA 19040 (MAP). They’re open Monday – Sunday from 6:00am – 2:00pm. For more info, check them on Facebook or TripAdvisor.

Sun’z Up Cafe – Wildwood Crest, NJ

We recently took a family day trip to the sandy shores of Wildwood Crest, NJ to soak up some sun and have some beach fun. It was our first chance to visit the ocean this summer, and my first time in about 14 years! We just so happened to pick the absolute hottest day of the season so far, so we knew we’d need to start the day with a good breakfast to keep our energy up. Since I hadn’t been to the shore in forever, I had no idea about the breakfast scene there, so I turned to Yelp for assistance. I discovered that The Wildwoods have absolutely no shortage of great local breakfast places to choose from. Ultimately, we decided to begin our day with some morning grub from Sun’z Up Cafe in Wildwood Crest, which was just a few blocks from our beach destination.

Sun’z Up Cafe is a great little spot along New Jersey Ave, sort of on the outskirts of all the hustle and bustle that is Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. It was a bright and cheerful place, just what you’d expect from a breakfast and brunch cafe near the shore. The beach-themed decor was nicely done without being too tacky. Even though the space was small (the picture above is 1/2 of the entire restaurant), it didn’t feel closed in, thanks to one whole wall being large windows that looked out over their outdoor patio area, in addition to the big windows in the front and on the opposite wall, too. Lots of sunshine!

The outdoor covered patio was a really nice space as well, but it was just too darn hot for us, and for most folks, on this particular day. Otherwise, I can imagine that this area is probably prime real estate most mornings and especially on weekends.

We started with some coffee and iced tea. I’m not sure what it is, but I really dig the whole drinking from mason jars thing. The boy said it made his chocolate milk taste better too. It’s magic!

One of the things that drew me to this place when searching online was the fact that their menu included some pretty great-sounding specialties. Don’t get me wrong, I love a nice plate of fried eggs & bacon as much as any breakfast-loving fool does, but sometimes it’s nice to venture off the standard diner breakfast page of the menu.

When all was said and done, we ended up with a nice mix of specialty dishes and classic breakfast.

The wife ordered something called The Bliss ($7.95), which honestly was indeed oh so blissful! I really wish I would have grabbed a closeup photo of this dish so you could truly appreciate it for what it was. It consisted of 3 scrambled eggs, diced bacon, chives and cream cheese that were whipped together until it created a light and airy whip – almost like a fancy spread – atop a toasted English muffin. I really have never tasted anything like it. The wife raved about it until I had to try a bite. It was absolutely amazing! It was creamy and light, and yet very filling and hardy. We decided that we’ve got to try to make this at home! It was excellent on the muffin. Her meal also came with a side of fried potatoes that were done nicely. She also got a side of toast, which was sort of weird; I think our server may have been new or just filling in, because I don’t believe the dish usually comes with extra carbs.

We also ordered a Short Stack of Cornmeal Pancakes ($4.95). This was my idea, because I was sort of in a pancake mood, but I didn’t want just pancakes for breakfast, so the wife agreed to split a short stack (2) with me. Cornmeal pancakes are just something we never really order when we go out, but something we both enjoy. These were light and yummy. I missed the crispy edges that I’m accustomed to when Mrs. Grub Guy makes these at home though.

For second breakfast (this is becoming a bad habit for me), I ordered the Huevos Rancheros ($8.25). It was a huge portion that could have probably fed two people (the picture doesn’t capture the true girth of the entree). It was a pretty tasty and satisfying version made up of layered crispy corn tortillas, a big helping of a refried bean medley which was really quite good, two over easy eggs, cheddar jack cheese, sour cream, salsa and jalapenos. I’d score this dish a triple…had I been offered some Sriracha to top it off, and maybe thought to add some avocado, it would have been a home run for sure. Overall, a really good breakfast, though.

Our boy, Steven, is a creature of habit. It doesn’t matter where we go, we can always figure on him ordering his favorite breakfast dish, the French Toast (Full Stack – $6.45). He chugged down his jar of milk before the food arrived at our table, so his belly was pretty full – thus Dad had to help him a little bit with this (third breakfast?!?). It came as three big slices of cinnamon and vanilla-battered, Texas-style toast, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. There were no complaints out of the boy, or me. It was really very tasty.

I wouldn’t hesitate to return to Sun’z Up Cafe for breakfast the next time we plan a trip to the shore. The food was really, really good, the prices were reasonable, and the staff was friendly. The only critique I might give was that our server was really kind of slow and seemed not to know the menu very well at all (she didn’t know they served cornmeal pancakes), but again, that would certainly be understandable if she were new. It could also be because the cafe was packed and really busy during our entire visit. Either way, it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the meal.

Anybody who knows the Wildwoods knows that there are literally dozens of little cafe’s, diners, bars and other eateries all up and down the shore. And while you could probably pick any of them and have a decent breakfast experience, make sure you keep Sun’z Up Cafe in mind next time you make the trip.

Sun’z Up Cafe is located at 6708 New Jersey Ave, Wildwood Crest, NJ 08260 (MAP). They’re open Monday – Sunday, 7:00 am – 3:00 pm. For more info, check them out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

Avenue Eatz – Wayne, PA

In our family, we do birthdays big…especially for the boy. Every year, in addition to all of the regular cake and gifts stuff, it’s a tradition that the Saturday before or after his birthday we do a family day out together, which seems to always include breakfast and a movie. This year, we knew that we were in store for Captain America: Civil War, but he didn’t really have a preference when it came to breakfast. We wanted to stay close to the theater, so after a quick internet search I came across Avenue Eatz in Wayne. The menu was full of what sounded like really interesting meal options for the wife and me, and a couple of dishes that I knew the boy would enjoy, so we made the short drive over to Lancaster Ave. to check them out.

Avenue Eatz is located at the end of a tiny strip mall right on the main drag of this artsy and picturesque little town. The parking lot is pretty small, but thankfully they have additional parking available in the rear of the building. The shop itself is a small, cafe-style space with about 6 booths along the wall and the front windows, and a couple of 4-seater tables in the center. It was simple, clean and bright. We were surprised to learn after talking to the owner, Joey, that they recently had been closed for quite a stretch due to a roof fire that caused all kinds of damage to the ceiling, the electrical wiring system, and did tons of smoke and water damage to the interior as well. They actually just reopened a couple of weeks ago, but they did such a great job with the repair/remodel that you’d never know anything had ever happened.

The fresh, hand-squeezed orange juice was one of the first things that caught my eye as I initially took a look around the shop. It’s a pretty fun thing that they do, and the boy loved watching it. They give the same treatment to the lemons for their fresh-squeezed lemonade, too (one of my faves!). We were offered a sample of the juice, which was perfectly sweet and delicious. You don’t see too many places doing this, and I’m really not sure why not. The good thing for Avenue Eatz is that it’s memorable, and it sets them apart from everyone else. It also gives the customer the impression that this place really cares about giving me the freshest food (more on that in a second) and drink available. Very smart.

Another cool thing is that they use bread that’s baked fresh in-house daily, including the Babka that they were offering in one of their current specials (the Cinnamon Walnut Babka French Toast). They had loaves of the Cinnamon Walnut, and also Chocolate Babka on the counter for sale. Now I don’t know much about Babka, but I know that chocolate baked into bread cannot be a bad thing!!

Inside the deli case along the front counter are several quiches that looked absolutely gorgeous and fresh. Local and imported meats, veggies and cheeses loaded these beauties. The quiche is a regular item on the breakfast menu so I WILL be back for some of this!

There were also some beautifully sweet pies on display. The homemade pies are actually one of the things that this shop is known for. We were offered a sample of their Coconut Cream Pie, and I kid you not you guys, I was amazed at how delicious it was. I don’t think I’ve ever had coconut cream pie that was as good as this before (and I LOVE coconut cream pie!). It was too bad that we were headed to the movies after breakfast to gorge ourselves for two and a half hours on M&M’s and Milk Duds, because I would have loved to have had a piece (or two) of these.

As I said earlier, the creativeness of the menu is what originally attracted me to this place. To start with, Avenue Eatz offers a “Bacon of the Month” option to all of their dishes. Apparently any dish that uses regular bacon, you can substitute the special bacon for. You can  also order it as a side. More bacon, special bacon, different bacon…whatever. If it’s bacon, I’m in. They were offering several other specials that day, including something called the Ron Burgundy (“What? You pooped in the refrigerator? And you ate the whole wheel of cheese? How’d you do that? Heck, I’m not even mad; that’s amazing.”….nevermind). You guys, this thing is serious….a bacon & egg-topped burger with coffee-flavored ketchup and cheddar cheese all cradled inside of a warm, buttermilk cinnamon roll.

Mind. Blown.

I didn’t think I could handle all of that on this morning, so I moved on to the regular menu.

The regular menu is full of many other unique (albeit a bit less eccentric) breakfast sandwiches, big fluffy omelettes, and some “Specialties” like Pancakes, French toast, an egg combo breakfast and a huge burrito. If this place had biscuits & sausage gravy, I don’t think I’d ever leave. (Pro Tip: Avenue Eatz uses fresh, seasonal ingredients which means that their menu and specials change occasionally. Keep an eye on their website and their social media accounts for updates.)

Our server was a cheerful and extremely pleasant young lady who took very good care of us. She invited us to help ourselves to the self-serve coffee bar (they serve Gold Peak Coffee…a product of the Coca-Cola company) which was fully stocked and kept full the whole time we were there. It would make a whole lot of sense for a great little local spot like to this to feature some great locally roasted coffee, but overall the java was ok. Our food came out pretty quickly even though the restaurant was packed. I was impressed. The wife and boy were too embarrassed to allow me to stand on my chair, but I got this money shot anyway.

Mrs. Grub Guy zeroed in on the Crab Oscar ($6.50), which was a delicious blend of crab meat, cheddar and Old English cheeses melted with tomatoes and a fried egg and seasoned with Old Bay seasoning. It was served on their house-made pretzel roll. She said the crab & cheese blend was sooo yummy. She compared it to a really good crab salad, only hot. She said the Old Bay added some spice to cut the sweetness of the cheese and crab, and it really tied it all together well. The pretzel roll was fresh, had a good chew, and was really flavorful. She also ordered a side of potatoes ($3.00) which were good but got cold really quickly, which might have my fault because I wouldn’t let them eat until I was done taking photos.

Steven almost went with the Breakfast Burrito, but ultimately decided upon his old stand-by. The House-made Brioche French Toast comes in two sizes, the Tall Order (3 for $8.00) and the Short Stack (2 for $6.50), and came with some yummy cinnamon-sugar whipped butter and maple syrup. Obviously, he loved this because…well, what’s not to love about brioche French toast? Overall it was a splendid version of a breakfast classic.

I ordered the Morning After ($6.00), a really great sandwich made up of hardwood-smoked bacon, scrambled egg, sharp cheddar, Hass avocados and topped with a spicy Sriracha mayo. This normally comes on the pretzel roll, but I asked to have it made on a house-made brioche roll instead (all sandwiches come on your choice of bagel, country white bread, wheat berry bread, rye bread, brioche roll or pretzel roll). It was pretty much the perfect breakfast sandwich, with all of my favorite ingredients. The roll was buttery, soft, fresh, and filling. Great stuff!

Finally, because we all secretly wanted to order and devour the Cinnamuncher ($6.50) ourselves, we decided to order one for the three of us to split and sample. The menu lists this unique sandwich as a thick-cut tavern ham steak with imported Gruyere cheese & a runny egg served inside a house-made, buttermilk cinnamon roll. Our server said that this is one of their most popular menu items, and it’s easy to see (and taste) why.

This was really, really good. It wasn’t as sweet as I thought it might be, which was probably a good thing. The dough, like all of the other bread we had already sampled that morning, was super fresh. It was a heavier, thicker-type cinnamon roll which held all of the other ingredients well. Definitely a knife and fork-type sandwich. We all really enjoyed it. The only bit of constructive criticism I might have is for the wording of the menu. It’s actually a pretty far stretch to call it a “thick-cut ham steak”…at least ours wasn’t. I’d say more like a “hefty slice” is more appropriate.

Avenue Eatz gave my boy a really great birthday breakfast. He was very happy, and full when we left, as were we. The whole experience was really nice, from the fresh and creative food to the friendliness of the staff and owners who welcomed us and made us feel like they genuinely appreciated us being there. This is definitely the kind of local place that local people love to support. I know we’ll be back for sure.

Avenue Eatz is located at 128 W. Lancaster Ave, Wayne, PA 19087 (MAP). They’re open Tuesday – Sunday, 7:00am – 3:00pm. For more info, check out their website or visit them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!!

Hang Over Easy – Columbus, OH

 

So, I’ve found myself on a bit of a “farewell breakfast tour” lately by revisiting some of my favorite Columbus diners and eateries in recent weeks, before I head off to Philadelphia. We’ve been to DK Diner, Katalina’s, Jack & Benny’s Barnstormer Diner, Buckeye Donuts, Fox in the Snow Café and more…but I knew I HAD to get back to Hang Over Easy before I left. It’s easily one of my favorite campus breakfast joints. I realized that I had never reviewed it for the blog, so when my buddy David, who is new to town, wanted to grab some breakfast, I decided to kill two birds with one stone: I’d take the opportunity to say farewell to HOE by using this meal as my one of my final Columbus reviews (sigh…that hurts), and introduce him to one of his new city’s breakfast gems.

Hang Over Easy is one of those places where college kids come to grub after a night of heavy…umm…indulgence? Thankfully, they let regular guys like me come and partake too, so there’s always a good mix of students and people just looking for awesome breakfast food.

The atmosphere here is very laid back and casual. There’s plenty of room during the week, but as you can imagine, the place gets packed on the weekends, so expect a wait.

HOE does utilize lots of chalk board signage, for everything from their daily specials to their beer list. We found this nice little shout-out to the local products and vendors they use, which was a nice touch.

Their breakfast menu is labeled “Morning Prescription”, and offers tons of amazing dishes with quirky names such as their breakfast burrito called the “Dirty Sanchez” (heh), a plate of biscuits & gravy topped with two eggs they call “Frog’s Eyes”, and combo plates like the “Angry Egg” and “Sloppy Seconds”.

I ordered the CBH ($7.99), which was a HUGE plate of, you guessed it, Corned Beef Hash. It was made from their sliced, house-made corned beef and a huge portion of their famous HOE fries (i.e. really good fried potatoes). It was topped with two eggs and came with a side of toast (in my book, you ALWAYS order rye toast with corned beef hash).

I ordered my eggs over-medium, which came out perfectly (whites totally cooked with the yolks slightly runny), and the hash was absolutely delicious. The crispy, chunky HOE fries were seasoned very well and the tender, briny corned beef was outstanding. The portion size on this plate was huge, and I didn’t need anything else until dinner. Positively a winner!!

Here’s one of their all-inclusive plates, the Ramblin’ Man ($7.50), which included two eggs, HOE fries, toast, and 3 slices of French toast or pancakes. We ordered a side of bacon ($2.99) to go with it. Again, the eggs were cooked perfectly, delicious potatoes, and crisp bacon…all good stuff.

The French toast was a really tasty diner-style variety, powdered with sugar and a big scoop of butter, and came with a side pitcher of syrup. Who doesn’t love that??

Pro Tip: Hang Over Easy recently expanded by opening a shop in the Clifton/Avondale area of Cincinnati!! So, the next time you’re in the Queen City, stop in for an awesome start to your day.

I’ll tell you what guys, if you live here and have never been to HOE, or haven’t been in a while, it’s definitely worth the visit. I had forgotten just how good their food is! The prices are really affordable, especially for the portion sizes you get. And I seriously can’t say enough about the service – our server was super friendly and she made sure our meal was just what we wanted it to be, including keeping our coffee mugs filled for our entire visit.

College campus grub doesn’t get better than this.

HOE Rocks! Goodnight, Columbus!!

Hang Over Easy is located at 1646 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43201 (MAP). They’re open Monday – Friday, 7:00am – 3:00pm, and Saturday & Sunday, 8:00am – 3:00pm. For more info, you can check the out on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. 

 

Grand Day Café – Columbus, OH

 

Grandview is really one of my favorite areas of Columbus. It has pretty much anything you would want: fancy shopping, fine dining, quaint little shops, breweries, local coffee, pubs & bars, bakeries, trendy eateries, and comfortable family-style cafes. When it comes to the latter in Grandview, in my mind I immediately think of places like Grand Day Café. GDC is squished inside of a strip mall along busy W. 5th Ave, surrounded by lots of other local businesses. It’s a casual, medium-sized restaurant that serves breakfast all day, seven days a week.

Grand Day Café has that simple breakfast place feel. It’s been around for several years as its current incarnation, but the space itself has been a breakfast mainstay in town even in its prior life as Rise & Dine Restaurant, a concept very similar to GDC. We visited on a Saturday morning at around 10:30am, and the place was packed. What makes that last sentence a little more impressive was the fact that it was raining cats & dogs outside. When the weather is pleasant, you can usually expect big crowds. But on this day, the weather sucked, so I was pretty surprised at the volume of business they were doing.

The restaurant is set up with a small entryway in the middle, with a counter straight ahead and a seating area on either side. While we were waiting for a table, I struck up a conversation with a guy who has been coming here every Saturday for the last couple of years and sitting at his usual spot at the counter. That’s him in the hat. I love stories like that.

And the other side of the room…packed.

The menu at Grand Day is about as all-inclusive as you can get. It covers all of the usual breakfast bases  – like breakfast combos, steak & eggs, wraps & sandwiches, corned beef hash, omelets and the like – but also adds some nifty dishes that you don’t often see, like a Kentucky Hot Brown and eggs benedict made with fried chicken or shrimp. I was surprised, however, that the kids meal section only included three or four options. Thankfully, Grub Boy doesn’t venture far from his usuals.

One interesting item on the menu is the Benedict Sampler ($8.99). The idea is that you can create your own combo from any two benedict dishes that they offer and sample one of each, along with hash browns or home fries. The choice was tough since GDC makes about eight different varieties.

I chose one Fried Chicken benedict and one Avocado benedict, along with a side of hash browns. On the up side, I loved the huge portion of well-cooked hash browns that was on my plate. They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just the way I like them. The benedicts, on the other hand, were a little hit & miss for me. I loved the concept of both, but the execution fell a little flat. The meat on the fried chicken benedict consisted of two small slices from a breaded chicken patty, which tasted good, but I had wished there was a little more to it. The poached egg was overcooked and had very little runniness to the yolk, and the hollandaise was really heavy on the lemon, almost to the point that I couldn’t eat it. The avocado benedict was better – the egg was a little less overcooked, but the hollandaise was still tough to get past. Both were topped with some tasty crumbled bacon.

Our boy went with his favorite dish, French toast ($4.49), from the kid’s menu. It came with his choice of bacon or sausage, and he chose the salty pig strip, which was cooked nicely.

Mrs. Grub Guy ordered one of GDC’s specialties, their breakfast version of a  Kentucky Hot Brown ($7.29), and it looked absolutely delicious. It was a big slice of Texas toast topped with some really nice sliced, smoked turkey breast, a poached egg, hollandaise, and bacon. It came with her choice of potatoes, and she too went with the shredded hash browns.

This dish was a hit with the wife. The turkey was thick-sliced breast meat and had a really amazing smoked flavor. Her egg was poached perfectly (tender but firm whites with a smooth, velvety yolk) and she didn’t mind the lemony flavor of the hollandaise. It was topped with two strips of bacon that just added another layer of goodness. I’m still not 100% sold on the hollandaise for this dish…I’m thinking maybe if I were eating (or making) it, I’d prefer a traditional cheese sauce for this one, but she said it was very enjoyable.

Pro Tip: Grand Day Café offers a “Free coffee before 8:00am” guarantee every day!! Their coffee is standard, slightly weak diner brown, but I’m still chugging down two or three cups every time I go!!

There’s a lot to like about Grand Day Café. They do breakfast well, and offer a menu with enough variety to satisfy everyone from the enthusiast to the casual fan looking for a plate of bacon and eggs. It’s the perfect place to take someone who’s stuck in the Bob Evans/IHOP/Sunny Street Café rut because it’s just got that same kind of feel, but it’s much more enjoyable to someone like me who’s big on supporting locally owned businesses.

Overall, we enjoyed our most recent visit, as we have the previous ones before it, and even though the food was a little off this time, I’m sure we’ll be back.

Grand Day Café is located at 1284 W. 5th Ave, Columbus, OH 43212 (MAP). They’re open Monday – Sunday, 6:30am – 3:00pm. For more info, check out their website, or their Facebook or Twitter pages.

 

The Crafty Pint – Columbus, OH

 

It seems like the number of places in Columbus to grab a good Sunday brunch is growing in number every week. Over the past year, many new restaurants have opened, and existing ones have expanded their menus to offer this relaxed weekend meal. Searching for someplace to fill our bellies on a recent Sunday afternoon, we ventured out to the Worthington/Linworth area of town to check out The Crafty Pint, a groovy gastropub that opened earlier this year in the old Hoggy’s space along Route 161, just west of downtown Worthington. I’d heard lots of good things from fellow bloggers and foodies about this spot, so I was eager to check them out to see what they had to offer.

The Crafty Pint is an attractive space on the inside, with rugged wooden tables, exposed brick, and three main seating areas (one being a covered patio which was pretty much closed off since it was chilly outside.) The atmosphere was great and the seating was comfortable.

Their bar has received a great deal of praise from online reviewers for its selection and style. With over 40 drafts on tap, including many local craft brews, it seems like one of the better places I’ve seen in a while to go to have a beer and watch a game or just to hang out with friends for a cocktail and apps at happy hour.

The cozy touches, such as this corner fireplace located in the entryway, don’t go unnoticed, either.

And it’s the nifty little things that jump out at you about this place. Mason jar drinking glasses, Trivial Pursuit cards at the table, bandana handkerchiefs used as napkins, and pieces of board games as a backing for the drink menu. There are lots of unique things that The Crafty Pint does really well.

Their brunch menu features around eight breakfast-y items like a Toad in a Hole, Biscuits & Gravy, and a Chorizo Hash. It leans heavy on the lunch(ish) items, including some typical dishes like burgers, a club sandwich, flatbreads, wings, salads, etc. Overall, some pretty solid options, and you’d be hard pressed not to find something you’d like.

We started with a Green Eggs & Ham Flatbread ($9.00), which our server offered to bring out first. It was a large, scratch stone fired flatbread topped with Bavarian ham, Monterey jack cheese, arugula, chimichurri, and three sunny-side up eggs. I’m assuming that the dish was named after the Dr. Seuss story (more on Seuss later), since the eggs were normal color. It was light and crispy, and was probably the best thing we ate all morning.

Unfortunately, the rest of our meal didn’t fare as well. Now, anyone who has followed this blog knows that I am not the kind of blogger who hands out negative reviews very often. In fact, I hate writing them. But when I need to, I will, so that you’ll be aware of what to possibly expect when and if you visit. All of that to say that we did have some issues with the rest of our food at The Crafty Pint. Here are the details….

We ordered a side of the Chipotle Cinnamon Tempura Pickles ($3.00) because I seriously LOVE fried pickles. What arrived at our table was not what I was expecting. Our server delivered them in a small, crock-type serving dish, which was fine, but the order of pickles was so small that it didn’t even cover the bottom of the small dish. Now, I realize $3.00 is pretty cheap for an appetizer, so I wasn’t expecting a heap, but I was hoping for enough to share between two people. They were withered and WAY overcooked, and all of the tempura batter had pretty much been fried off of them. In addition, there was no hint of chipotle flavor. No hint of cinnamon. No seasoning whatsoever. I thought, “Maybe the chipotle cinnamon is in the dipping sauce…”. And then I realized there was no sauce either. Just thin, burnt, greasy pickle chips. Not good.

After a bit of a wait, our entrees arrived to our table. Here’s a shot of the Mimosa French Toast ($9.00). This was a really large serving which included five slices of a sweet orange bread, battered and fried, and served with champagne whipped cream. Honestly, the flavor of this dish was pretty good. Originally, we chose the Block “O” Waffles, but were told that they don’t have those anymore. The problem was the texture of the French toast – it was either soaked too long in the batter or the bread wasn’t dense enough to handle it. It was way too mushy. When our server was made aware of this, her answer was, “Yeah, that’s the way it always is”. In addition, the underside of each slice was burned. Swing and a big miss….

I ordered the Crab Cake Benedict ($10.00) with hopes of greatness. The menu stated that the dish included grilled shrimp, which I didn’t get. I thought maybe the shrimp were included inside the crab cake, but couldn’t find them. The flavor of the crab was good, but maybe a little strong. The menu also said that the sauce was a bayou hollandaise, but it unfortunately had absolutely no flavor.

The other problem was that the crab cakes were burned, and were hidden under two eggs. They were barely the size of silver dollars, and were maybe half an inch thick. I was completely disappointed. Our server was nowhere to be found, so I just let it go without complaint. I left more than half of my meal on the plate.

As the bill arrived, I was reminded again about the positive side of our visit to The Crafty Pint. They brought the check in a hard-cover Dr. Seuss story book (We got “Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?”). Inside, notes from past guests were written in praise, or otherwise, of the meal and/or the server. I thought it was a clever and unique way to leave the customer with a smile on their faces.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with our brunch at The Crafty Pint. Although they nailed the little things, the food overall was not good. Most of the flavors and concepts were solid, they just really fell flat on execution. Our server seemed as though she’d rather be anywhere else but serving, which also negatively impacted our opinion of the visit. I’m not sure I’ll be back for brunch any time soon, but I would maybe go again for a burger or a sandwich, and would definitely stop in for a beer.

Like I said before, I loathe writing anything negative, but I really wanted to be truthful with you guys. I’m hoping that maybe the kitchen was just having an off day, and that if you try them for brunch, you’ll have a much better experience than I did. If you do, please be sure to comment on this post to let us know!!

The Crafty Pint is located at 2234 W. Dublin Granville Rd., Columbus, OH 43085 (Map). They’re open Monday – Thursday, 4:00 PM – 12:00 AM, Friday, 4:00 PM – 1:00 AM, Saturday, 11:00 AM – 1:00 AM, and Sunday, 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM. You can keep up with them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and at their website.