What Exactly is This Thing You People Call Brunch?

[racheld]

Awwwww, Toby!! Come to our house---we're all good cooks. And we'll let you pour.

[Alchemist]

I'm all for brunch at home, I even like cooking brunch at home. It's brunch out in public that I feel is a travesty. I'm all for brunch at home, I even like cooking brunch at home. It's brunch out in public that I feel is a travesty.

Toby

[Chris Amirault]

Toby captured my feelings about brunch perfectly, both as a server (worst gig always) and as a diner.

As for brunch at home, that sounds like fancy language for grazing.

[TongoRad]

Nah- it's just a fancy way of having alcohol with breakfast, which no civilized person would ordinarily do. Just call it Brunch and you're good to go

[slkinsey]

Brunch in most restaurants is a horrible affair that involves getting rid of the leftover crap that's this close to going off. In some places (see Brooks's examples) it can be great.

Brunch has been around for a long time, by the way. It's by no means a modern invention, and the word, at least, seems to have been coined by British students. The first mention in print was an 1896 edition of "Punch."

[OnigiriFB]

And then there is the clientele.  I have found it is mostly hung over people who DIDN’T get laid the night before, so they are extra bitchy.  If they had picked someone up on Saturday night they would still be in bed…

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Actually it's a time for me and my girlfriends who got seperated last night to get laid to talk over more food and alcohol. We commiserate over bloody mary's at how BAD the sex was or the problems the guy had finding his way around the female body. The viterol of your responce makes me wonder if you overheard us speaking about your ablities or lack of abilities perhaps?

Brunch isn't always leftover food. There are some places that do it right. There used to a hotel that did an extraordinary job at brunch. It was full of old time brunch items that I loved. Seeing snapper old gents in their suits and ladies in their sunday dresses and hats made my morning. Brunch in Thailand and Singapore but anything you find in the States to shame though. Eggs, bacon, pad thai, fiery curries... *sigh*

[LVic]

so who doesn't like a nice little buffet?

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=116598&st=0

tracey

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I'm reading this and making noises like Wall-E looking at EVE

[insomniac]

And then there is the clientele.  I have found it is mostly hung over people who DIDN’T get laid the night before, so they are extra bitchy.  If they had picked someone up on Saturday night they would still be in bed…

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Actually it's a time for me and my girlfriends who got seperated last night to get laid to talk over more food and alcohol. We commiserate over bloody mary's at how BAD the sex was or the problems the guy had finding his way around the female body. The viterol of your responce makes me wonder if you overheard us speaking about your ablities or lack of abilities perhaps?

Brunch isn't always leftover food. There are some places that do it right. There used to a hotel that did an extraordinary job at brunch. It was full of old time brunch items that I loved. Seeing snapper old gents in their suits and ladies in their sunday dresses and hats made my morning. Brunch in Thailand and Singapore but anything you find in the States to shame though. Eggs, bacon, pad thai, fiery curries... *sigh*

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I think Alchemist's observations are unisex OFB

love brunch in HK at the Conrad on sundays....luxury

[chiantiglace]

If you have a lot of money and desire one hell of a brunch, check out The Breakers brunch every sunday for about $98 a person and $50something for children under 12.

If you dont mind spending the money you will find some of the freshest food available at any brunch and dozens of action stations including sushi, omelet's, pancakes and waffles, and meat carving, lamb and shrimp, and countless desserts.

[Alchemist]

"Actually it's a time for me and my girlfriends who got seperated last night to get laid to talk over more food and alcohol. We commiserate over bloody mary's at how BAD the sex was or the problems the guy had finding his way around the female body"

Gee that does not sound bitchy at all, I rest my case.

Toby

[Jaymes]

I absolutely adore rising late on a Sunday, lazing in bed perusing the newspaper over coffee and a small roll, and then going to a lovely Sunday brunch complete with Eggs Benedict, smoked salmon, fresh fruits and pastries and bubbly tangerine-colored Mimosas.

Sublime.

[Katie Meadow]

I probably liked brunch a million years ago when I slept in and had a hangover and woke up slowly, craving eggs or juice or whatever. But I don't wake up late on the weekends any more. I need a little something soon, and can't wait until eleven o'clock. If I have my usual breakfast of one piece of toast or maybe a bowl of oatmeal I won't want a huge cholesterol laden meal three hours later. I don't even like to eat breakfast out--I'm not hungry enough to justify a restaurant meal at that hour, nor do I want to get completely dressed to do it.

The only time I can remember enjoying a big late breakfast meal was when I was part of a hippie farm community. Yes, I really was. We had a cow and chickens and plenty of pork products always on hand. One of us was a roly-poly ruddy cheerful dude who grew up on an Argentine ranch and loved to cook. Mountains of scrambled just-laid eggs, highways of bacon, freshly baked bread, home-churned butter, all washed down with strong coffee and milk which was basically half & half straight out of the cow. At the end of this year-long experiment we were all wearing large baggy overalls because no other clothes would fit; at least you can look cute wearing that if you are milking a goat. Truthfully it gives me more pleasure to think about it now than it would to eat it.

How did the American breakfast and brunch become such a heartbreaker? It made sense on the farm, I guess. But now, if you try to limit cholesterol and animal fat you have a hard time at a brunch. If you drink three bloody marys to compensate you don't feel so good either. Some Asian cultures have a good idea with soup for breakfast. I can see eating a steaming bowl of pho on a cold winter morning, but I don't really want to go out for it wearing my jammies.

[patti]

New Orleans (which, contrary to what the loud, poorly selected, and poorly played, recorded "cajun" music  blaring from cheesy t-shirt shop doorways might lead a hungover NOLA neophyte to believe, is not in any way Cajun-that's not far from here, but it ain't here)

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Thank you, Brooks. I know this thread isn't about defining what is Cajun, but I wish more people would understand that it isn't New Orleans. I will leave it at that for now.

[prasantrin]

exactly when does breakfast end and lunch begin, and where is there the gap.  Brunch is served all the way up to 3 o'clock typically and can begin as early as 8.

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A conversation with a friend yesterday:

Me: OK, we'll have brunch at 9 tomorrow.

Friend: 9? What is brunch?

Me: Have you been reading my food group?

My friend thinks brunch should be no earlier than 11 because of the breakfast/lunch combo, but says I, "I get up at 5. By 9, it's time for brunch!"

We're meeting at 10, by the way.

I eat anything anytime, but for me, brunch is more about the foods that are served than the time.

[highchef]

I am in cajun country, and we do brunch here. Actually, the upscale resturants do them on Easter, mother's day etc.

Mardi Gras krewes have brunches the day after their ball (court does, at least)

And we love the catered, day after the wedding, before everyone has to leave brunch....it's the best way to 'do' brunch. You're at home (or someone in the family's home), someone else is cooking, serving and cleaning. Then everyone leaves and you have a clean house and a nap.

It's an art, really.

We start brunch before the noon hour, and not let it go past 2 or so lest it interfere with supper. This way it straddles the lunch hour and is the perfect time/combination of breakfast and lunch.

[Domestic Goddess]

Brunch is when the whole family wakes up at 9:00 and breakfast isn't served until 10:00 with a menu that includes sausage, hash browns, scrambled eggs, toast with butter and jelly and or biscuits with butter and jelly. Brunch always ends with a high note like sliced fruit or a nice sweet dessert (leftover nanner pudding). Everyone burps their thanks and groans their way back to the sofa or the bed and sometimes take a nap. The next meal is a late lunch or a gif afternoon snack.

[rooftop1000]

Other than the vast quantities of food at a proper brunch the best thing about them is

that they are usually social occasions or you are vacation!!

either way its fun

tracey

[racheld]

And we love the catered, day after the wedding, before everyone has to leave brunch....it's the best way to 'do' brunch. You're at home (or someone in the family's home), someone else is cooking, serving and cleaning. Then everyone leaves and you have a clean house and a nap.

It's an art, really.

. . . not let it go past 2 or so lest it interfere with supper.

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I love that clean house/afternoon nap bit, though the person who does the cleanup is mostly me, with a lot of platter-clearing and plate-scraping from the family.

And it was always just perfect---we had Chris' birthday brunch on Superbowl Sunday for several years, when they had it the last week of January. That was nice, because we're not really sports people, and every one had usually cleared out by three or so to go watch the game at home or somewhere else.

Then they moved the game, and we still have the brunch on the same weekend in January as we always did, but for the last two years, people have still been here at six o'clock.

[Sugarella]

If you have a lot of money and desire one hell of a brunch, check out The Breakers brunch every sunday for about $98 a person and $50something for children under 12.

If you dont mind spending the money you will find some of the freshest food available at any brunch and dozens of action stations including sushi, omelet's, pancakes and waffles, and meat carving, lamb and shrimp, and countless desserts.

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I googled the breakers.... WOW! Nice dining rooms!

Not too much info about the brunch itself though..... could you describe it in a little further detail?

[Jaymes]

I am in cajun country, and we do brunch here. Actually, the upscale resturants do them on Easter, mother's day etc.

Mardi Gras krewes have brunches the day after their ball (court does, at least)

And we love the catered, day after the wedding, before everyone has to leave brunch....it's the best way to 'do' brunch. You're at home (or someone in the family's home), someone else is cooking, serving and cleaning. Then everyone leaves and you have a clean house and a nap.

It's an art, really.

We start brunch before the noon hour, and not let it go past 2 or so lest it interfere with supper. This way it straddles the lunch hour and is the perfect time/combination of breakfast and lunch.

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I've noticed that after retirement, many older folks settle into a two-meal schedule. They have a large, late breakfast that one could call brunch if one wished, and an early dinner, around 4pm (in time for the early-bird senior special at Golden Corral). Sometimes they'll have a small, late snack before bedtime - similar to the Mexican 'merienda' or 'cena.'

Probably the same amount of overall caloric intake as the typical three-meal schedule of working people, just arranged differently.

[Toliver]

....Then they moved the game, and we still have the brunch on the same weekend in January as we always did, but for the last two years, people have still been here at six o'clock.   

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Sounds like you need to annouce to everyone that you're going to treat him to a museum trip that afternoon (something no one else would like to join in on) after the brunch. See if that clears the room out. Then just stay at home for a nice quiet evening. Or else send them invites with a specific ending time and see if anyone catches the hint...

[heidih]

....Then they moved the game, and we still have the brunch on the same weekend in January as we always did, but for the last two years, people have still been here at six o'clock.   

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Sounds like you need to annouce to everyone that you're going to treat him to a museum trip that afternoon (something no one else would like to join in on) after the brunch. See if that clears the room out. Then just stay at home for a nice quiet evening. Or else send them invites with a specific ending time and see if anyone catches the hint...

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Same thing started happening to me. As long as they helped with clean up, I just let them pass out on the sofas. When they emerge from their stupor and are hungry they know where the paper goods are as well as the microwave as needed (and they know to take out the trash when it gets full). I just go about my business like dead-heading flowers or walking the dog, and feel a certain pride that folks are so comfortable in my home. Brunch in general seems like a way to eat lots of different stuff stretched out over several hours with good friends, lots of conversation and the afore-mentioned mimosas or sangria or...

[chiantiglace]

If you have a lot of money and desire one hell of a brunch, check out The Breakers brunch every sunday for about $98 a person and $50something for children under 12.

If you dont mind spending the money you will find some of the freshest food available at any brunch and dozens of action stations including sushi, omelet's, pancakes and waffles, and meat carving, lamb and shrimp, and countless desserts.

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I googled the breakers.... WOW! Nice dining rooms!

Not too much info about the brunch itself though..... could you describe it in a little further detail?

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Oh, well, I am not sure if I can remember that much. I know the dining area is in the circle dining room which has amazing painted walls, incredible chandeliers and beautiful light. The whole space is very open and free flowing so its hard to run into people.

There are maybe 6 or 7 chefs performing different stations. One station has all kinds of meats like rotisserie chickens and duck I think as well as beef and turkey carvings. One station does crepes I believe and another does omelletes any eggs any style. There is french toast and belgian waffles as well as a few kinds of breakfast meats constantly prepared and brought out. All the products are carefully held in small-ish quantities and new products are constantly being brought in to replace what has been sitting for maybe 10-15 minutes. I remember their being lamb and shrimp (I think) station for the dinner-ish eaters. I remember that because every sunday I use to flirt with the 30 something year old brazilian girl who worked it.

There was also a full sushi station with at least a dozen different kinds of maki as well as sashimi and nigiri. There was a full section of fruits and raw vegetables on ice near all kinds of cold foods like srhimp cocktail and steamed crab legs and lobster.

There were always centerpieces of carved ice that helped make up the cold food table lay out. With the cold food I believe there were also clams and oysters.

Most peoples favorite part of brunch there was the dessert set up. We had about 20 feet of table spaced set up in a semi-cirlce against the back wall that had somewhere around 40 plates and trays of all kinds of different desserts that we began preparing 3 or 4 days in advance. The craziest part of all was the fat that once a tray was roughly half way empty it got tossed. The whole set up had to look full all the time. We through enough food away in one brunch session to feed probably 300 people. It's sad, but thats what the people are paying for.

Also thats not it. The have professional florists come in and decorate every week, adn every week it is different. Different kinds of vases and ornaments as well as sculptures sometimes. They really go all out to make it look like its like that all the time, but by monday everything goes back to normal.

[pennbrew]

The heck with the fancy egg creations, give me Monell's in Nashville TN with their extraordinary fried chicken and I'm a happy bruncher.

Simple but perfect menu:

Smoked Sausage, Bacon, Country Ham, Biscuits and Gravy, Fried Apples, Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Hashbrowns, Cheese Grits, Skillet Fried Chicken, Corn Pudding, Juice and Coffee