I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

brunch

Filet Mignon Eggs Benedict @ Cafe Mirage, Port Chester NY

In the past my mom has ventured up to Boston to spend mother’s day up here but for the most recent one Price and I went back to G-town to spend the weekend there. It was a whirlwind weekend, as per usual, because my nephews were also performing in a local performance of Beauty in the Beast. So Saturday quickly became Sunday and we found ourselves at Cafe Mirage in Port Chester, NY.

I had called all around for Mother’s Day brunch reservations and thankfully we got one at Cafe Mirage. They don’t normally do brunch so I don’t think a lot of people thought of them  for the typical M.D. brunch. We were able to get a table for right when they opened. Score! I was so glad that I thought about Cafe Mirage because it is one of my favorite places in the area. We’ve gone there to celebrate my birthday in the past as well as just go out for a great meal.

My mom and I both ordered the Filet Mignon Eggs Benedict that Chef Dave Haggerty created for the brunch. As soon as I saw that as an option I knew I would have to have it!!! (Price had the Chicken and Waffles and loved it.) And I was so happy that I made that decision when it was brought out to us. The pieces of filet mignon sat on toasted cutouts of hearty multi-grain toast and on that set two perfectly poached eggs and a spicy hollandaise sauce. The eggs has to have been so fresh since the yolks were so bright. The hollandaise was also very bright, but it was studded with fresh peppers and tiny piece of vibrant green chives.

Hello lover…

Each steak medallion was rather large and carefully seasoned. But in general the steak really spoke for itself, which I really appreciated. I had ordered it medium-rare and it came out medium but it was still so very good. I guess it was good that it came out medium anyway as the foundation of the eggs benedict was a piece of toasted multi-grain bread. It  was nicely toasted and tasted really good. I would have enjoyed it more on a sandwich (oh my gawd thinking about a chicken salad on that… drool!)  more than the eggs benedict. I just think that it did not stand up to the steak juices and hollandaise very well, but that is just me.

The eggs benedict did not come with a side but the meal itself was more than enough. Hello!?! Steak!!! But that made me even more glad that I did order a bloody mary. Our waitress told us that co-owner Katy is a pro at making bloody mary’s and that were in luck that she was there to make it for us. Thankfully it did live up to the hype! Plenty of horseradish and lemon, and just a tiny bit of pepper.

Rating

Multi Grain Toast– 12 pts

Filet Mignon– 18 pts

Poached Egg– 25 pts

Hollandaise Sauce– 25 pts

Bloody Mary– 9 points

Total: 89/100

While Cafe Mirage does not always serve brunch you should still give them a try for lunch and dinner. Some of my favorite dishes are the Bangkok Mussels, Old School Chopped Salad, and Coconut Curry Shrimp. They have a great selection of dishes you can try out. Give them a call when the next holiday approaches and see what they have up their sleeve for brunch.

Cafe Mirage

531 North Main St

Port Chester, New York 10573

914.937.3497

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Breakfast Burritos

 

One of my favorite things about the weekend is that we can enjoy a leisurely breakfast together. Our Saturday’s are typically crazy so we really savor our Sunday mornings. The paper comes and that is the day when we make breakfast. Before we had a coffee maker Price would leave to get coffees while I cooked. Before we had a coffee maker, Price would leave to get coffees while I cooked. He would come back with a massive hot coffee for himself and a massive iced coffee for me. Now that we have a coffee maker we make breakfast together (if I can pry him away from Sports Center) and sip mugs of hot coffee all morning while we go through the paper. Clearly, we are 80 years old deep down…

 

 

This breakfast came together rather quickly as I had thought about it the night before. We were making dinner and having baked potatoes with it and figured I would throw a few extra potatoes on the baking sheet to use for breakfast hash. Well, when the time came to make breakfast, we decided that breakfast burritos would be fun so we whipped them up quickly.

It is a quick breakfast that only really dirties 1 skillet. The hardest part is not to fill your burrito too much. If that just happens, then grab a fork and take a bit off the top so you can roll your burrito! I would have preferred to have black beans in my burrito, but didn’t feel like opening a can for just a bit of beans so I opted out. We enjoyed these because they were so good, simple, and filling. Plus, they are a great way of using up large burrito or sandwich wraps at the end of a week.

 

 

Breakfast Burritos

serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 slices of bacon
  • 2 baked potatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 white onion, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 8 eggs: 4 whole eggs, 4 egg whites
  • 4 burrito tortilla wraps
  • 1 cup of shredded cheese, such as chedder or montery jack
  • 1 large tomato or 1/2 cup salsa
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • sliced pickled jalapenos and black olives, optional

Process

  1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. When done, reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in the skillet and set aside on paper towel lined dish.
  2. In the same skillet add the onion and potatoes. When they have browned, add in the taco seasoning and water to the skillet. Gently mix
  3. While the potatoes and onions are cooking, beat together the eggs in a large bowl.
  4. Once the potatoes and onions have adsorbed the water, push the mixture to one side and add the eggs to the other side of the skillet. Scramble the eggs together with a rubber spatula as they cook. As the eggs begin to set, combine the eggs with the potato and onions. Continue to gently cook on low until done.
  5. Assemble the burritos but laying out a burrito tortilla on your work surface. Add 1/4 of the egg mixture to the 1 side of the burrito. Break 1 strip of bacon apart in half an place on the eggs. Add the your desired toppings, such as the tomatoes and cheese.
  6. To wrap the burrito, fold over the short ends of the wrap. Your burrito is now longer than it is wide. Begin to roll the end with the mixture over, while keeping the sides in, until you have completely rolled the entire burrito together.
  7. In a large skillet or grill pan on medium-high, place your burritos flap side down so the flap will seal closed. Flip over once to allow the other side to crisp as well. If you burrito was too full, or if you prefer to not have the burrito warp crisp, then wrap the burrito in aluminum foil to help keep it all together.

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Strawberry Almond Stuffed French Toast

One of my favorite things is when I discover a new to me blog and I did that recently when I came across Alice’s Savory Sweet Life. Once I stumbled over there I was hooked. I spent a solid hour flipping around the recipes. And then I bought her cookbook. I could not wait to try something so I picked something that jumped out to me which was Alice’s  Strawberry Almond Stuffed French Toast. How could I pass that up?!?!

 

 

It is no secret that I prefer a savory breakfast/brunch more than a sweet one. But… when I have something sweet I go all out. Syrup is my downfall at breakfast. I love it all over pancakes, french toast, and oatmeal so it is no surprise that when I saw this recipe I just knew I would have to make it. It reminded me of a stuffed french toast I had at Stephanie’s  On Newbury when I first moved up to Boston. Nice reminder what a great brunch I had years and years ago when the city was so new to me.

 

 

I made some changes to the original recipe based upon what I had on hand and my on preferences. I swapped out the sour cream for greek yogurt, upped the amount of almond extract, and used a mixture of egg whites and whole eggs instead of using just whole eggs. Also, I mixed the strawberries right into the cream so it would be a consistent flavor and texture throughout the piece of french toast.

This stuffed French toast is so amazing. It is soft, fluffy, sweet, and so delightful. It is very easy to prepare and will satisfy everyone! Now don’t fret if you don’t have a crowd to serve if you are craving it. I individulally wrapped slices of cooked french toast and then froze them. Since then, I have brought slices out to enjoy at a later day and I have just had to let them thaw and have them warmed them in a skillet or toaster oven. yum!!

 

 

Strawberry Almond Stuffed French Toast

*Serves 6-8*

Ingredients

  • 6 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 6 oz greek yogurt
  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 tablespoon almond extract
  • 8 oz chopped strawberries
  • 2 eggs, 3 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 loaf Italian Bread
  • Garnish – 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar and 1/3 cup slivered almonds

Process

  1. Using an electric hand or stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, yogurt, confectioner’s sugar, and almond extract until light and creamy. Fold the strawberries into the mixture. Transfer the cream mixture to a bowl or to a large piping bag.
  2. In a shallow bowl, like a casserole dish, beat the eggs, milk and almond extract together.
  3. Slice the bread into 1″ thick slices. Lay each piece down on a cutting board. While holding each piece down, create a pocket in the slices of bread by almost cutting it in half. (Placing your hand on top of the piece of bread will help keep the bread in place and help you monitor creating a pocket.)
  4. Spoon or pipe out 2 generous tablespoons of the filling inside the pocket of each slice. Gently close each slice of bread to help the filling stay inside.
  5. Over  medium high heat, heat a non-stick skillet to prepare it for the french toast. Immediately prior to putting pieces on the skillet, spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray or put a pat of butter on it.
  6. Once the pan is heated up, dip slices of bread in the egg mixture to coat both sides. Cook each side of the stuffed french toast is golden brown. Repeat this process until all slices are cooked.
  7. To garnish the dish, dust with confectioner’s sugar and slivered almonds or spoon any left over strawberries cream mixture on top of each slice. Serve with maple syrup, if desired.

The Jack Benny @ Doo Wop Diner, Malden MA

When Price and I started our adventure of looking for a place to buy we took the adventurous approach and starting blindly guess where we would want to live and looked on the web for listings. Just kidding!!! We thoroughly researched areas where we could live around Boston and that brought us to Malden one day. We set out to look around neighborhoods within walking distance of the train stations there and in the process we came across the Doo Wop Diner.

 

The Doo Wop Diner is your quintessential greasy spoon. There are old posters on the wall of classic cars and movie stars from the 50’s. You never see the bottom of your mug as servers are constantly buzzing around tending to the customers. As soon as you walk in you know who the regulars are as they are perched at the counter leisurely bent over a paper listening to the woman behind the counter chatting while they fill orders. I love places like this.

Places like this always make great comfort food. The Doo Wop Diner has a great variety of menu options and they playfully section the menu into different categories and are labeled such things as break it to me gently | build me up buttercup |every egg beat of my heart| hot rod sandwiches | the chubby checker double decker | a family affair | all shook up. Since we were wandering around Malden early one Saturday morning we decided to stick with the breakfast dishes. While I toyed around with some different menu options I decided on The Jack Benny.

 

2 Poached Eggs with Ham served on English Muffins and topped with Hollandaise Sauce

My love affair with Eggs Benedict runs deep. Eggs Benedict compelety satisfies me, and just like the real Jack Benny, this was a hit. For just $6.99 I had a plate piled high with Eggs Benedict and homefries. The English muffin was gently toasted providing a nice sturdy base for the eggs. They were toasted enough to give a nice flavor was well as texture to hold up again the Hollandaise sauce. There was 1 slice of lean ham that was draped over the English muffins. And on top of that sat 2 perfectly poached eggs. The eggs were cooked well to set up up the albumin (white part) while keeping the yoke very runny. The eggs looked nice as well as they were neatly trimmed. Lusciously coating it all was a silky Hollandaise sauce. The sauce was mellow as it was a light flavored sauce without too much lemon. All together the perfect bite of English muffin, ham, egg, and Hollandaise sauce.

To go along with The Jack Benny I substituted their regular homefries with their Larry’s Special homefries for an extra $1.25. Price and I shared the homefries from his meal and mine. I suggest the Larry’s Special as I felt the regular fries where a bit plain. I prefer my homefries to have pieces of peppers and onions mixed in and the regular order did not. The Larry’s Special had pieces of onion, as well as melted cheese and some finely chopped pieces of bacon. The amped up homefries were very good but I suggest eating them quickly before the slice of cheese on top firms up again.

Such a beauty.

While we decided that Malden wasn’t for us, we did discover the Doo Wop Diner. If you happen to be in the area I suggest stopping in to enjoy a great meal.

Rating

English muffin– 15 pts

Canadian Bacon– 15 pts

Poached Egg– 25 pts

Hollandaise Sauce– 20 pts

Side– 7 points

Total: 82/100

Doo Wop Diner

269 Main Street

Malden, MA 02148

(781) 324-9441

The Lansdowne Pub with Boston Brunchers

Irish pubs are synonymous with Boston. Just as much as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. So it’s no surprise that Boston Brunchers was able to put together an Irish brunch at The Lansdowne Pub near Fenway Park last month. The brunch as paired with a fundraising effort for Amanda, who is raising money to run the Boston Marathon. I secured 1 of 3 spots available to be purchased by donating $25 to Amanda, the rest of the spots were raffled off from the rest of the brunchers who entered to go.

As the group arrived one by one we began to order the usual coffee and juice. But what is a brunch without a cocktail?!? While brunching I enjoyed a Muddy River and a Liquid Caramel Coffee. I loved the Muddy River was a lovely concoction of coffee brandy and half & half over crushed ice. It was very heavy and rich.

While the Irish Breakfast sounded good, I ordered the crab cake eggs benedict which did not disappoint. I try to order Eggs Benedict ever where I go because it is my favorite brunch dish and I love to compare it from place to place. The crab cake was very flavorful and did not include very much filler. Tender pieces of crab were gently held together with a flavorful binder. On top of the crab cakes sat poached eggs that were covered in a lovely lemony Hollandaise sauce. I love a lemony Hollandaise sauce and this was perfect. The intense lemon flavor paired nicely with the crab cake as well. One of my poached eggs was over cooked a bit but I will take an over cooked egg over an under cooked egg any day. They Eggs Benedict was served with home fries, which always act as a great medium to scoop up Hollandaise sauce.

Shortly before we were leaving the musicians started to practice for their afternoon performance. Live music begins every Sunday for brunch at 1pm. We were lucky to experience a little bit of it as our meal winded down.

I highly suggest going to The Lansdowne Pub for brunch to enjoy some live Irish music, amazing food, fun drinks, and great service. Head over there for their brunch from 10am- 4pm and you will enjoy yourself and get lost in the Irish feel of your meal.

*While I did recieive a complimentary brunch from The Lansdowne Pub these opinions are entirely my own.

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Fried Eggs and Bacon

 

In a follow up to my recent breakfasty/brunchy post about Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Hash, I’m sharing with you my favorite way to make eggs. I love over-easy eggs because the white is completely cooked but the yellow, bright yolk is ooey gooey runny. But cooking the eggs in left over bacon grease takes them out of this freaking world. Needless to say that I don’t do this often- maybe once every 6 months.

 

Bacon is one of those simple things that we treat at a luxury. I much prefer to buy a good quality bacon that is thick cut and pretty lean. (In the case with this photographed bacon, it was leftover from Thanksgiving. We cover our turkey in bacon so the highest quality would be wasted in that case.) Since it can easily be $9-10 a pound I tended to save it for leisurely weekends in when we can really enjoy the paper. Also, when Price and I make bacon we make a lot of it all at once so the leftovers can be used in BLT’s, added to sandwiches, and sprinkled over salads… makes for a good week!

 

Cooking eggs this way makes for a very airy egg that some salty, smoky favor. Since the eggs are frying they are some what suspended in the grease,  the egg has light, crunchy pockets. I really enjoy the texture of the egg this way, especially the crunchy edges.

 

Fried Eggs and Bacon

Ingredients

  • bacon
  • eggs
  • salt and pepper

Process

  1. Fry bacon in a non stick pan. Save enough bacon grease to generously coat the bottom of the pan.
  2. Placing no more than 2 eggs in your pan at the time, fry eggs on medium/medium-low heat.
  3. After a minute of cooking cover with a lid to the top of the egg will cook.
  4. Eggs are complete when the top is cooked, while the egg yolk is still light, and therefore runny.
  5. While still really hot, sprinkle salt and pepper over the eggs.
  6. Serve with bacon and your favorite breakfast sides.

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Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Hash

There is a restaurant and catering place a few blocks away from us called Bakers’ Best Cafe. We are typically so busy or away on the weekends that we don’t stick around our neighborhood, so it took us a few months to find it and go there. But since then we have been hooked! I order the Hash and Eggs (crispy homemade corned beef hash topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce $9.50). It’s so good! My favorite brunch thing to get is Eggs Benedict, so this is a great spin on it.

While I would love to go there whenever we are in town and not going at break neck speeds, I can’t always justify a $30+ brunch bill. And that not including the mimosas I have a habit of throwing back, which I can make at home for a fraction of the price. So I decided to make something at home that reminds me of the delicious meal I enjoy there. Making this sweet potato & squash hash is a simple way of doing so.

I make this hash without corned beef in it because I don’t just have that laying around (who do you think I am?) and I’m looking for a simple recipe that I can do in my sleep. I think the key with this is letting the potatoes rest after being roasted because it softens up this crunchy pieces a bit. I don’t know about you but I hate super crunchy potatoes with my eggs, so letting them relax in the fridge over night solves that earth shaking problem. Also, it means you don’t have to get up super early to make this. After so the dinner clean up, cut up the squash and sweet potatoes, ditch them in the oven to roast while watching SNL (& skipping the bits Kristen Wiig is in), throw them in a container and in the fridge before going to bed. While making bacon, cut up and onion, then while your eggs cook sauté the onion and then add the rest of the hash to warm up.

I did use bacon grease to cook the onions in to pass on some flavor and is it was easy- basically dump out the leftover grease and don’t clean the pan… Win! Of course you can make this vegetarian by butter, vegan you say?… Use oil. Problem solved. No matter what, it’s gluten free! (Well, check the bacon.)

Sweet Potato and Squash Hash

-serves 4-6-

Ingredients

  • 1 large butternut squash
  • 2 large sweet potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoned salt
  • pinch of crushed red pepper, optional
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 tablespoon bacon grease, or 1 tablespoon oil

Process

  1. Cut squash and sweet potato in 1/2″ to 3/4″ pieces.
  2. Toss with oil, seasoned salt and crushed red pepper to evenly coat.
  3. Roast at 375 for 40-45 minutes, stirring half way.
  4. Refrigerate over night, or at least cover and refrigerate for an hour
  5. Prior to serving, chop up an large onion. Saute in bacon grease until soft.
  6. Add the cooked potato and squash mixture to the skillet and gently warm through.
  7. Serve with eggs and bacon. And a mimosa or bloody mary can’t hurt!


Boston Brunchers 1 Year Birthday Bash at ICOB

Having the opportunity to attend the Boston Brunchers 1 year Birthday Brunch was a little dream come true. Getting to eat an amazing brunch with new bruncher friends I have met over the year while celebrating the success of the group that the very talented Renee (Eat.Live.Blog) started… Sign me up! I can’t lie… I really did set an alarm so that I could grab one of the 20 tickets released at first. I ran over to the computer to get to sign up while Pricer was looking at me like I was crazy. “but it’s the birthday brunch!!!!”

This brunch at Island Creek Oyster Bar live up to the hype. Great company, -amazing food, and a fun filled swag bag.

I was so tempted to only post the above photo because I could have written an entire blog post just about that lobster roll. When Renee released the menu options prior to the event I was really excited because everything sounded amazing. I don’t even like smoked salmon but the dish including the homemade bagels even intrigued me. But the obvious choice for me was the Lobster Roll ($19). I’m glad that I made that choice! The lobster roll was so jam packed that I needed to eat some of the lobster out with a fork before I could attempt to pick it up. The sweet lobster meat was lightly dressed and served on a buttery, toasted rosemary roll. As you can see, the lobster roll was served with a side of creamy coleslaw and super crunchy potato chips.

As a thank you to Renee for all the hard work she puts into the group, Katy (RecipeCan) organized donations to get some gifts. Renee quickly put on the apron while continuing to open the rest of the goodies, including some mini Le Creuset pots

The photo on the right shows what food bloggers do at every chance… Snap photos. Even Tom (BostonTweet) had to snap some pics.

Each table was greeted with a basket of pastries ($11) that included some scones, cinnamon rolls, and muffins. I selected the donut muffin, which reminded me of the ones I’ve made before.

My runner up choice for entree was the French Toast, which Sean (BostonMo) picked. The generous serving looked decadent with its large slices of bread that were soaked in a sweet egg mixture and the topped with caramelized bananas and crunchy almonds.

While I have really enjoyed the various brunches I have attended, this brunch at ICOB stands out for it’s fabulous food, attentive service, and heat packing Bloody Mary. Pricer and I have been on the search for the best Bloody Mary in Boston ever since we took a trip to NOLA and had incredible ones at The Absinthe House. While the Bloody Mary I had was very different than those infamous ones in NOLA, I can say this was one of the best I have ever had. I know I need to come back with Price so he can try the ICOB Bloody Mary’s an weigh in.

A HUGE thank you to Renee, Island Creek Oyster Bar, and all out of fantastic sponsors:

America’s Test Kitchen
Barefoot Wine
Biba
Biltmore Bar & Grill
Boston Ballet
Boston Center for Adult Education
Boston Food Finds
Cow and Crumb
Cumberland Farms
Dorado Tacos & Cemitas
Dore Creperie
Doves and Figs Kitchen
Eversave Boston
Foodies of New England
The Four Seasons Boston
Haircuttery
Harvard Common Press
iParty
Klout
KO Catering & Pies
Langham Hotel Boston
Phillips Candy House
Pinkberry
Pretzel Crisps
Popchips
Stages of Beauty
Stonyfield
USA Pears

Boston Brunchers’ Birthday Brunch- Ticket Giveaway!

To say that I enjoy brunch is an understatement. At the beginning of the year, I heard about a new group called Boston Brunchers and I knew that I had to participate in it. Spending time with other Bostonian’s enjoying brunch at different restaurants around Boston… obviously a great idea.

I have had the pleasure of enjoying brunch with Boston Brunchers at…

Dorado Tacos and Cemitas (2/2012)

Sel De La Terre (5/2012)

Ashmont Grill (6/2012)

Avenue One (7/2012)

Well now I have the pleasure of going to the one year anniversary brunch. <yay!> And if that’s not awesome enough, I get to give away a ticket as well. You really want to win… trust me. Just check out the list of restaurants and companies that are providing goodies in the swag bags!

The original brunch location had to change and instead of just announcing it Renee, the organizer of BB, held a little contest allowing the person who correctly guessed the new location to give away a ticket. After 2 guesses I correctly guessed that the new location will be Island Creek Oyster Bar.

To win a spot.

1) leave a comment telling me why you like to attend brunch.

For extra chances to win.

1) Tweet the following: “I really want to win a ticket for @bostonbrunchers bday brunch at @ICOBar from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-1vs&#8221;

2) Follow me on Twitter @iamahoneybee. Come back and leave me a comment letting me know you are a follower.

3) Follow Boston Brunchers on Twitter. Come back and leave me a comment letting me know you are a follower.

{Winner will be chosen at random on Sunday 10/2 at 8pm.}

Avenue One with Boston Brunchers

I shall keep this post short and sweet so that you can focus on the pictures of this amazing food.

I had never even heard of Avenue One  before getting an email about it. It’s a hidden gem in Boston. Located at the Hyatt Regency Downtown, Avenue One offers a lot of dining options, including live music on The Terrace after-work Tuesday- Friday. While being smack dab in the City the Terrace offers a quiet outdoor setting to enjoy food and drink, which we really savored.

As soon as I heard that Avenue One was going to host a preview of new brunch menu items for Boston Brunchers, including some dishes like Lobster Eggs Benedict, I knew I would have to clear my Sunday morning and sign up. Plus, for the first time, they were going to put the brunch spread outside on The Terrace for us too!

 

The pancake and french toast station featured cooked to order french toast with stone fruit and a triple chocolate pancake.

This bread and fruit station offered fresh danishes, muffins, and croissants. The fruit was stunning with a variety of melons.

 

Executive Chef Kelly Armetta explained that he goal is to keep things fresh, local, and seasonal. The majority of the fresh fruit was local, including the freshest strawberries.

I am still dreaming of this bowl of granola, fresh yogurt, and jam. The granola was amazing. Plus gluten free!!! Chef Armetta explained that he makes the granola gluten free to have something for people with Celiac or a gluten sensitivity. The dried fruit, including apricots, textually played well with the crunchy oats and nuts. I wish I could by this buy the pound to take home. Maybe I’ll have to work something out with the Chef

 

The new take on a carving station. Tired of typical roast beef and ham? This charcuterie spread put a big spin on the typical meats offered at brunches.

Out of every amazing thing I tried at brunch, I have to say that this poached egg salad was my least favorite. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing particularly awful about it. It was down right amazing with it’s poached egg, fresh greens, and fresh fruit. I did not like it because of the dressing. I felt it was unnecessary and made the salad soggy.

 

I was in awe of the teeny tiny fresh strawberries.

 

Standing tall… the Bloody Mary and the muesli shots. The Bloody Mary was enjoyable with a bit of a kick from horseradish. The muesli shots were a bit hit because they were super rich from the addition of heavy cream to the muesli.

I highly suggest Avenue One to travelers, as well as Boston locals. You are going to leave full, happy, and grateful that you spent your morning at Avenue One because of such a fanastic experience.

*These opinions are my own. While I won a $25 gift certificate for future use, I paid for my brunch.*

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Ashmont Grill with Boston Brunchers

Last month, I attended a fantastic brunch at Ashmont Grill with Boston Brunchers. I was so happy to be able to attend this brunch since Ashmont Grill was a new place to me. I love getting to try a new place, as well as doing so with a group of passionate people about food and blogging.

Veronica, our server, was very attentive from drinks to the complimentary dessert. She graciously saw to our large groups needs, especially our drinks. Although I had just come from a massage and I told myself I wouldn’t drink, I still got a peartini. At least I followed it up with 5 glasses of water. The peartini was light, refreshing, bubbly, sweet- all the prefect elements in a brunch beverage.

My last brunch outting was pretty bad, especially my Eggs Benedict. Since I order Benny 95% of the time and I had such a bad one last time, I ordered it again at Ashmont Grill. The eggs benedict ($12)

The kitchen sent out a complimentary dessert of sticky toffee pudding. I’m sure it was great but I passed mine up since I had already outdone myself with the eggs benedict. Looked sooo good.

I’d like to clarify that my photos are extra crappy since it was acting up that day. Some days are good and I get great photos. Other days are like this. It was having one of those days when it was really struggling. So much so that when we took the group photo it actually smoked a bit. Occasionally, the camera will send up a puff a smoke when the flash is used. So when I heard ‘did that camera just smoke?!’ I knew mine had just gone off. < awkward turtle >

Sel De La Terre with Boston Brunchers

Two weeks ago I got together with a handful of people who participate in the Boston Brunchers group. The website is organized by Renee, who picks various places for us ‘foodies’ to brunch. I previously attended brunch at Dorado Tacos and had a great time so jumped at RSVP-ing to this brunch. Why not attend a brunch this month?

One of the April brunches was going to be held at Sel De La Terre. There are several locations in and around Boston. I hoped on the train and headed down to the Long Wharf. Of course it was raining, and I didn’t take my umbrella so I arrived looking like a wet dog. Awesome.

The $30 prefix brunch started at 11. Well, the restaurant opens then but they were not ready for us right away so we saddled up to the bar. I ordered a bloody mary. I hate to say but I have high standards for bloody marys and this didn’t live up to it. It had may too much horseradish. It would have been more enjoyable with shrimp than with vodka. Coco, fellow food blogger, and I asked for lemon wedges, which helped cut the taste a bit.

After drinks at the bar, the 11 of us were seated at a large table. We had a few options for our first course, entree and dessert. I picked a salad with a warmed slice of goat cheese, crab cake eggs Benedict, and banana cake.

I loved the salad starter. The salad was lightly, evenly dressed with a balsamic vinegrate. The goat cheese was warm, melty, and salty. The combination of textures, temperatures, and flavors went so well together.

The crab cake eggs benedict was less than spectacular. The egg was perfectly poached. The quality and size of the egg were impressive. The crab cake was a pretty standard, being that I thought it was a little bready. The biggest disappointment was related to my english muffin. Mine was really burnt. It would have been nice to have been able to have eaten it after it soaked up some of that amazing hollandaise sauce. (I didn’t ask for a new english muffin only because the service was so spotty until then that I figured I would have gotten a new one on my 27th birthday… next January)

The dessert course was delightful. The cake was accompanied with a caramel
sauce and a little price of popcorn. The banana flavor really shown through the cake. The texture was light and airy. I would love a whole sheet cake of that. Yes, please.

Aside from the burned english muffin, the meal was really good. Unfortunately, our service was awful. It took a long time, about 30 minutes, to be initially seated. Taking our order took a long time as well, plus each course took time to bring out. For SDLT, I thought this was strange since I’ve have wonderfully attentive lunches and dinners at both locations in Boston. Additionally, we are a group of people who frequent places for brunch, a group of people who often blog about our dining experiences. So why not treat us properly and get some nice write ups? Ah maybe it was just an off day, the rain gets to us all.

PS- I just wrote this entire blog post on my iPhone while watching Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball on HBO. Yeah, be impressed. (I’ll insert links later)