Eggs Benedict

Industry Brunch Review- Bokx 109, Newton MA

March 9, 2013

I really truly think Brunch is my favorite meal of the day. Anything goes then. Savory, Sweet. Coffee. Booze. Emphasis on that last one.

So when I was invited to check out Bokx 109‘s new brunch I did a little dance in my chair when I checked my email. I seriously love Bokx 109 (see this post and this post!) because everything there is incredible. I’m not just saying that because I got a free brunch. No, I’m completely serious. Incredible.

We headed over to the Hotel Indigo in Newton, MA, where Bokx 109 is located to enjoy our brunch. It was a nice snowy day but this place is beautiful in the summer. I would love to sit by the pool and enjoy a cocktail. Is it summer yet?

Shortly after we were seated a plate of Coffee and Doughnuts were brought over. These were homemade beignet doughnuts served with coffee pot de creme. The 6 doughnuts were served warm with the freshly sprinkled powdered sugar melting over the top of them. The coffee pot de creme was the prefect sauce to serve for the doughnuts to be dipped into. I would have liked for a spoon to have been paired with this dish to be able to eat all of the pot de creme as well as easily eat the chocolate garnish in there.

And then the best thing ever happened… the Bloody Mary cart arrived to our table.

They bring the cart over to bring the This week the Bloody Mary’s were paired with pepperoncinis, olives, pickles, celery, string cheese sticks, and mini Slim Jim’s. Slim Jim’s! I told out waiter that I didn’t like olives so he omitted that from my Bloody Mary.

I could have had 3 of these. I behaved though and only had 1 Bloody Mary.

I was like a giddy school girl telling our waiter how much I love the brunch already and how I love going to Bokx 109. I was also telling him that The Smoke Show special, that I had with dinner previously, was one of was most memorable things I’ve had in very long time. And ta-da! The General Manager brought out an order of the Pear and Mascarpone Sacchetti ($12) for each of us. Price finally got to see what I have been talking about with it’s handmade delicate, sweet sacchettis served with a chive fondue.

Not to already be out done, our entrees then arrived. Price ordered The Royalty ($12).The Belgian Waffle with Crown Royal Maple infused syrup dish was also served with a caramelized banana. The Belgian Waffle was a sweet, airy waffle which was then topped with whipped cream and chocolate balls. The chocolate balls would melt in your mouth as you ate your waffle. Price lamented that while a half of a banana was the perfect amount h wished he had a whole one because it was so good. The banana was caramelized and had a crunchy sugary layer, similar to a creme brule. All of that was topped with the strawberry compound and the boozy maple syrup that really had a kick!

You can get a basic waffle for $10 at the local dinner or you can get a The Royalty for $12. It’s an obvious choice for me with its layers of flavor and boozy maple syrup.

I debated ordered which Eggs Benny dish to order and ‘settled’ on the Green Eggs and Ham Eggs Benedict Entree ($10). Oh dear lord. This was served with local Prosciutto, grilled slices of Ciabatta, basil oil, sous vide eggs, and a bearnaise sauce. Between the 2 eggs were thick cut sliced potatoes that, like the ciabatta, served as a great vehicle to scoop up the runny egg yolk and bearnaise sauce. Don’t even get me started on those eggs. I had never had sous vide eggs before so this was a fun change-up from the typical poached eggs. There was a moment of silence after I broke open each egg as I watched the bright yellow yolk come running out. True Bliss.

On our way out we talked with Chef Stephen Coe and thanked him for the incredible brunch we had. We told him how all of the food was amazing and how we, as usual, had fantastic service as well. I told him that the only thing I would change to make brunch better was to serve a stronger serrated knife to make cutting the grilled ciabatta easy. You know, to be able to get the food into your mouth faster…

Price and I are constantly talking about the next time we are going back to brunch. The service and quality of food is always topnotch. Plus the prices for the entrees are very reasonable for the care put involved in each dish.

I’ll be back for their Bellini Cart next!

**While I received this complimentary brunch from Bokx 109, these options are entirely all my own. Plus I did tip well, I’m not an animal!**

Crab Cake Eggs Benedict @ Christie’s, Newport RI

August 17, 2012

When Price and I were wandering around Newport we spotted a pretty nonchalant sign for brunch but there was something that caught my attention on it. Their Bacon Bloody Mary. Yuu had me at bacon. So we hop, skipped, and jumped into Christie’s for brunch. Obviously I got Eggs Benedict! I can’t pass up an opportunity to enjoy it! And enjoy it I did, just like the rest of our meal!

Bacon Bloody Mary – so completely bacony. I love bloody mary’s so I love trying different kinds. Our awesome waitress told us that they make their own bacon infused vodka. I like their dedication to making the best- like making a bacon salt mixture to use on the rim on the glass. As a bloody mary lover I really liked this because it was a great balance of tomato, vodka, and seasonings. However, I don’t like smokey bacon and this was made with a smokey bacon so I didn’t love it. ($10)

Tomato Bruchetta – Such a great starter. Simple, fresh, flavorful. The tomato bruchetta was fresh and lightly dressed so the tomatoes were really on show instead of being overpowered with garlic, oil, and S&P. The mozzarella was milky and very soft. The greens on top was a nice change from the typical basil. ($4)

Christie’s Burger- Price had the burger and really enjoyed it. It stood tall on a cutting board with a burger, lettuce, tomato, and a tempura onion ring. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare. The fries that accompanied the burger reminded me of fries that I used to get at the beach growing up. The reminded me of summer. ($12)

Crab Cakes and Poached Eggs– This is such a great version of Eggs Benedict with it’s large crab cakes, poached eggs, and a tomato hollandaise sauce. The crab cake base was very good with tender, moist crab cakes that were not stuffed with filled. The crab cake was full of crab and tender vegetables like red pepper. The crab cake was seasoned well that it was good alone. I would have preferred for a bit more larger pieces of crab- maybe this was just mixed too much? The eggs were oozey and delightful. The tomato hollandaise sauce was like a typical hollandaise sauce but with a punch of extra flavor. The slight tint from the tomato made the sauce more orange than yellow, which went to well with the green from the herbs in the sauce. The biggest disappointment was the hash-browns. They were so crispy but under-salted so very bland. ($12)

The service here was fantastic from the moment we walked in. Our waitress was kind, informative, and attentive. The place was pretty quiet which is disappointing since we had great food, drink, and service so I hope that people take a step off the street to get into Christie’s. Enjoy the deck and have fun!

Rating

Crab cake– 34 pts

Poached Egg– 25 pts

Hollandaise Sauce– 25 pts

Hash-brown and Greens– 6 points

Total: 90/100

Christie’s

351 Thames Street

Newport, Rhode Island 02840

401-846-8018

Filet Mignon Eggs Benedict @ Cafe Mirage, Port Chester NY

June 20, 2012

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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Hash Benedict @ Deluxe Station Diner, Newton MA

May 5, 2012

Recently, Price and I went to Deluxe Station Dinner in Newton, MA for an early morning weekend breakfast. We had been to their sister restaurant, Deluxe Town Diner, in Watertown, MA more times than we can remember. And we would always pass by Deluxe Station as we took the train everyday so we finally made plans to stop in one day for breakfast.

The diner is located at the Newton Centre T stop on the D-line (Green Line). The building is charming inside and out. The diner is located inside the old train station. It is filled with fun accents and interesting artwork.

We settled into a booth together as a friendly waitress gave us some menus. We had checked out the breakfast menu before going so we knew what we were getting but it was nice to take a peak again. We enjoyed some coffee before placing our orders. Price ordered the Deluxe Colossal Hungry Person Special and I ordered the Hash Benedict, natch.

Hash Benedict – Two Poached Eggs and Homemade Corned Beef Hash over English Muffin with Hollandaise Sauce and Homefries or Salad… $12.50

My love of Eggs Benedict was satisfied during our visit. The large plate it barely visible with the combination of Hash Benedict and home fries piled high. The eggs are layered with English Muffin, Corned Beef, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. They use the hearty English Muffins from Wolferman’s so the stand up well to the flavors stacked up high on there. I was so excited for this when it was placed down in front of me. I was eager to dive right in.

I loved the combination of each bite. The Hollandaise was very good as it was light, lemony, and very buttery. The color is always so inviting. The Hollandaise was a little lumpy so it was a bit disappointing.

The corned beef hash was flavorful, tender, and piled high. I would have prefered it to have been on the griddle a bit longer as I love crunchy edges on corned beef.

The eggs were cooked perfectly. The poached eggs were neatly trimmed, the whites were set, and the yolk was warm and runny. Once you pierce the egg the yolk cascades down the corned beef and onto the English Muffin.

A generious portion of home fries were plated along side the eggs benedict. The home fries are simple without adornment with veggies (onions, peppers), but are seasoned well with are fresh herbs.

I highly suggest visiting the Deluxe Station Diner when you crave a great breakfast. If you love corned beef hash or eggs benny as much as I do then you should really order this. You might want to take a nap afterwards but it will be worth it. 🙂

Rating

English muffin– 20 pts

Corned Beef Hash– 20 pts

Poached Egg– 25 pts

Hollandaise Sauce– 15 pts

Side– 9 points

Total: 89/100

Deluxe Station Diner

70 Union Street

Newton, MA 02459

617. 244.2550

@dluxstation

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The Jack Benny @ Doo Wop Diner, Malden MA

March 30, 2012

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

February 19, 2012

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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Avenue One with Boston Brunchers

July 10, 2011

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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Ashmont Grill with Boston Brunchers

June 19, 2011

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

May 7, 2011

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)