Brunch at Amuse is an Awesome Thing

Amuse is serving up a wonderful brunch. My current favorite dish is the Pork Chop Biscuit with Fried Eggs and Mushroom Gravy. Such a delight for the taste buds.

And don't forget to also see the Kehinde Wiley exhibit, A New Republic, before it leaves town. Big, bold, bright, beautiful!

We in RVA are so lucky to have VMFA!

Breakfast Porn from WPA

What is better than roaming around Church Hill on a cloudy morning taking photos and winding up at WPA Bakery for an enormous egg biscuit and coffee?

Was it good for you, too?

Family Meal

The fried chicken and biscuit at Family Meal was delicious.

The kitchen coordination, which could be observed from our table, left a lot to be desired. Orders were forgotten and no one seemed to be in charge. From my vantage point it was definitely not the wait staff lacking execution skills. The hope is for all of the hiccups to be remedied in the near future so the food can shine.

Brunch at Secco

Start with a glass of Pederzano Lambrusco Secco, a dry sparkling red wine from Italy. Enjoy this festive bubbly while waiting for your brunch order.

Rave over the Biscuit Sandwich - a substantial biscuit with grilled pork belly and scrambled egg (make mine without the cheddar cheese).

A wonderful brunch option. Not enormous, but so satisfying. The biscuit held up to the meat and egg and did not crumble apart. I loved the pork belly. Fairly lean and very tasty.

Rave even more about the crispy potatoes. I really like potatoes and have had lots of good ones in RVA. These were outstanding. Truly crispy on the outside; soft and potato-ey on the inside. Served with a mustard/mayo sauce that sealed the deal on the spuds. If your brunch choice does not include these potatoes, order them as a side.

Choose an Armandiere Malbec from Cahors to imbibe with the biscuit.

Thank you Secco for a lovely and delicious brunch outing.

Dressed and Pressed Biscuit at South of the James

The South of the James Market may have gone into winter mode, but a fair number of vendors are carrying the torch. The Dressed and Pressed food truck offers biscuits.

We tried the sausage and egg version. The biscuit was a little crumbly, but good. I was surprised to see link sausage which was tasty. The best part was the very flavorful egg. A generous size for $4. I also treated myself to an Alchemy mocha. Yummy!

Slap Yo Mama Silly Chicken Biscuit at Saison Market

Saison Market serves up the definitive breakfast (and now also for lunch) biscuit.

Slap yo mama silly good!

Early Bird Biscuit Company Pictorial

A couple of Saturdays ago we headed for the Early Bird Biscuit Co. to try out the newest sensation in town. The biscuit gods favored us since there wasn't a line out the door when we arrived. The place is teeny-tiny and we now understand the line. Biscuits are made from scratch and specialty biscuits vary daily. We had traditional ham biscuits. I liked the crunchy top; hubby liked the soft middle. The ham was decent, but tough to chew. I would opt for the buttered version with a bit of jam next time. Upon exiting with our precious cargo, a line had formed. The only change I would make is to have these guys do enough business to open on Sunday.

Enjoy a few photos.

Early Bird Entrance

Cute Vintage Touch

Making Biscuits - Notice the square design

Ham Biscuit - Crunchy on top soft in the middle

Early Bird Opens at 7 AM Tues - Sat

Brunch at Pomegranate

I now do a bit of volunteer work on Sundays for the VMFA. Whereas I once praised brunch boites for opening before 11 AM, I now seek out places that remain open after 2 PM. Pomegranate is open until 3 PM. Well done! And most brunch goers had cleared out by the time we arrived.

The first order of business, a '36 Picador cocktail with Espolon tequila, Solerno, and lime juice. A bit more lime than I needed since it hid the taste of the tequila, but probably what most brumchers would want.

For the eats portion I ordered the Quail and Pancakes. The quail purported to be quail confit and then buttermilk fried. I've had duck confit many times and the quail did not seem to have gone through this process; however, I have never had quail confit. It was nicely fried. And the ricotta pancakes with the maple syrup really hit the spot. A perfect pancake to syrup ratio. Not too dry; not drowning.

Hubby took the eclectic path with the Goat Ravioli with ricotta and spinach and a sage butter. When it first arrived he was disappointed in the size. Too small. After the first bite he realized why. The ravioli was so rich that it would have been difficult to eat any more.

We indulged in an irresistible side: a duck fat biscuit. Yummy, although I was surprised that the biscuit did not come with some kind of condiment - jam, jelly, butter, etc.

Brunch was enjoyable. I would consider going again, but I prefer the dinner menu.

Amuse Pictorial

We enjoyed brunch at Amuse last Sunday.

Stronghill and Easter on Parade

Before heading over to Monument Ave and Easter on Parade, we brunched at Stronghill Dining Co on Boulevard.

We were lucky and got one of the last unreserved tables. If I had known what the inside really looked like, I would have visited sooner. I loved the art nouveau design and the loftiness of the place.

A glass of Nobilo Sauvignon Blance began the meal. I was surprised that brunch drink offerings weren't being touted.

My hubby and I shared beignets

Visually, not as puffy as expected, but still very light and hot to the touch - we needed them to sit a spell before consuming. There was a very subtle hint of spice - cinnamon, nutmeg, mace??? Delicious!

Hubby had Biscuits with Sausage Gravy and potatoes

He enjoyed them - a breakfast comfort food. The potatoes had a bit of spicy heat to them. Very good.

I ordered Southern Style Benedict with poached eggs, Smithfield (or country) ham, cornbread, and potatoes

The cornbread was the most unusual, reminding me of a scone made from cornmeal and flavored with cinnamon. I tired of it after a few bites. And next time I need to ask for the eggs to be lightly poached. Mine were cooked well done.

Although, I experienced a couple of misses with my meal, it wasn't the end of the world. Mainly, it was based on my preferences. The wait staff were all bright and sunny, and I look forward to trying dinner.

We then strolled Monument Ave to people-watch, dog-watch, and luxuriate in this gorgeous day.