huckleberry

santa monica, ca

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extremely popular brunch spot in santa monica. there's always a line, quite literally out the door. so no surprise that the food is great. pictured is my fried egg sandwich with bacon, gruyère, arugula and aioli on country bread. a little messy when the yolk breaks, but so delicious with really fresh ingredients. and save room for dessert - the baked goods are out of this world. my favorite is the blueberry cornmeal cake. cindy raved about their caramel walnut bread pudding. there's also maple bacon biscuits ... one thing to remember - order your baked goods before you get to the register. otherwise you'll throw off the whole ordering system, delay the line even further, and annoy some impatient brunchers.

bubby's

new york, ny

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solid spot for brunch in tribeca. biscuits are good when fresh out of the oven. cheesy grits are nice and cheesy. there's a tantalizing menu of pies that i have not tried yet. jenny and i came here the morning after we arrived back from paris. bubby's is always packed, but what was interesting about this visit is that i was so happy to be at an american brunch. lots of food, cheerful friendly waitstaff, no cigarette smoke, and a boisterous crowd talking and laughing. paris was wonderful, of course, but it was nice to be home.

primitivo

venice, ca

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bottomless mimosas and sangria always sounds like a great idea for brunch, but i never drink enough to make it worth it. and they usually use low quality alcohol, which makes business sense, but makes it even harder to drink enough to make it worth it. otherwise, primitivo was okay for brunch. my eggs were a little on the bland side, but it's probably my fault for ordering a poached egg on grits. there were some better things on the menu that i might try next time.

sauce on hampton

venice, ca

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my blog is turning into "karendipity drives, parks, then eats!" welcome to los angeles. to continue on that trend, i picked up derek from LAX very early one saturday morning. we decided to go find that amazing all-day free parking spot in venice that i had discovered the prior weekend. once parked, we had to find brunch within walking distance. not an easy feat because everything was still closed. we searched yelp on our phones and found sauce on hampton, which was quite a hike away. once there, we sat outside, which was nice. food was okay. i liked that it was healthy, but it wasn't particularly interesting.

3 square cafe

venice, ca

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parking in venice is generally a nightmare. turns out, though, if you have brunch with cindy c and g at 9 am, there's plenty of parking. found an amazing spot next to a school where i could leave my car all day without paying anything! oh, and about the restaurant - it's german californian cuisine, whatever that means. they have a pretzel roll that cindy likes. my breakfast was okay, but the giant asparagus was truly giant and overwhelmed the rest of the plate.

the restaurant @ the getty center

los angeles, ca

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another new favorite in los angeles. i love love love the getty center. admission is free, although parking will cost you $10. from the parking structure, you'll take a tram ride up the mountain with a view of the traffic on the 405 (as you congratulate yourself for taking sepulveda instead). first stop - hit the restaurant. try to show up early, otherwise you'll need reservations. get the incredible boullabaisse. mussels, clams, shrimp, chorizo, oranges, and fried onion - all in a rich velvety chipotle saffron cream sauce. the oranges might seem weird, but it totally works. you'll want extra bread because you (and your dining companions) will want to soak up every last drop of sauce. the restaurant's dining room is usually beautifully sunlit, but even on a cloudy day you'll get a gorgeous view of the clouds floating above the mountains (and mansions).

next - walk off your meal by exploring the grounds. the winding path through the garden is nice (even better if your companion is jenny, who can explain the artistic purpose of the different rock formations). the art collection is okay - get the audio guide (or fly jenny in from nyc) if you want to learn more about the artwork. but the best part of the getty is the architecture, particularly when it's sunny and the light reflects off the bright white buildings. walking in and up and around the buildings, you'll stumble across great spaces, hidden fountains, and many scenic vantage points. derek and i bring a blanket and some magazines - we'll sit outside on the hill overlooking the garden for hours. some people picnic. kids roll around on the grass. derek inevitably naps. a perfect LA destination.

eveleigh

los angeles, ca

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the next morning, cindy c took us to brunch at eveleigh. beautiful outdoor patio with a nice large overhead fan to keep diners cool in the summer. menu includes comfort food breakfast favorites but with a unique twist (my eggs benedict came with soft scrambled eggs and hot smoked ocean trout). add a lengthy and varied list of refreshing brunch cocktails (i had the bitter admiral - gin, Campari, grapefruit juice, poured over ice with a lemon twist). an ideal combination for a relaxing and enjoyable weekend brunch. did i mention the truffled fries? perfection.

bread winners

dallas, tx

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derek and i were in dallas for two days to celebrate c+j's wedding. took the opportunity to see some friends who were nearby - eric, tony, and kate. tony and kate recommended bread winners for sunday brunch and eric graciously headed there early to wait for a table. clearly a very popular spot - there was a crowd waiting outside and an intercom system announcing seatings.

man, i love eating in texas. i didn't take a picture of everything we ordered but trust me, everything was texas-sized. to start, the table shared a giant cinnamon roll and a sticky caramel pecan roll. for my entree, i ordered biscuits and gravy with a side of sausages. heavy, but good. pictured is derek's chicken fried steak topped with sausage gravy. the brunch cocktails were a little too sweet for my tastes (i ordered the frozen cherry limeade), but the food was excellent.

hobee's

palo alto, ca

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hobee's is a chain of restaurants in the bay area. looks like a shari's-type family restaurant and we thought it would be a good place for brunch. clearly they are famous for their blueberry coffee cake - we saw everyone order the blueberry coffee cake and they even sell it at the front desk. breaking one of our cardinal rules (order what everyone else is ordering), we got the peach walnut coffee cake (pictured). it was okay - a little dry, very light, but could have used more peaches.

for our entrees, we each ordered the hash browns with various toppings. mine was topped with cheese, mushrooms, and onions. derek's was topped with chicken apple sausage, green peppers, tomato-basil sauce, and cheese. we were really hoping for the shredded-style hash browns like the ones they serve at joanie's. no such luck, they ended up being small wedges of potatoes. not a fan. it seemed like a popular spot, but derek and i really should know better than to stray from our favorite brunch spot, joanie's.

cock-a-doodle cafe

oakland, ca

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i haven't lived in the bay area for very long so all i know about oakland is what i see on the local news and it usually involves protestors and/or violence. i had to take my exam in oakland so i was stuck there for a few days. turns out, there's this very charming and hipster-ish hood called "old oakland" near downtown. that's where i found cock-a-doodle cafe.

the cafe was nearly empty at 11 am on a wednesday, it was just me and one other person who was clearly studying for the same exam. service was very friendly and it was a perfect spot for breakfast. excellent iced tea, served with giant wedges of lemon. the chicken-apple scramble was amazing - chicken-apple sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella, spinach, grilled onions, and roasted pepper. the biscuit was a little dry, but their homemade blueberry jam covered any and all imperfections. delicious.

elite cafe

san francisco, ca

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to continue the theme of comfort food, derek and i had brunch at one of tina's favorite places, the elite cafe. there's a little bit of a wait on sunday afternoons, but service is speedy once you get a seat. atmosphere is cozy, very appropriate for brunch. tina recommended the beef hash, which derek ordered and enjoyed.

but i had to go with the alabama scramble - scrambled eggs and minced bacon with baked mashed potatoes, biscuits, and gravy. definitely delicious and comforting, but could have used more gravy on the biscuits. we ordered the cinnamon sugar doughnut holes (i have a hard time passing up doughnuts on a menu), but they were unremarkable. next time, we'll just get more biscuits - they're amazing - buttery and flaky.

richard walker's pancake house

san diego, ca

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one of the benefits of having friends scattered across the globe is that there's always someone willing to show us great restaurants wherever we go. san diegan monica suggested that we meet her for brunch at richard walker's pancake house. there was already a line outside at 11 am on a sunday. a good sign. we ended up waiting only about 10-15 minutes before getting seated.

the menu has a variety of pancakes - much like ihop, only so much better. monica ordered the apple pancake, which appeared to be an apple pie in the form of a single giant pancake. i decided to order the potato latkes (pictured) - i haven't had these since moving out of manhattan a year ago. served with apple sauce, the latkes were delicious. derek had normal-sized pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. everything was good, but i think monica's massive apple pancake was the clear winner.

crepevine

palo alto, ca

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the crepevine is popular with stanford kids, or who i assume are stanford kids. they look young and unemployed. my guess is its because the prices are reasonable, the portions are large, there are plenty of seats, and they let you sit wherever you want for however long you want. derek and i have been here a few times. i don't like sitting inside because during the summer, there's usually flies. outside, for some reason, the flies don't bother me that much. however, i much prefer ordering takeout and eating my food in the comfort of my own insectless living room.

crepevine generally serves diner food - for brunch that means pancakes, waffles, eggs, etc. obviously, they also have crepes which are premade, then heated and filled when you order. on our first visit, i ordered blueberry pancakes, which were good, but nothing compared to the magical blueberry pancakes at clinton st. baking co. in manhattan. derek's corned beef hash, however, was excellent - cheesy and meaty with crunchy bits of fried potatoes. solid brunch fare.

alice's restaurant

woodside, ca

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this may be one of the few restaurant raves where i will probably not be going back. at least not without some dramamine. as i mentioned in the la toque post, we got a new car on the way to napa. in fact, we are now leasing a 2011 bmw m3. apparently this car loves to go fast, especially on winding roads. the roads in the hills just northwest of palo alto are quiet and twisty - the perfect combination to test the limits of sports cars, motorcycles, and your inner ear equilibrium. derek had taken the car on these roads (alone) a few times and saw a cool restaurant he wanted to take me to.

alice's restaurant is located at the crossroads between two highways in these hills and it's clearly a biker hangout. the parking lot in front of the restaurant is filled with huge motorcycles and a handful of expensive sports cars. there's even a booth advertising the services of attorneys specializing in representing bikers (??). inside, the atmosphere is perfectly casual and cool. the burgers are amazing - the meaty and juicy patties are the highlight here. i ordered an omelette - delicious, served with excellent hash browns and a biscuit. the only problem is that i was woozy all day from the trek. sigh.

la silhouette

new york, ny

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it is always a treat to eat with y&a. they know good food and they know good restaurants. and in the case of la silhouette, they also know the owners. which translates into excellent and attentive service (and free freshly baked cookies!) one of the great things about nyc is that there are always new restaurants popping up everywhere and this one happened to pop up right in their hood. convenient. convivial. what's not to love?

i joined y&a for brunch, for which silhouette has an entire section devoted to "hangover sandwiches." i made the dumb decision of ordering a more healthy option (eggs benedict with spinach and salmon, sauce on the side) which was decent, but nothing compared to y's "hot duck" (hot dog with duck sausage - get it?) or a's "short rib brisket burger queen" which were both amazing. even baby n's scrambled eggs (more like scrambled butter) and fries was a better choice. i've learned my lesson for next time.

cafe brioche

palo alto, ca

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derek and i were still in the process of getting adjusted to normal restaurant schedules. in nyc, restaurants are usually open for brunch until 4 pm. in palo alto, not so much. we were attempting to go to joanie's (mmm, hash browns), but it was closing just as we got there. we managed to sneak into cafe brioche next door just before they flipped their sign to closed.

cafe brioche is no joanie's. egg scramble was great, loved the quality of the veggies in it, but the home fries were blah. if they could get their hash browns on par with joanie's, then i would consider heading here next time the wait at joanie's is ridiculous. but until then, derek and i just need to get out of the apartment earlier.

joanie's cafe

palo alto, ca

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new favorite brunch spot. in fact, it's our new sunday tradition. joanie's is located on california avenue, another main street in palo alto. on sunday's, is the site of a massive farmer's market. sunday morning - wake up, head to california ave, put our names down on the clipboard at joanie's (it can be up to a half hour wait), and walk around the farmer's market to buy some fruit and veggies. they have pomelo that's the size of your head for a $1 each (smaller ones would cost you $5 in manhattan).

we try not to snack on too many of the fruit samples at the market, to save room for joanie's fantastic breakfast plates. pictured is derek's breakfast burrito and the amazing hash browns. perfectly crispy and crunchy, not too greasy. the omelettes and other egg dishes at joanie's are also awesome, but they almost seem like accompaniments to the main course of hash browns.

maialino

gramercy, nyc

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once again, derek and i simply walked out of our apartment and wandered around, waiting for inspiration to hit. as we neared gramercy park, i saw maialino, which i had been wanting to try since it first opened in fall 2009. i doubted that we could get a table, but wanted to see how long the wait was. to our surprise, we were seated immediately. score. the restaurant is absolutely beautiful. we sat in the bar area (they only make reservations in the dining room, so that's why we were seated so quickly). but this is no ordinary bar area. huge rustic-style tables for two, spaced far apart. the afternoon sun was streaming in through the huge windows behind the bar. just beautiful, i could have sat there for hours. eating.

it's a homey-but-upscale italian restaurant. (officially, a "roman-style trattoria," whatever that means). the best cup of latte i have ever had in a restaurant. it somehow strikes the ideal balance between strong, rich coffee and sweet, creamy lightness. the moist olive oil muffin - which was both fruity and savory - was a perfect companion to the latte. i highly recommend just stopping by, sitting at the bar, and enjoying a latte with the budino di olio d'oliva. heaven for about $6. pictured is the pasta, sausage, and other brunch dishes, which were also very good. but the muffin and coffee were just out of this world.

friedman's lunch

chelsea, nyc

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it's been so long since i took this picture of pancakes (auto-dated october 31) that it first took me about 10 minutes of searching through my old emails to determine what city i was in that day and then where i might have eaten pancakes. i need to start carrying around a notebook. or i need to avoid having a backlog of photos waiting to be posted. anyway, now i remember the restaurant - friedman's lunch in chelsea market.

however, i can't remember why derek and i dared to wander through chelsea market on halloween. the market was incredibly crowded -- full of trick-or-treaters and people on stilts. it probably had something to do with getting chocolate-covered cheerios from jacques torres for my niece (who refused to eat regular cheerios after eating a few of the chocolate ones -- oops). derek, amazingly enough, remembers that he ordered the fish basket and that it was delicious. i clearly had pancakes and if i remember correctly, i really enjoyed them. i vaguely remember that it seemed like a great place to recommend to my friends. so - there you go.

lure fishbar

soho, nyc

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as i mentioned last october, derek and i had promised to meet up with hana for a meal in the city. she recommended this great brunch spot, lure fishbar, a nautical-themed restaurant in soho. the restaurant takes advantage of its basement location by decorating the place like the downstairs of a yacht. not that i've ever been downstairs in a yacht, but i've seen some in movies.

it was empty when we went, around 11 am on a sunday. my guess is that the usual crowd was still recovering from the night before. the menu, full of classic comfort food, could definitely cure any hangover. for example, i ordered the biscuits with sausage gravy. soft scrambled eggs on the side. the potatoes were carb overkill, but everything else was delicious. derek had a burger, per usual. if i remember correctly, he enjoyed it, but it was quite a few burgers ago ...