Text Size:
A|
A|
A
Email
PrintLong waits, high prices and poor service have given brunch a poor reputation. Why pay $12 for a plate of rubbery eggs and a few lukewarm potatoes? While I've eaten my share of bad brunch food, I still love brunch. Sure, I can make an omelet or waffles at home, but somehow, these types of dishes always taste better when someone else makes them for you.
Brunch stands out from other meals because it is about far more than what is on your plate. For me, it has always been the perfect meal to catch up with friends and family, especially over the holidays. Breakfast is too early in the morning, lunch is too short, and dinner -- well, as you can imagine, dinner with me is generally focused on the food rather than the company.
I try to avoid brunch buffets, because when everyone is getting up to get his or her first or second helping, it makes it more difficult to actually sit and talk. Of course, if you have a dozen family members in town and you absolutely have to get out of the house, a brunch buffet may be your best option.
The following restaurants serve excellent food in unique, pleasant atmospheres. Although they can be crowded, you won't feel rushed or ignored as you linger over a second cup of coffee, your last piece of toast or the all-too-tempting dessert menu.
COCA CAFE
This spacious Lawrenceville cafe is so delicious, so charming and so relaxing that I was tempted to leave it out of this article for fear that it will grow so popular that I will no longer be able to get a seat. Breakfast is served every day, and the menu is almost identical to the Sunday brunch.
If you do have to wait, either browse the ever-changing array of vases, pictures and other works by local artists that decorate the walls (most are for sale) or leave your cell phone number and take a stroll down Butler Street to check out the new boutiques and apartments that have made Lawrenceville so trendy.
The egg dishes are unusual without getting too crazy. The Southwest Breakfast Wrap ($6.50) combines perfectly cooked, fluffy scrambled eggs with roasted peppers, spinach, caramelized onions and Muenster cheese. The Smoked salmon omelet ($7) substitutes for the classic New York Deli breakfast with large strips of smoked salmon and plenty of dill.
For many people, brunch gives rise to an eternal dilemma -- sweet or savory? Herbed Goat Cheese French Toast ($7.50) is the perfect compromise. Thick slices of rich, eggy French toast are stuffed with herby, tangy goat cheese that is warm all the way through. Topped with sliced strawberries and a little maple syrup, this dish may be the most satisfying yet indulgent breakfast I've ever tried.
3811 Butler St., Lawrenceville; 412-621-3171; www.cocacafe.net. Tuesday-Friday 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday brunch 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Nonsmoking.
POINT BRUGGE CAFE
Point Breeze residents are clearly already fans of this late-morning brunch. On a recent Sunday, people began to line up by 10:45, and by 11:20 the dining room was full of couples, families and groups of friends. Although the front and back of the restaurant are full of small wooden tables that can get a little crowded, I would brave much worse for such fantastic food and warm, attentive service.
Liege waffles ($10) were chewy and dense, crisp at the edges with the penetrating flavor of brown sugar. The steak and eggs ($12) were perfectly cooked and included a portion of crispy, salty frites with basil mayonnaise. Eggs Benedict is rarely as satisfying as I imagine it to be. Whether it's due to poor hollandaise sauce or rubbery eggs, I had almost given up on this brunch classic. But Point Brugge's Eggs Benedict with Chesapeake Bay crab cakes ($13) restored my faith in the dish.
Best of all was Scrambled Eggs and Chevre Cheese in Puff Pastry ($12). This still life of green, yellow and white is as attractive as it is delicious. The richness of the pastry is balanced by a salad of baby spinach, salty-sweet with a bacon vinaigrette. In additional to ordinary sides like bacon ($4), Point Brugge offers a creamy potato strudel ($4) or sweet polenta topped with figs, walnuts and maple syrup ($3.50).
401 Hastings St., Point Breeze; 412-441-3334; www.pointbrugge.com. Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (brunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m.). Nonsmoking.
CREPES PARISIENNES
What better way to enjoy a leisurely brunch than to channel a bit of La France? The Oakland location is spare, but attractive, with exposed brick offset by calming blue walls. An open kitchen bustles at one end of the room, where the efficient staff turn out sweet and savory crepes.
For an authentically French breakfast, start out with a bowl of cafe au lait, coffee with steamed milk. Crepes Parisiennes also serves wonderful hot chocolate, made by steaming milk with disks of dark chocolate, and an impressive variety of herbal, black, green and white teas.
A Mushroom and Cheese Crepe ($7) with garlic olive oil was warm and satisfying, and I was pleased to see that the crepe was not overburdened by filling. If you're in the mood for something sweet, I especially recommend the Black Forest Crepe ($6) filled with rich dark chocolate and a tart sauce that tastes simply and perfectly of raspberries.
207 South Craig St., Oakland; 412-683-1912. Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nonsmoking.
732 Filbert St., Shadyside; 412-683-2333. Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nonsmoking.
CAFE TAZZA D'ORO
Bring your morning paper or a good book, because once you've sat down at one of the small round tables, you're going to want to wile away your morning over a cup of truly fantastic coffee.
With coffee and espresso beans roasted by the respected Batdorf and Bronson, milk from the award-winning Turner Dairy, and some of the best-trained baristas I've ever seen, Cafe Tazza D'oro is the perfect choice if you're picky about your morning cappuccino.
This cozy Italian-style cafe in Highland Park serves a minimal amount of food during the week, but staff have little trouble adjusting to their role as breakfast cooks each Sunday morning. I loved the wrap filled with bacon, tomato, scallions, cheddar and eggs ($7.95) as well as one filled with capicola, hot peppers, asiago cheese and eggs ($7.95).
1125 N. Highland Ave., Highland Park; 412-362-3676; www.tazzadoro.net. Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday 7 a.m.-11 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m.-9 p.m. (brunch 9 a.m.-1 p.m.). Nonsmoking.
CAFE RICHARD
Though this petite cafe can get a little crowded, generous portions, low prices and sophisticated offerings will help you work up the strength to brave the lines at PennMac or Wholey's.
Cafe Richard serves classic breakfast foods from buttery scones ($1.85) to bowls of Irish steel-cut oatmeal ($3.99). The omelet bar may make the room a little smoky on winter days, but that didn't stop me from appreciating the contrast between an omelet's lightly browned crust and the fluffy interior, rich with cheese and ham ($4.99).
Other popular choices include French toast with strawberry sauce and maple syrup ($5.50) or individually baked quiche ($4.00), but my new favorite is the croissant with ham and gruyere ($4.50), which makes me think of summer picnics in the Jardin du Luxembourg, even as a cold wind whistles outside.
2103 Penn Ave., Strip District; 412-281-4670. Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday (Brunch 8 a.m.-11:30 a.m.) - 4 p.m. Nonsmoking.
OH YEAH ICE CREAM & COFFEE CO.
Oh Yeah certainly isn't the first place to focus on ice cream and espresso drinks, but the idea of "ice cream for breakfast" is a bit more innovative. Oh Yeah coffee and espresso are made from a custom blend of La Prima Coffee that is also available by the pound. The ice cream is provided by local producer Dave and Andy's as well as Ohio's Woo City. Oh Yeah custom blends ice cream with more than 100 mix-ins, ranging from the ordinary selection of cookies and candies to ingredients such as hemp protein, dried bananas, avocado and fresh ginger.
Try a combination like "From Boston With Love" ($6.75), which includes extreme vanilla ice cream, Cracklin Oat Bran, cinnamon and coconut. Or, if you're feeling especially adventurous, you might enjoy a "Sushi Cone" ($6.75) of Freedom of Peach ice cream, vanilla honey woo fu (vegan ice cream made from tofu), smoked salmon and fresh ginger, seaweed and a waffle cone.
In case you're in the mood for more typical breakfast offerings, Oh Yeah also serves two kinds of waffles -- one vegan, one regular -- an assortment of granola and a wide variety of breakfast cereals.
Owner Ethan "Rooster" Clay wouldn't offer the ice cream if he didn't think it was a healthy breakfast. Woo City varieties are an especially good choice for the morning, as they are made from "organic Amish cream from grass-fed cows," said Clay. Woo City ice cream is also made using unrefined sugars, and the milk hasn't been fully pasteurized, so the ice cream has higher levels of vitamins and nutrients.
232 S. Highland Ave., Shadyside; 412-253-0955; www.customswirl.com. Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 7 a.m.-2 a.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Nonsmoking.
Subscribe and save
Report news to the PG
Get Email headlines
Place a Classified Ad
Subscribe to RSS feeds
Place a Celebrations Ad
Pittsburgh Mom
Post your pictures
Games
Coupons
Shop the PG store