Brunch Bunch

I digress: A short film with our hosts -- unrelated to today's brunch, but v. nice.










(photo by Dan)


(photo by Dan)



Anna and Mike hosted the most charming all-day New Year's Day "brunch" I've ever attended. Seriously. Well, it was also the only all-day brunch to which I've yet been invited, but it was better than I could have imagined -- and I do tend to get my hopes up when it comes to holiday food.

The day started with fruit and doughnuts and egg dishes (etc.), transitioned to chili around lunchtime, and when we left (late in the afternoon) there were promises of spaghetti and meatballs for evening stragglers.

Oh. My.


(photo by Dan)



Babies, dogs, adults -- everybody seemed to be having a lovely time. I certainly did. The food was plentiful and delicious, and it didn't hurt that their (under renovation construction) apartment is gorgeous, too.


(photo by Dan)


(photo by Dan)

My favorite dish? Mike's Hash Brown Casserole (recipe on Epicurious). I will be making this for myself. It was crunchy outside and creamy inside. I had two enormous helpings, with hot sauce.


 


These fancifully-flavored doughnuts from "Dough" were also a big hit.

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My first bachelorette weekend.

I am leery of bachelorette parties.  They're rumored to be about limos and drinking too much and penis-shaped novelties and people wearing funny hats.  But I was still looking forward to attending my first, Sarah's slightly-British-themed "hen night," a few weekends ago.  Sarah's a reasonable girl and I assumed (correctly) that she had reasonable friends.

First, Jessi and I had pre-party dinner at Cafe Cubana.  This put me in a great mood.  Plantains two ways? Count me in.  Online reviews of this place are surprisingly negative.  I enjoyed good service and good food while eating there.

After dinner, we met up with the bachelorette party down the street at Clover Club, where elegant cocktails are the specialty of the house.  I drank a "Rope and Rose," which was a sour drink made with strawberry and pineapple infused Peruvian pisco, lime and elderflower liqueur.  La-di-da!  But tasty.

After some bar-hopping (we left one place immediately because it was determined there were "too many meatheads" there), we ended up at Floyd, where some played bocce with the bride.  I drank a couple of mediocre bottled ciders, enjoyed more conversation, and called it a (late, for me, at 1:30am) night.   No phallic novelties in sight!  Whew!



The next morning's follow-up bachelorette brunch was just as pleasant, even if we were all a bit tired.  I made a terrific fruit salad infused with limoncello and topped with yogurt and homemade lemon curd.  I also tried this recipe (from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle) for a breakfast casserole of stale bread, asparagus and mushrooms.  The food was tops!

I've come away from this experience with a new respect for hens and their nights -- when done right.  Women with an eye for pleasant locations, good attitudes, winning personalities, and an appreciation of decent food and drink are just plain fun to be around.  In short, you can count me in, future bachelorettes!  As long as your novelties are less-than-phallic, I'm there.


p.s. I was a little jealous when I heard the bachelors had "picklebacks" at their event...but I still wouldn't have switched camps.

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UPDATE: I have suddenly remembered this was NOT my first bachelorette party (though it was my first bachelorette weekend).  I attended a comedy club and then went to Buddha Bar (where I felt woefully under-dressed) with Tara and friends several years ago.   Again, no phalli.  Thank goodness!

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A mildly extreme, quietly screamin' dill pickle pre-breakfast snack:

Here's what you call an impulse buy. We were in a bodega getting cash from an ATM when my well-trained eye spotted these Pringles EXTREME Screamin' Dill Pickle Potato Crips. I didn't just want them. I needed them.

I thought it would make for a good weblog entry to eat these with ice cream, as a tribute to all the pregnant ladies out there (even though I don't know anyone who actually ate pickles and ice cream together while pregnant - or who will admit to it, I suppose).

But I ate too much on Friday, so I'm staying away from the ice cream for at least a few more hours.

Twist my arm, why don't you, and ask me what I ate, already! I think "food diaries" are indulgences too often used for obsessive dieting, but I am proud of the champion eating day I had yesterday.

Brunch at 10:30 am (this meal must be begun before noon. Friends, contrary to what people in New York City seem to think, if you are eating a meal between noon and 9 am it cannot be called "brunch." It's all about the timing. A mimosa and home fries does not a brunch make) marked my first meal at Five Leaves. I devoured all but one piece of toast (it came with four!) in the Big Brekkie -- 2 eggs any style (I chose "over easy"), a whopping portion of home fries (perfect crunch and creaminess, as well as nice rosemary flavor, but could have used more "crunchy bits," or fond), rough-hewn toasted bread, and two sides of my choice (avocado and sautéed mushrooms for me). I also had a bite of Dan's Blat sandwich (Bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato) and a fry. Wowie zowie.

I couldn't eat again for hours (except for a few pickle Pringles I just had to try), but managed to stuff myself with a "small" (not that small) popcorn-and-Milk-Duds at the movie theater around 5:30pm (By the way, people, please throw away your trash at the end of the movie. There's no reason to leave bags and cups and napkins and trash all over the seats and floor. It's just rude). I also ate some peanut M&Ms there.

My movie-going compatriots then insisted on BBQ at Georgia's, where I had tasty and inexpensive BBQ wings and a superlative lemonade, a few bites of perfect, tangy potato salad, and several modest spoonfuls of 'Nilla Wafer and banana pudding (which is a dessert I adore).

Then I went home and felt sick. And now I am eating more pickle-y Pringles before breakfast on a rainy Saturday. I have a potluck to look forward to this evening, where I plan to overeat. I have learned nothing.

Oh! You want to know how the Pringles taste? They are sour, yes, and a bit salty, but there is something missing (coincidentally, that's also how I feel about the photo heading this post). The scent does make my mouth water a bit (I think that's the citric acid), and the flavor leaves my tongue tingling. They're not extremely "extreme," but that smell and afterburn do scream dill pickle. The last few crunches of each chip are almost bland, though. What's that about?

UPDATE: it turns out yesterday was National Pickle Day. Talk about serendipitous snacking!