I know what you’re thinking… brunch at a Mexican restaurant? Banditos Bar & Kitchen (1118 S Charles St) boasts a slogan of “Mexi-Cali Meets Maryland” and the breakfast menu is a mash-up of the normal Mexican restaurant items with a breakfast twist.. an egg of some sort (scrambled, omelette style or over easy). I must admit, it’s different but oh so good.
My friend and I arrived around 11:00 am on a Sunday morning and immediately found a seat at the bar. I’m always nervous going to Federal Hill on a weekend because of scarce parking, but the earlier the better because we found metered parking on the street right outside of the restaurant. All seats were open at the main bar area and there were two large parties in the back room area. We were greeted by an enthusiastic friendly bartender who gave us menus and explained the $15.00 bottomless mimosa option and of course we ordered that. After looking over the menu, I ordered The Bossdilla and my friend ordered the Breakfast Nachos.
The “Bossdilla”
Breakfast Nachos
The Bossdilla is a hybrid for Boss Quesadilla. What makes it boss? It’s packed with meat — steak, sausage, bacon, chorizo… you name it. The steak was very tender, juicy and flavorful. I normally don’t like my steak cut up and put into salads or sandwiches because Chipotle does such a terrible job with their chewy steak, but I definitely liked the way Banditos prepared their steak. I do think they should have just stuffed the egg in the quesadilla instead of serving it on the side. Just put everything in there and make it extra boss. The breakfast nachos gave me food envy. The crispy homemade chips piled high with cheese, salsa, onions and chicken topped with an egg was heaven. Of course we didn’t finish our meals because the portions are so big, which I like. When you visit Banditos make sure it’s on an empty stomach.
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Home Maid is a quaint brunch-only restaurant on Key Highway in the Federal Hill neighborhood. The restaurant was originally located in Towson, but relocated to its current location in the Spring of 2016. The location is only open Friday-Sunday and brunch/breakfast is served all day. I visited on a Friday night for a private D’usse event hosted by Events 4 Good People. Stepping into the restaurant was like stepping into my grandmother’s kitchen. There’s cute chicken patterned wallpaper, family-style photos in gold and silver frames and wooden chairs painted white. The restaurant has about 11 tables that seat four and a high-top bar area. Because it was a private event, the menu that night was limited and there was one server.
My friend and I decided that we would each order one dish and share with each other. I ordered the Blackened Salmon and Shrimp with Creamy Grits and my friend ordered the French Toast and Bacon.
In almost every instance that I eat salmon, it’s smothered in a tasty sauce but in this instance the dry rub salmon exceeded my expectations. It was prepared Cajun-style with a spicy rub and flavorful herbs. The cut was tender and juicy on the inside which let me know that the chef knew his way around the kitchen! The grits were thick and creamy almost the consistency of mashed potatoes and accompanied with the house sauce created a match made in heaven. The French Toast had a sweet caramel flavor with a crunchy outside texture served with whipped cream, fried plantains and sea salt. If you notice on the photo the bacon didn’t come out with the French Toast, we had to ask for it again and it came out about 10 minutes later.
Besides the mishap with the bacon, Home Maid was a pleasant brunch experience. It’s a little pricey though, the French Toast was $18.00 and the Salmon and Grits was $22.00. In my opinion, Home Maid is the perfect place to brunch with family.
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On a Sunday morning hunt for a brunch location, my best friend and I decided to visit Wayward Kitchen and Bar for the second time. The first time we visited my best friend forgot her ID and they wouldn’t serve us Mimosas so we left. This time we were prepared to show proper identification because honestly, what’s brunch without mimosas?
Walking into the restaurant I was impressed by the Bloody Mary Bar, it’s a shame I don’t like them. I’ll take a sip of someone else’s if they order one, but I would never order one myself. We chose to sit at the bar and immediately ordered the bottomless mimosas.
The brunch menu consists of the staple items such as omelettes, salads, sandwiches, wraps, skillets, French toast, waffles and something special that caught my eye…the benny. Benny is short for Eggs Benedict and it’s basically an open-faced eggs benedict sandwich. Wayward has three variations of the Benny. I ordered the Sobo Benny, my best friend ordered the Baltimore Benny and we also ordered a Peaches and Cream Waffle topped with Whiskey Whipped Cream.
Sobo BennyBaltimore Benny
Funny story… the first item to come out was a Bris-Cuit Benny, but we didn’t order that. The server mistakenly put in the Bris-Cuit Benny instead of the Baltimore Benny, so he ordered the correct one and told us to keep the incorrect one free of charge. Sad for my friend because she doesn’t eat brisket but more for meeee.
Bris-Cuit Benny
Having sampled all the Benny options, my favorite was the Sobo Benny. I love scrapple, can’t help it I was raised on it. I never thought cornbread topped with scrapple, poached egg and gravy could be so good. I also enjoyed the whiskey whipped cream served on my waffle. I could really taste the whiskey but it wasn’t overpowering because the peach puree cut the flavor.
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Bistro RX (2901 East Baltimore St) is a cute corner restaurant in the Linwood/Patterson Park neighborhood. It actually sits on the Northeast corner of Patterson Park. My best friend recently moved to that neighborhood and we decided to go there for Sunday brunch. I pulled up to the restaurant around noon and immediately found a space outside, I think it was because this is a neighborhood restaurant that everyone walks to. My best friend called two hours earlier and made same day reservations so when I walked in there was no wait. I was immediately seated at a high-top two-seat table at the front of the restaurant across from the bar. There are two main areas, the front bar area and additional seating for larger parties in the next room.
I was the first to arrive and immediately ordered the bottomless mimosas ($10.00 per person). My waitress was attentive and filled my glass whenever she noticed it was empty. I drank a total of 3 mimosas before my best friend finally arrived. Because I was there for about 45 minutes, I had time to scan the menu and order for the both of us.
Katzenjammer Hash Skillet
Baltimore Benedict
Blueberry Pancakes with Bacon
I ordered the Katzenjammer Hash which included bacon, chorizo, ham and scrapple atop breakfast potatoes topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise. Some restaurants don’t know how to cook a poached egg but this was the perfect poached egg if I do say so myself. Lots of lump crabmeat on the benedict and the pancakes were fresh and fluffy.
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The Owl Bar ( 1 E. Chase Street) in The Belvedere Hotel is one of Mt. Vernon’s precious gems. This hotel has history! Along the entry walls leading to the first floor restaurant are old black and white photos of celebrities that have visited the hotel. What once was a hotel is now luxury condos, two restaurants and banquet and event space. I’ve visited The Belvedere Hotel many times before, mostly when they had a lounge nightclub on the top floor, but that space is now an upscale restaurant with panoramic views overlooking downtown Baltimore.
I recently visited The Owl Bar with three friends on a Sunday afternoon. We got there around noon and we pretty much had the place to ourselves for a while. There were maybe two other tables occupied. We sat at the bar and ordered the bottomless mimosas for $15.00. I’ve said it before, I like sitting at the bar for bottomless because it’s easy for the bartender to see that your glass is empty and fill it back up. I really like the decor at The Owl Bar because it has the historic feel of the original hotel but with a modern twist. With a name like “Owl Bar” of course there is owl memorabilia like stain-glass windows and owl mugs, photos and figurines. They also have a collection of superhero mugs that I notice get requested and used a lot. Cool lighting fixtures and fabric upholstery add to the updated modern appearance.
If mimosas aren’t your think they have a serious Bloody Mary Bar with the fixings.
The brunch menu includes your traditional breakfast items: Omelette, Fritata, Two Eggs Any Style, Eggs Benedict, Quesadilla and Pancakes. The menu also features fresh brick oven pizzas, The Owl Burger, Cobb Salad and Crab Dip. They used to offer the best Chicken and Waffle option in town, but they took it off the menu … I guess it wasn’t a popular item. I’ve had just about everything on the menu except the omelette so I ordered that this go round. I didn’t prefer the omelette because I like my omelette ingredients cooked together. The eggs and the ingredients were cooked separately and the ingredients were put on the egg and it was folded over.
Owl Bar Omelette
My friend ordered my favorite, the Breakfast Quesadilla with bacon, potatoes and cheddar cheese inside and it’s served with salsa and pico de gallo. I’ve ordered it so many times because I like it and I’ve started making my own at home.
My other friends ordered the Owl Burger and the Pancakes with a side of bacon. We also ordered the Cobb Salad to share. The pancakes were light and fluffy. The cut of bacon they use is always great it’s not too thin. The Owl Burger is a house blend of chuck, short rib, brisket and it was tasty! If you like meat, you’ll like this burger. The Cobb Salad is always our go-to shareable item because it features the perfect portion mix of the ingredients and we love the dressing.
Owl Burger, Brioche French Toast and Nawlins SkilletLil’ ol’ me leaving brunch reminiscing about the great mimosas
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If you mention the word “Bottomless” to me I get excited, especially if you are speaking about food or drink. I’ve recently heard some buzz about Cava Mezze (1302 Fleet Street), a fairly new restaurant in Harbor East, Baltimore. The main thing I heard about was their .1 bottomless mimosas…yes one cent! This Sunday I went there with my best friend to check it out.
The weekend bottomless brunch is from 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, so we knew we had to get there extra early or a little late to beat the crowd. As my best friend and I pulled up to the restaurant around 2:00 pm, we noticed there was a small crowd of seven people outside. Inside all tables and booths were occupied. I overheard the host ask a party of five if they had reservations and there would be a 30-40 minute wait. Because it was just us two, the friendly host advised us that there was seating space at the bar. We actually prefer the bar seating because you get better service and a faster return on your requests because the bartender is in eyeshot. If you are coming with a party of three or more, I would suggest making reservations.
We went to the bar and was greeted by a the bartender, he began to tell us the deal with the bottomless brunch and mimosas. The brunch is a $30.00 flat fee and it’s all you can eat, you can choose whatever you want from a menu of 21 items. The items are served on small plates in smaller portions, perfect for sharing. The mimosas are .1 if you purchase the brunch option and they are also bottomless. If you don’t want the all-you-can-eat brunch, the mimosas are $5.00 each. They also offer $2.00 Bloody Mary or Sangria with the bottomless brunch option. I ordered an orange juice mimosa and my best friend ordered a grapefruit juice mimosa.
We chatted with two young ladies sitting beside us at the bar and they had already ordered six items and gave us their suggestions. Needless to say we went to town with out brunch choices…
MINI CAVA BREAKFAST – fried egg, potato hash and baconBREAKFAST BURRITO – chicken sage sausage, eggs, feta, tomato, onion, harissa topped with Greek yogurtSALMON BENNIE – hickory smoked, dill, hollandaise and capersCHICKEN SAGE SAUSAGE- house made chicken sausage and sageGRILLED CHEESE- tomato, aged barrel feta, oregano and olive oilNUTELLA WAFFLE- walnuts, nutella, bananas and creamSKILLET CAKE – pancakes with chocolate chips, powdered sugar and whipped creamVILLAGE FRITATTA- spinach, egg, feta, leeks and green onionFRENCH TOAST- thick cut challah, honey, berries and creamBANANAS FRITTERS – honey, walnuts and powdered sugarCRISPY PORK BELLY- Berkshire pork, thyme and honey
The food came out really fast, maybe 10 minutes after we ordered it. I would suggest ordering items in sets of three or four because it can get cold fast if you aren’t eating it right away.
Everything that we ordered was delicious. I especially liked the meats and the sweets. The chicken sausage with sage was so good that we ordered another serving. The bacon that came with the Mini Cava Breakfast was think and filling. The Crispy Pork Belly was excellent and the honey added a sweetness to the savory pork. All of the sweet items were great. The Banana Fritters were my favorite, they remind me of the apple fritters my grandmother makes and my best friend especially liked the Nutella Waffle.
This restaurant atmosphere was chill and relaxing, letting all the light come in from the large open windows at the front. They played 90’s music and kept the mimosas coming. When the weather breaks I know this will be a popular brunch location in Harbor East.
Have you been to the Bottomless Brunch at Cava Mezze? What did you think?
Be sure to follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on Instagram.com/Arlisappetite and twitter.com/ArliBaby.
