Brunch

Brunch at Barcocina

categories: RESTAURANTS

Brunch is hands down my favorite meal of the day. If you invite me to brunch, chances are I’ll say “Yes” every single time.  I especially love restaurant menus that experiment with flavors and cultures from around the world. Recently I visited Barcocina (1629 Thames Street, Fells Point), a Mexican-inspired restaurant with a unique food sharing concept.

On this particular Sunday, my best friend and I decided to sit outside and enjoy the weather. Barcocina is in a prime location in Fells Point. It’s on the water with views of the harbor, tourists and all the weekend aquatic activities.  Looking over the menu I noticed the different options for the Mexican-inspired items. There were six guacamole options, three salsa options and eight taco options. Some were very unique because I would never think to mix the ingredients.  There was an “Eggs and Bacon” guacamole, and a “Reuben” taco that caught my eye, but I had a taste for the traditional American breakfast items.  The traditional breakfast items also had a Mexican-inspired flair We ordered the Breakfast Quesadillas, Huevos Rancheros, Butternut Squash Enchiladas and the Maple Pancake Sliders.

Breakfast Quesadillas
Breakfast Quesadillas
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Huevos Rancheros
Maple Sausage Pancake Sliders

 

Butternut Squash Enchilada

 

The breakfast quesadillas were delicious.  They were made with smoked cheddar eggs and crumbled pepper bacon and topped with sweet corn salsa and a sour cream drizzle.  The huevos rancheros was good, my best friend liked them but my only suggestion would be to add more of the citrus sour cream. My favorite were the Maple Sausage Pancake Sliders, it was prepared like a McDonald’s McGriddle but better. The Butternut Squash Enchilada was flavorful with fresh ingredients.   We also ordered Jalapeno Skillet Cornbread and the Skillet Potatoes.

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The cornbread was excellent!!! That was the first time I’d tasted spicy cornbread.  I’m used to my cornbread being savory and sweet, but I liked the spicy kick.  We devoured that skillet and wished it was a little larger because we both wanted more.

Barcocina’s Brunch also offers $10.00 Bottomless Mimosas and $12.00 Bottomless Bloody Maria’s or Bloody Mary’s. If you are looking for a chill outdoor or indoor dining experience, visit Barcocina…you won’t be disappointed.

And always follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on social media …  

  

 

 

Sweet Potato and Sausage Frittata

categories: RESTAURANTS

If you read my blog regularly I’m sure you’ve gathered that I love breakfast and brunch food. Recently I visited Dovecote Cafe in Baltimore, MD and I sampled a delicious sweet potato frittata – so delicious I decided to add sausage and recreate it.

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Sweet Potato and Sausage Frittata  

8 Eggs
Salt & Pepper
1/2 Cup of Grated Parmesan
1/2 Cup of Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 Onion Sliced
1 Sweet Red Pepper sliced
2 Sweet Potatoes Cubed
1 Cup of Spinach
2 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp. Onion Powder
2 Tbsp. Goya Sazon Seasoning
4 Cooked/Browned Sausage Patties or 1 Cup of Sausage Crumbles

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Preparation : Preheat oven at 400 degrees. In a large deep cast iron skillet over medium heat, cook/brown sausage.  Remove from pan and add sliced onions, saute for 5 minutes or until brown.  Place cubed sweet potatoes in a microwave safe dish, top dish with two wet paper towels and microwave for 5 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and spinach to sautéed onions and cook for an additional 10 minutes over medium heat.  Whisk Eggs in a bowl or large dish, add cheese and all dry spices.  Once the spinach wilts add cooked sausage and egg mixture to the skillet.  Place skillet in oven for 25 minutes.

A quick and easy breakfast dish for one, two or a family meal.  I’m thinking the next time I’ll make a Greek Frittata or a Seafood Frittata.  Do you have a favorite Frittata recipe?

 

Rooftop Brunch at The Black Olive Restaurant

categories: RESTAURANTS

The first time I visited The Black Olive Restaurant (803 S. Caroline Street) was for an invite only champagne sip and tasting. I remember being excited because the location had a rooftop patio making it one of a few locations in Baltimore City. The Black Olive Restaurant is a rooftop restaurant above the Inn at Black Olive Hotel.  Located in Baltimore’s Harbor East district, the hotel website boasts that it’s the only eco-organic hotel in Maryland.

At the champagne event, I only drank champagne and did not order food from the restaurant.  On my second visit, I was invited to a birthday brunch and I was very excited to try the food because my best friend and her husband visited for dinner and they told me  the food was delicious.   The Black Olive Restaurant specializes in authentic organic Greek cuisine. Beforehand I looked over their website to see what the brunch menu had to offer, but I was surprised to find the website didn’t list a brunch menu, just lunch and dinner.  I did notice that the restaurant received many accolades and awards for their food and wine.

When I arrived on a Sunday for brunch, the restaurant and patio view were beautiful.  Sheer white curtains hanging from the ceiling mixed well with the warm breeze blowing through the patio doors.  The brunch menu presented to me had about six entree options.  There was not a bottomless mimosa option, but my friend managed to negotiate with the manager and worked out a deal for our party of 12.

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I ordered the Crabmeat, Spinach and Cheese Omelet accompanied by potatoes and fruit.  My friend ordered the French Toast, scrambled eggs and sausage.

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I must say that I was not pleased with the meal. I was expecting so much more from the rave reviews I’d gotten from my friends and with the obvious accolades and awards the restaurant received.

My omelet was bland and the eggs were rubbery.  My potatoes tasted like they were from a frozen pre-made batch. My friend’s French Toast was actually pretty good, light and flavorful.  The wait staff and the owner/manager were very friendly and attentive, they kept the mimosas coming.

I really want to give The Black Olive Restaurant another chance.  I plan on visiting again during lunch or dinner hours and I will update with a new post.

Have you had breakfast at The Black Olive Restaurant?  What did you think about it?

Brunch Review: Waterfront Hotel

categories: RESTAURANTS

Fells Point is definitely one of my favorite neighborhoods to enjoy a great Sunday brunch. Last Sunday I visited Waterfront Hotel (1710 Thames Street, Baltimore MD).  With a name like Waterfront Hotel, you would think it was a hotel, but it isn’t.  It was once a private residence in the 1700’s and a hotel at one point in the 1800’s.

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I’ve been to Waterfront Hotel before but only for happy hour and dinner.  I remember them having a different food special for each day of the week, I like variety and that shows commitment.

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I arrived early at 10:30 am and the restaurant wasn’t open yet.  The staff was arranging the outdoor seating and bustling about inside taking care of daily preparations.  I parked outside and waited for 30 minutes with the other patrons that had arrived early. Once inside my friend and I were greeted promptly by a friendly waitress that took our drink orders and brought out a fresh batch of bottomless mimosas.

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The bottomless menu consists of bottomless mimosas, bloodies, screwdrivers or Natty Boh and the cost is $10.00 per person.

The brunch menu has many options – omelettes, benedicts, sandwiches, salads, bar snacks, entrees and breakfast sides. When in doubt I tend to go for an omelette.  My omelette of choice was the Mexican Omelette -$13.00 (house-made chorizo, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and chipotle salsa). It’s served with toast,  tots or grits, bacon or sausage.  I ordered the tots and sausage option, chorizo and sausage links…double meat, I love it! What I loved most about my omelette was the size, it was fat and full like an omelette should be.

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My friend ordered a breakfast bowl with and over easy egg, potatoes, peppers, onions and crabmeat – $14.00.

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We also had a taste for something sweet, so we ordered the Stuffed French Toast -$12.00 (cinnamon cream cheese, warm maple berry compote, with a choice of sausage or bacon). My friend doesn’t eat pork or red meat, so we ordered bacon for me 🙂  More Meat!

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The French Toast wasn’t actually stuffed with the cinnamon cream cheese, it was spread between the two slices.  It was yummy and different because I was expecting it to be stuffed inside the toast slices.

Brunch at Waterfront Hotel begins at 11:00 am, make sure you get there early to get a seat because the place fills up quickly. When we left around 2:30 pm and it was standing room only, some patrons were standing in the front area eating their food.

Waterfront Hotel also hosts live music on the upper level. All live shows start at 10:00 pm and there is never a cover charge.  For more information on events of the menu please visit http://www.waterfronthotel.us/

 

Brunch Review: The Point in Fells

categories: RESTAURANTS

My first visit to The Point in Fells (1738 Thames Street Fells Point, MD 21231) was on Christmas Eve 2014 and I must say I had a jolly good time.  It was the Wednesday night dance party and the DJ played hit after hit.  There were drink specials and the place was packed, so packed that the party seemed to trickle out onto the sidewalk.

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My next visit to The Point in Fells was for Sunday brunch.  A much different atmosphere than the holiday party. There was no DJ or music, but the place was still packed with football fans watching the game. The point has food and drink specials for everyday of the week and Sunday Brunch seems to be a very popular day.

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The restaurant/bar has two-level seating and additional outdoor seating.  I arrived there around 1:30 pm and there was a 30 minute wait because the upstairs area was closed for a private party.  The Sunday brunch runs from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.   Our table wasn’t available until 2:10 pm and the first thing I ordered was the bottomless mimosas, but I was disappointed when the waitress advised me that the bottomless option stops at 2:00 pm… womp womp.  Another strike out on the bottomless.

My brunch selection was the Happy Crab – a crab cake and chicken sausage sandwich with a sunny side up egg, spinach and  cheddar cheese on a pretzel bun. I’m always a fan of crab cake but I was interested to see how it pairs with chicken sausage.

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It paired pretty well.  The chicken sausage had a little spicy kick that overpowered the crabcake, but still a good combo.

My friend ordered the Chicken and Waffles. It was your basic waffle with a fried chicken breast.  The chicken breast was really big and she couldn’t finish it all, so of course I helped her.  Come to think of it my sandwich was pretty big also. The brunch menu is great for sharing.

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As if our shareable meals weren’t enough, we also ordered dessert.

Our first choice was a bread pudding with a Gran Marnier Liqueur caramel sauce.  It took a while for the dessert to come out and the caramel sauce was hard and had a toffee-like texture which was unexpected because we were expecting a liquid caramel topping.

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The second dessert we ordered was an apple crisp with warm apples, ice cream and strawberry topping.  It was tastier than the first option.

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Overall the brunch at The Point in Fells was decent. It was a family-friendly dining experience with friendly and knowledgeable staff.  I would like to visit again preferably on their Thursday Burger Night or All Day Happy Hour Friday Night.

Have you ever been to The Point in Fells?  Tell me about your experience.

Cap’n Crunch French Toast

categories: RESTAURANTS

Two all-star breakfast favorites join forces to make one awesome meal and leaves you wondering … Why didn’t I think of that?

My recent visit to Blue Moon Café (1621 Aliceanna St. Baltimore, MD ) was my second trip there.  The first time I visited was a few years ago with a few co-workers, back in my “late-night/early-morning” bartending days.  The restaurant is open 24 hours on the weekend, so that makes for a great grub after the club.   I don’t remember the food I ate, but I do remember the place being a very small and kitschy restaurant in Fells Point.  My second time around I was on a mission to taste their famous Cap’n Crunch French Toast.  I have many mention it on social media and I know a few people who’ve visited and raved about it.

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I am officially one of the ravers because this French Toast is awesome!  The Cap’n Crunch isn’t added in the batter mixture because that would be a little nasty, instead The Cap’n Crunch is encrusted on the outside of the French Toast giving it a savory crunchy topping.  The bread is soft on the inside and gives the firm outside a nice balance.  It’s not as sweet as I originally thought it would be, but I could still taste the flavor of the Cap’n Crunch cereal.

If I can remember correctly, the cost of the French Toast is $7.99 and it comes with fresh fruit, whipped cream, and powdered sugar…not bad for two heavenly pieces of delicious carbohydrates.  The only downfall with this breakfast is Blue Moon Café doesn’t serve hot syrup 🙁 forgive me but I like my breakfast breads dripping in hot syrup. I asked the waitress why and she said something about “safety…hazard…hot liquids”  –  O.K. I get it.  Surprisingly without the hot syrup, I enjoyed my French Toast very much.  I’m starting to think that’s the idea…serve the toast with little distractions and lots of flavor.

 

 

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