How to Eat Brunch

My apologies, it's been a little while since I've posted.  No, I haven't stopped eating and I haven't hit writer's block yet.  But I have been keeping very busy catching up on......

..wait for it..

How I Met Your Mother episodes, Seasons 1 through 3!  There are about 22 episodes per season and any 20 minute free slot I have, I use to catch one.

Other things that have kept me busy: planning a Slapsgiving party after watching the Slapsgiving episode, googling Neil Patrick Harris and trying to determine what character in the show each of my real-life friends most closely resembles.

In Season 2, the group brunches with Ted's parents, and the brunch starts out as a classy affair before devolving into a jumble of jealous up-staging, back-stabbing comments, family secrets and sex in the bathroom.  "I love brunch!" Marshall exclaims.

If you live in San Francisco for long enough, you've probably brunched at some point.  The title of this post is misleading - I can't really tell you how to eat brunch, because there really is no wrong way - you just eat it any way you want.  Brunch is the lawless wildchild of meals, as compared to the structure of breakfast and lunch and the regality of dinner.  What I intend to actually do is point out some of my observations about common brunch trends/things to do at brunch that are okay and then show you some pictures of really good eggs: 

1) Brunch has a very generous timeline: it can occur anywhere from 8 am until 4 pm, or later, as long as it's before dinner. 

2) It is okay to order anything you want at brunch.  But if it's not an egg dish or other breakfast-y dish, you might need to explain your decision to the brunch table.   

3) It is okay to drink before noon when you're at brunch.  If you happen to be at a place with bottomless mimosas, it's a little weird if you don't. 

4) You get major points if you worked out before brunch and show up in your workout gear.  It is completely okay to not have showered first.  There's an obligatory 5 minute opening period where everyone talks about your workout and how hard/long it may have been and then praises you. 

5) It is okay to splurge on transportation (i.e. take a taxi) to get to brunch.  When I once suggested taking the bus to get to our brunch place, my friend Josh said, "It's not very brunch-like to take the bus".  He was right. 

6)  Post-brunch activities that are okay: Buying/eating a donut/cupcake/rice pudding, getting a pedicure, going shopping, taking a nap (my favorite), watching an episode of How I Met Your Mother (my favorite recently).

Last weekend I double-brunched: on Saturday, I went to brunch with my parents at Magic Flute in Laurel Heights and on Sunday, I went to a brunch spearheaded by my roommate at Rex Cafe on Polk Street.  

Magic Flute was a last minute decision, I had quickly yelped places right before going, with my main criteria being that the restaurant have availability for the time we needed. And the brunch experience turned out pleasant for everyone!  Magic Flute is located in Laurel Heights on Sacramento and Spruce.  It's a cute little Italian restaurant with a nice back patio, a perfect place to sit on a sunny Saturday.  

I ordered the chorizo sausage omelet, made using chorizo sausage, avocado, mushrooms and peppers, with a side of potatoes and fruit.  The omelet was great, robust and filling with plenty of mix-ins to give it some variety.  The real star was the side of potatoes - they were well-spiced and crispy and brown on the outside. 

My mom ordered the mussels, cooked with garlic, wine, fresh mint and lemon aioli and my dad ordered the grilled spicy lamb hamburger.  Both were impressed with their dishes and they are not easy to please, especially having just returned from a trip to Turkey and Greece, where mussels and lamb are common to the region.  

Neither explained to me why they didn't order an egg dish, but seeing how it was already about 2pm by the time we sat down, I didn't push it.  Afterwards, we did some post-brunch shopping on Sacramento Street and upon returning to the car, realized we'd received a parking ticket.  It was all very brunch-like.

Sunday, I went to Rex Cafe with my roommate and a group of girlfriends she had assembled.  Rex Cafe is one of our favorite staple brunch places - it is close by, on Polk and Green, and has high quality food for decent prices.  I usually order either the Rex skillet scramble, an egg scramble that is served in a tiny skillet, or one of their varieties of eggs benedict.  

I opted for the Blackstone eggs benedict on Sunday: the eggs are served on a crispy fried tomato as opposed to an English muffin with bacon instead of ham.  I like this version because it's lighter than the typical eggs benedict without sacrificing flavor.  Plus you can never go wrong with bacon.

I'll leave you with this: 7x7 has a great article about well-known restaurants that are opening up for brunch.  Hopefully some will show up in future posts!
Enjoy!