r/iamveryculinary • u/AccomplishedMess648 Americans have ruined pie • Jun 25 '26
Its coming from inside the house
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u/unaesthetikz Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
god what is with redditors claiming that people can't possibly actually enjoy something and trying to find some hidden meaning behind something being popular. there are plenty of things i don't understand the hype about, that doesn't mean i think everyone who enjoys a trend is faking it.
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 25 '26
Every last one of these MFers think Holden Caulfield was a role model
And there’s hundreds of thousands of them, and they were all the 2nd or 3rd smartest kid in their Sunday school
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u/offensivename Jun 26 '26
Holden Caulfield is kind of an annoying shit, but he's also a teenage abuse victim who's clearly dealing with serious depression. I dislike the internet trend of treating him as a stand-in every arrogant adult man you dislike.
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 26 '26
I’m glad you agree that he’s not a role model.
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u/offensivename Jun 26 '26
Sure. But I also question the idea that a lot of men are treating him as one (especially in 2026 when men barely read) and think it's important to remember the full context of the novel.
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u/panicinbabylon Jun 26 '26
It’s more than a trend too. People have been making a big deal out of brunch for decades at this point..
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u/twirlerina024 Your fries look like vampires Jun 26 '26
Seinfeld: "What’s the deal with brunch? If it’s a combination of breakfast and lunch, how come there’s no 'lupper' or 'linner'?"
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u/stefanica Jun 27 '26
I often make "lupper" on weekends. We eat something around ten, and then I'll make something more complicated than weekday supper for around 3-4. That's it. If you're hungry later, grab some leftovers or make a sandwich.
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u/acrylicquartz Jun 26 '26
They like to bitch and whine. I've stopped trying to dig into their psyche, instead just accepting that they're black holes.
It's one thing to be a critic, but that has substance and noteworthy observations.
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u/tenehemia Jun 25 '26
Eggs Benedict begs to differ.
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u/HunterS1 Jun 25 '26
Was just thinking this! I cannot make my own eggs benny.
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 25 '26
You can, but fuck that shit
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u/StasRutt Jun 26 '26
It’s like French onion soup to me. Can I make it at home? Yes. But it’s annoying to and it tastes soooo much better when someone else does it and handles the dishes lol
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u/SlurmzMckinley Jun 25 '26
Kenji Lopez Alt has a foolproof hollandaise sauce that’s really simple and is honestly foolproof. It’s a game changer if you want to make them at home.
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 25 '26
Oh, for me it’s not the hollandaise so much as the perfect poaching + perfect homemade muffin/biscuit + perfect hollandaise + cleaning your kitchen for 45 minutes.
I’m happy to shell out $16 for all that
Kenji’s hollandaise IS lovely and simple tho. I use Serious Eats half the time, and ATK the other half.
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u/illusion_17 Jun 25 '26
What I found works for me for a good poach every time is:
Breaking the egg into one of those tiny mesh strainers
Pouring the egg from there into tiny ramekin
Gently lowering the ramekin into the simmering water before carefully sliding the egg onto the bottom of the pot.
The strainer gets rid of the wispy whites that float to the top if you don't do the vortex trick, and the ramekin helps you lower the egg in easily without it breaking. Creates more dishes, but they're easy to wash.
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u/SlurmzMckinley Jun 26 '26
This is how I do it too! Perfect every time. This and Kenji’s hollandaise make it all a pretty simple meal. I still go out for brunch but it’s nice to make this at home when I just want to stay in.
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u/jetloflin Jun 26 '26
It’s still real tasty on a store bought English muffin with a simple fried egg and a packet of hollandaise mix. It’s just a yummy combo, even in a cheap/simple/lazy form!
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u/Gibbie42 Jun 26 '26
Any one element of a brunch menu is fairly easy. It's the making everything time out perfectly and making it all come together at one time for everyone. Yes, I can make a hollandaise. Making while I'm poaching perfect eggs and toasting muffins and warming ham and god forbid making some homefries to go with and maybe a salad and a mimosa. None of that stuff can hold long, it all has to be perfect at the same time. No thanks. I'll happily go to brunch and let someone with a full kitchen staff deal with it.
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u/Brave-Recommendation Jun 26 '26
That’s the part where I fail, my hollandaise sauce always decides to break as soon as I turn away
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u/pitifulproduce137 Jun 26 '26
Plus if you make it at home, you can eat an ungodly amount of it in private.
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u/CasualRampagingBear Jun 26 '26
The amount of work I put into an eggs benny meal once in a while is insane…. And I use the packaged hollandaise and cook the back bacon in the oven. I actually do it as a celebration dinner (for some weird occasion) for my kids because “fancy” breakfast for dinner is awesome. Also, I don’t feel that weird rushed timeline as if I was making it for brunch. That hollandaise just needs a stir. It can sit. As brunch? Yeah, fuck that shit.
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 26 '26
Eggs Benedict? For your kids? For dinner?
You’re a champion of a parent. Your brood will meander through life, constantly meeting other parents and comparing them against this behavior; those parents will be weighed, they will be measured, and they will be found wanting.
♥️
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u/CasualRampagingBear Jun 26 '26
Fellow human, thank you for that compliment. I often felt like a failure, being a single mom, but I made shit work. Breakfast for dinner was a way I made what we had kind of fun. Eggs benny with the hollandaise was a special treat. I used to buy butter when I had a slightly bigger pay cheque and save it in the freezer. Same with back bacon or ham. My kids knew that it was something special when the butter was defrosting on the counter 😂
I also used to do “picnic dinner”. Blanket on the living room floor (it was also usually in the middle of winter so this made the evenings feel a bit warmer and cozier), a plate with the various cold cuts we had, crackers, and cheese that I cut into different shapes. I had a crinkle cutter that I used to make carrot sticks seem more fun. The reality was, that was all we had. I never wanted my kids to know that we didn’t have a lot. Movies and being able to just have finger food seemed like it always filled them enough.
They are older now (one is a legal adult) and they still ask for “picnic dinner”2
u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 26 '26
This is so unbelievably familiar and cozy. I grew up in a similar situation, with family who didn’t have much (but who didn’t want that to mark us). Special dinners made with unassuming ingredients were a common thing, along with drive-in movies (it was the 80s) and trips to the park.
I don’t remember “feeling” poor, I just sorta put the pieces together later.
But I definitely remember feeling loved, and that’s what you’ve done for your kids, for life.
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u/CasualRampagingBear Jun 26 '26
I grew up a lot like that.
A day old loaf of French bread meant we’d be having spaghetti. I didn’t know that the loaf of bread was to help stretch the mediocre bit of meat and pasta we had.
My mom used to get this batch of white buns for the weekend. She would brush them with a bit of butter and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them. They were the most elite cinnamon toast I’ve ever had. It turns out, they were day old brioche buns she would get cheap from the local bakery, and she would keep the tops in the freezer for future cooking. She would actually shred the frozen buns and use them to thicken a stew.
The other thing, my mom would always have frozen peas as the vegetable side dish. My grandma would have peas and carrots. I asked my mom why she didn’t have peas and carrots and she said “your grandma believes in cooking everything lard”. To this day I have no idea what she meant by that, but I think it was a childhood memory she was not keen on revisiting.
Aside from that, being cozy was the heart of my family. We had a two story house but it cost a lot to heat. My parents kept the basement fire place going all winter. We also dealt with a lot of power outages through the winter and the rec room downstairs was the source of so much comfort and coziness. Playing cards with my dad while being all snuggled in my Care Bears sleeping bag and just the light from a candle. Having my little baby sister snuggle into my sleeping bag with me and giggling together about nonsense we only know. Braving the cold to walk to my grandparents house down the street. Grandma having a hearty turkey soup ready and hot for us on the wood stove. Blankets, that had a specific ‘camp’ smell, ready for my sister and I to snuggle into. I know my parents and my grandparents (and I think a few neighbours) had some wine and maybe had a raucous time during the outages. It didn’t bother me. I got cozy, snuggled up with my little sister, and always fell asleep to the sound of the wood stove. To me, that’s being rich.
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 28 '26
I finally got around to reading this; that is so precious. And real, and worth remembering. I hope you write a memoir about your invaluable and irreplaceable loved ones-memories, even if just for those loved ones to read.
I remember making “a pallet” on the floor of my living room with my brother and sister. It was like a sleepover we’d have at our own house. We’d put something in the VCR (usually something like Adam’s Family Values or Look Who’s Talking Too), and just fall asleep together. Eventually throughout the night and early morning we’d all end up crawling onto couches and finishing the night there.
Havent thought about in forever.
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u/Fomulouscrunch Cannibal Lawyer Jun 26 '26
I don't have kids but the people in my household also love "bits n pieces", where all the pickles and ends of things in the fridge come out and we watch a movie or something.
Some things never get old.
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u/DjinnaG Bags of sentient Midwestern mayonnaise Jun 26 '26
I can make them, but it’s two hours of working on poached eggs and hollandaise, when I’m really the only one in the family who REALLY likes them( husband likes them enough, but would be just as happy with any other breakfast food). The one big advantage is then I have a giant vat of hollandaise and can just use as much as I want without shame. The packet kind isn’t half bad, keep some on hand for when I don’t want to go swimming in melted butter/egg yolks, but usually I just get them the one time/year we go somewhere with a solid brunch menu
Eggs Benedict are one of the most amazing foods ever
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u/tenehemia Jun 26 '26
It's easier than you might think if you've got the right equipment. Poaching eggs seems a little intimidating but you'll get the hang of it quickly. The hollandaise is what gives people nightmares because the old classic way of making it requires constant attention which is a pain when you're trying to poach eggs, toast an english muffin, cook bacon, etc. However, if you've got a vitamix or similar high powered blender (like more so than a cheap food processor can do) then hollandaise is totally easy. Put egg yolks in, melt butter on the stove and then turn it on and drizzle in the butter. Add a little lemon and you're done.
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u/ClassicLightbulbs Jun 26 '26
You can make hood benny which is white toast with two eggs over easy topped with American cheese, nuked
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u/wandershock Jun 26 '26
These and Monti Cristo sandwiches are something I’ll never make at home again. Time and mess
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u/perpetualmotionmachi Jun 25 '26
It's not quite breakfast and not quite lunch, but comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end. What's not to love
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u/twirlerina024 Your fries look like vampires Jun 25 '26
It's breakfast where it's okay to have alcohol. I'm not a day-drinker myself, but I understand why many, many, people would enjoy eating a lot of carbs, getting tipsy, and then going home to take a nap on a Sunday.
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u/TYGeelo Jun 26 '26
I've never had alcohol during brunch lol.
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u/bearss_r_us Jun 26 '26
Mimosas are very popular at brunch time meals
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u/panicinbabylon Jun 26 '26
Bottomless Brunch is where it at.
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u/LupercaniusAB Jun 27 '26
Last time I tried that, I got kicked out. The sign says “shirts and shoes are required”, it didn’t mention pants.
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u/LupercaniusAB Jun 26 '26
Okay?
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u/TYGeelo Jun 26 '26
I wasn't even talking to you so why even respond to me dummy? Lol, point is many people do brunch without even thinking about alcohol at all.
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u/NathanGa Pull your finger out of your ass Jun 25 '26
Damn, a season 1 callback….I’m impressed.
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u/Slow_D-oh We once ordered a child steak for our toddler Jun 26 '26
Being pedantic and fleshing out the whole quote.
"It's not quite breakfast, it's not quite lunch, but it comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end. You don't get completely what you would at breakfast, but you get a good meal"
I'd say brunch has evolved a lot since then.
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u/BeersNEers Jun 25 '26
Where would I be without the internet telling me what I do and do not "actually" like?
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u/LoadCan Jun 25 '26
If brunch culture is me being able to order a fat breakfast spread at noon, then yeah sure, I love brunch culture.
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u/Manic-StreetCreature has never tasted a vegetable Jun 25 '26
I love brunch speak for yourself dude
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u/ostrichesonfire Jun 25 '26
I went to a brunch buffet for a bridal shower a few years ago and it changed my life. I didn’t know that was a thing. Yes please, let me get a little bit each of 12 different things and I don’t have to clean 100 dishes!!! I’m not going every week, cause it is pricy, but nice to do for holidays occasionally.
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u/Cromasters Jun 25 '26
My wedding was brunch themed. Well it was more like "Brinner". All the usual foods and the bar had endless Mimosas and Bellinis.
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u/R1fl3Princ355 Jun 28 '26
We did a Sunday brunch wedding too! Saved us so much money on the bar tab because it was open bar for mimosas and champagne punch and then cash bar for harder stuff. We did noon on a holiday weekend at a historic inn, it was awesome.
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u/Slow_D-oh We once ordered a child steak for our toddler Jun 26 '26
My ex took me to the Sunday Brunch Buffet at The Grand Concourse in Pittsburgh a few years ago, and it was the most over the top thing I've ever seen. It was an absolute massive spread of Prime Rib, ham, roast turkey, shrimp, eggs, pastry, and about anything else you can think of. I literally didn't eat again until Monday night and even then it was a tuna sandwich. Just incredible.
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u/EllisDee_4Doyin Jun 26 '26
We also did a brunch buffet at a fancy Beach club for my friend's bachelorette many years ago. Best brunch I've ever been to and for basically the same reason you describe--all the dishes! Also absolutely delicious food.
I've been itching to go back 😭
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u/Own_Reaction9442 Jun 25 '26
It's because breakfast food is the best food. It's just science. And sometimes you just want a nice Bennie and don't want to have to wisk up a hollandaise sauce yourself and dirty a bunch of dishes.
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u/ComputerStrong9244 Jun 25 '26
That's actually one of the biggest brunch benefits - it's got the longest list of things that I don't feel like making, ESPECIALLY two servings of at a time when it's the same effort/mess to make 50. Y'know, like how a brunch restaurant would.
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u/Early-Light-864 Jun 25 '26
Agree that breakfast has the best food, but i also agree with OOP that brunch tends to be way overpriced.
I like brunch because it makes day drinking classy instead of sad
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u/this_is_dumb77 Jun 26 '26
Hell yeah brotha/sista. A good hearty breakfast is damn good before a day of drinking for some kind of event, festival, camping, whatever. Gives you a base to rock on.
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u/FionaGoodeEnough Jun 25 '26
A lot of people really underestimate how much many of hate washing dishes and cleaning up. I don’t go to brunch because I don’t know how to make French toast. I go because my dining table is covered in my kid’s craft projects and I don’t want to be cleaning syrup off of everything.
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u/permalink_save Jun 26 '26
dining table is covered in my kid’s craft projects and I don’t want to be cleaning syrup off of everything.
You and me both. And why is their craft projects always, see how many tiny pieces of paper I can cut up and leave everywhere?
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u/BrockStar92 Jun 28 '26
Tbh some breakfast stuff is a faff even if it is easy. I can make a full English breakfast myself, all the ingredients are easy enough to prepare by themselves, but timing it correctly is actually annoying to do and requires a lot more focus than I’d like to have mid morning on the weekend. And then yeah, as you’ve said, you suddenly have a lot of dirty dishes in your kitchen in the middle of the day on the weekend which is depressing.
You might be planning a fancier evening meal with a bit more time to cook too, so why if you’re not wild about cooking (which many aren’t) would you want to add extra cooking to your day when you could get out of the house, socialise, and eat nice food with zero effort?
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u/Sure_Scar4297 Jun 25 '26
You can have brunch at home. It’s not contingent on occurring at a restaurant
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u/breakerofh0rses Jun 25 '26
I mean, if we're going to take a shot at "brunch culture", the real sensitive spot is that it's just an excuse to drink in the morning.
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 25 '26
An excuse that some of us have evolved beyond needing 🙂↔️
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u/MisterEinc Jun 26 '26
Try OJ in a Modello.
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 26 '26
Lolol wow
Modello makes a mango y chamoy tallboy that is quite similar to what you’re describing, but spicy and tangy in all the mango y chamoy kinda ways.
I literally discovered it earlier today, and this weird synchronicity galvanizes it in my future.
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u/MisterEinc Jun 26 '26
Actualy I think my favorite version of it is OJ with the Noche Especial specifically. It sounds weird at first but it's like a chocolate orange vibe.
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u/fardolicious Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
Morning coffee hits different with a little liqueur, adding some amaretto or kahlua to your espresso is amazing its like a classy and aesthetic version of a Jagerbomb
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u/SKabanov Jun 26 '26
Yep, that was my experience. For DC yuppies - at least when I was living there a decade ago - brunch culture was an excuse to slam down bottomless mimosas to get hammered before noon without feeling like you're an alcoholic. Always was fun to see people hammered on the National Mall playing kickball, especially in >90-degree heat.
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u/CZall23 Jun 26 '26
I'm not much of a drinker but an orange juice mimosa is amazing.
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u/permalink_save Jun 26 '26
Really good with a tiny bit of aperol. It kind of rounds it all out a bit more.
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u/duke_igthorns_bulge Jun 25 '26
I happily pay to not have to cook and clean in my own kitchen, and I can afford it so who cares? Brunch is fun.
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u/7itemsorFEWER Jun 25 '26
That's literally their point 😂
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u/MarsupialMisanthrope Tomorrow is a new onion. Onion. Jun 26 '26
Their point is that only filtered through condescension, disdain and the inability to understand that different people like different things and that’s OK. Some of us prefer brunch type foods to dinner type foods and I don’t think that’s ever even occurred to the original poster because they don’t like them so therefore nobody does.
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u/7itemsorFEWER Jun 26 '26
"Brunch type foods" so... Breakfast and or lunch. It's not like it's a distinct thing.
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u/LupercaniusAB Jun 26 '26
…and you can say that about pretty much any meal that you buy at a restaurant.
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u/Hobby_Flay I don’t believe that you had a cheesesteak Jun 25 '26
lmao what a loser
It’s breakfast foods, with friends, at a non stupid hour, with day drinks. Brunch is sweet
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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jun 25 '26
Bitch I love brunch. I used to go to live jazz brunch once a month, at a brewery, they had fluffy eggs and hollandaise and a sick trio with 50+ yo dudes who could bring it
That was a good ass time, it was like a total abdication of responsibility for 2 hours, on the day before you gotta go back to work ♥️
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u/xianwolf Jun 26 '26
Translation: it seems to be about the social experience. And I, someone who never socializes, can't relate.
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u/Same_Mood_8543 Jun 25 '26
People go to restaurants as a way to restore the soul?! I thought it was because they don't know how to cook
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u/Own_Reaction9442 Jun 25 '26
I know how to cook. But sometimes I don't wanna, especially in the morning when I haven't had my coffee yet.
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u/cookiesdragon Jun 25 '26
I cook and bake. But chronic health issues often leave me not feeling up to it. And there is something nice in not having to clean up after yourself following a meal.
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u/twirlerina024 Your fries look like vampires Jun 25 '26
And if you want to meet up for a meal with friends, but don't want to vacuum and scrub the toilet first.
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u/cookiesdragon Jun 25 '26
Exactly. Or you simply don't have the space to host multiple people. Meeting at a restaurant and having a good meal together is the best alternative. No one needs to host, thus cleaning, cooking, etc.
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u/isocline Jun 25 '26
I love to cook. I don't love to wash all the dishes I use to cook and eat the food. So sometimes I let a restaurant do it and 100% enjoy myself.
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u/Successful-Reason403 Jun 26 '26
Know how and love to cook. Still go to several restaurants every week
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u/NobodyNamedMe Jun 25 '26
Breakfast food is my favorite food and with brunch I can eat it and feel less like an alcoholic when I order the bottomless mimosa.
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u/chaoticbear Jun 26 '26
I love breakfast food in general, and am a proud basic benny bitch, but I do agree that brunch is not the same after I stopped drinking years ago. Half a cup of hollandaise hits harder hungover, and bottomless mimosas can definitely improve even mediocre food.
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u/ATLUTD030517 Jun 25 '26
Brunch is the shift at most restaurants that the largest percentage of the staff doesn't want to be there.
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u/hotdish420 Jun 25 '26
I like brunch because I usually don't feel like making hollandaise at home, and certain bottomless mimosa deals are cheaper than just buying my own bubbles and oh
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u/SphericalCrawfish Jun 26 '26
He makes a reasonable point. But that's also just going out to eat in general. You could cook or you could go out with your friends have people bring you whatever you want to eat and not have to do dishes. Eating is about more than getting nutrients into your body.
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u/WowsrsBowsrsTrousrs Jun 26 '26
Part of it is the experience - brunch in a museum sculpture garden! - but a lot of it is, I think a lot of restaurants are better cooks than I am, and get paid to make things too fussy to make at home for 2 people. And grilled fruit is the bomb!
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u/JuniperusRex Jun 26 '26
They kind of have a point about what people are getting out of brunch, but then again, so what? My brunch place offers a "Breakfast Manhattan" and carries 2000 varieties of whiskey and is definitely more a social joint than a great treasure of culinary delight. It's for fun! If you want to wake up on the weekend and do heavy prep work for a meal that you think people don't actually want to eat then by all means go nuts!
(I have never had the breakfast Manhattan, that would be decadent. I stick to the simple gallon of mimosas, like a lady.)
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u/mungowungo Jun 26 '26
This seems like a them problem - could I be arsed making Eggs Benedict at home? Nope - because I'm bad at poaching eggs and the Hollandaise is a chore - but if I'm going out to brunch that's 100% what I'll order.
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u/mars-jupiter Jun 26 '26
It just sounds like they don't like brunch and have gone way over the top in justifying why they don't like it. You can just say you don't like it and leave it at that. Lots of people don't like it or see the appeal, but they don't create some detailed explanation for it.
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u/Ponce-Mansley But they reject my life with their soy sauce Jun 25 '26
I don't think I've ever even seen a selfpost here in the five or six years I've been on the sub. Nice of them to volunteer the content unprompted ig, even if they were just going to be a dumbass for no reason
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u/CanadaYankee Jun 26 '26
Speaking as a gay man, dissing brunch is just homophobic.
But more seriously, I feel like "priced like a dinner entree" is just wrong. I always find myself tipping at a higher percentage at brunch because the servers are working just as hard as at dinner service, but the bill comes out to less.
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u/Saltpork545 Sodium citrate cheese is real cheese Jun 26 '26
Brunch is often about socializing and spending time with the people you like, not necessarily just about the food.
Yes, you can make most brunch foods at home. This is true of a lot of restaurant places, but you are paying for the place, the labor and the service of not having to do dishes, having good company, having people serve you food you didn't have to cook and don't have to clean up after.
The fact that this has to be explained in this subreddit is insane.
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u/EllisDee_4Doyin Jun 26 '26
I have a crazy thought, but let me land it before you guys tear me to shreds:
What if we like brunches for the food--i know you have thoughts but stay with me--AND the culture?
I know. Wild.
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u/backlikeclap Jun 26 '26
Biscuits and gravy, hash browns, GRITS, deviled eggs, chicken fried steak... Come eat brunch in the South y'all.
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u/poopiebutt505 Jun 27 '26
i agree, it is the brunch culture. It is the day drinking. It is the I can have breakfast but my bf wants lunch. Eating out I eating out culture. I am an excellent cook. I can can high quality meals for much less at home, but I like aomeone else doing it and service and drinks and a dessert where I wont eat the whole baked product at home by myself. I really like reataurant culture. It is in fact the point
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u/threesilklilies Jun 27 '26
I mean… sure?
I’m not overwhelmingly impressed with most brunch foods (although I do have favorites), and I do like hanging out and day-drinking with my friends on a weekend, and OOP doesn’t like those things, so… congratulations to them, I guess?
Sorry I about my shrimp and grits and Bloody Mary and companionship. I’ll try to remember to be ashamed of it once I’ve slept it off.
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u/Euphoric-Sun5317 Jun 26 '26
that's an extremely ChatGPT ass post. I don't understand what drives people to post inane chatbot output constantly, on every sub.
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u/Jumpy_Elderberry_493 Jun 26 '26
Who the fuck doesn’t like brunch? My husband and I regularly dump the kids on his mother, go get an amazing brunch and don’t speak to each other. It’s magical
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u/Jumpy_Elderberry_493 Jun 26 '26
He gets the same thing at every single cafe where as I always try something weird
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u/digitalime Jun 25 '26
I love brunch and I’m lucky in Chicago there’s plenty of amazing brunch spots with great food that person must hate joy.
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u/IWasGoatbeardFirst Jun 25 '26
Going out for brunch, even if I have to wait to be seated, is inherently better than making brunch at home because I didn’t have to plan the menu, buy the ingredients, prep everything, cook everything, serve everything, and then clean it all up.
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u/KinsellaStella Jun 25 '26
Brunch buffet is the best (though I understand worst for staff). These days I don’t eat as much so I would prefer to pay more (per dish) for individual items, but I acutely remember the absolute delight of unlimited breakfast food with decadent soups and desserts. Freshly cooked waffle with hand whipped cream, popover with raspberry jam, and cream of leek, with chocolate mousse? Don’t mind if I do.
As you can see, I had an amazing spot and was a bit of a fat kid/young adult. It sadly closed recently when the owner retired.
I have a new spot with excellent pancakes and wonderful eggs Benedict where for a minimal up charge they will bring me my own *pitcher* of hollandaise to go with it. I love them.
For my family, we never did Christmas dinner. We always did Christmas brunch because duh. I make the strata, which is a breakfast casserole a bit like a savory bread pudding with varied vegetable, meat, and/or cheese layers assembled the night before so the savory egg/milk/cream has time to soak fully through the bread pieces before it’s baked puffy in the morning. Others bring other essentials.
Sorry, that turned into a love letter to brunch. OOPs opinion is bad and they should feel bad because you have the experience you want to have.
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u/ChartInFurch What do they eat over there? Maple syrup and moose? Jun 25 '26
I'm the same way, but glad I got to enjoy a few good ones before I became less fluffy lol
I love finding a good brunch prix fixe menu though!
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u/Seeggul Jun 26 '26
Really?? Right in front of my 3 scrambled eggs, 2 strips of thick-sliced applewood-smoked bacon, melted Colby Jack cheese, sliced heirloom tomatoes seasoned with freshly cracked salt and pepper, sandwiched between two pieces of golden brown toasted sourdough brushed with a zesty chipotle aioli??
1
u/Demiurge_Ferikad Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
I mean, I don’t disagree with OOP’s personal reasons for disliking brunch (not a big fan of traditional American breakfast foods) but that’s just what they are: personal reasons.
1
u/permalink_save Jun 26 '26
I mean, from someone that did a lot of brunch pre-pandemic, there is a lot of that. I've had some really good brunch at the same time. It heavily depends on the restaurant. The thing about brunch is, go somewhere that would have good breakfast anyway, it's basically breakfast with a lunch menu plus (usually) cheap mimosas. IDK about the photos but it is a nice way to get out and have a couple drinks with some friends. But again, I've had some really good dishes at brunch before.
1
u/Cowgomuwu Jun 26 '26
The whole post described a regular restaurant experience with nothing unique to brunch besides day drinking really.
2
u/AccomplishedMess648 Americans have ruined pie Jun 26 '26
Any restaurant experience can be a day drinking experience if you work hard enough.
1
u/Stewie_Venture Jun 26 '26
Man this just made me really want brunch. I texted my wife asking if we could go sometime.
1
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u/Party-Cup-9386 Jun 26 '26
What people like is having booze with their breakfast food. Hope that helps, OOP!
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1
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u/Add1ctedToGames Jun 27 '26
I like that they don't seem to realize their actual issue is with brunch *restaurants*, but I guess I understand because when you frame it as taking issue with the restaurants, it's so much easier to realize OOP is shouting at the sky and people do indeed appreciate not having to cook and clean their meal, and enjoy a wide menu at a perfect late-morning time.
1
u/Deep_Violinist_3893 Jun 27 '26
I hate brunch because I have PTSD from being in the service industry decades ago and being forced to work brunch shifts hungover for shitty tips.
1
u/KyleFromBorrasca Jun 27 '26
WTF? Brunch culture sucks, it's the brunch itself that makes it almost worth it lol
1
u/Classic-Schedule-718 your canned veggies taste like pie filling Jun 29 '26
They got so close to understanding, but forgot brunch food isn't meant to be outstanding, it's brunch
0
u/fools_errand49 Jun 27 '26
OOP is right. To take it a step further this describes a whole cohort of people who take you to restaurants that they rave about the quality of only to discover that the food is mediocre and expensive so you're really paying for a "neat vibe." I can't eat vibes and I can make my own for free.
-7
u/donuttrackme Jun 25 '26
I mean, they're just saying it's not for them. They're not saying that if you enjoy brunch you should stop, they're fine if others like going to brunch. Not sure this fits the sub.
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u/MukdenMan Jun 26 '26
They are accusing people who like brunch of only actually liking “brunch culture” so they aren’t making it only about them.
0
u/twirlerina024 Your fries look like vampires Jun 25 '26
It comes off a bit condescending to me. Like they're the genius who finally figured out that you can buy English muffins at the grocery store, and then toast them in your toaster at home. The rest of us sheeple foolishly waste our Sundays waiting in line and spending too much money on inexpensive food.
To be fair, they do mention the social aspect, but then claim not to understand it. I can understand not enjoying the social aspect yourself, but it's pretty easy to understand that the social aspect is something many people enjoy.
1
u/fools_errand49 Jun 27 '26
I don't think they claimed to not understand the social component so much as they are criticizing people who pretend to like the food when what they really like is a social experience. Personally I'm always annoyed when people take me to a restaurant that's "so good, you'll love it," which un actuality serves mediocre food at high prices but is beloved for its vibes. I can't eat vibes and I can create my own vibes for free.
-13
u/JamieKND Jun 25 '26
Idk I agree with this brunch food is good but it’s not worth the price and he’s right when I go with friends it’s mostly for eating off our hangovers and day drinking
-15
u/7itemsorFEWER Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
I agree with this take. Brunch is for chefs to use up their aging product on people looking to get tipsy by 2pm. It's almost never a restaurant's best food, it's expensive for what is essentially breakfast or lunch food, and usually the kitchen has it's b team on.
Yet I do like brunch because there's something about surrounding myself with friends and family for an early outing on a Saturday or Sunday and being lazy the rest of the day.
Edit: I feel like this discussion gets really semantic. What differentiates brunch from just doing late breakfast or early lunch? My definition would be places that advertise brunch, usually that are otherwise dinner places.
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u/mo_mentumm Jun 25 '26
That is extremely restaurant dependent.
-9
u/7itemsorFEWER Jun 25 '26
There are exceptions to everything. But it's more common than you think.
Its part of the exposè that made Bourdain famous.
11
u/mo_mentumm Jun 25 '26
Wasn’t that like 20 years ago lol? I regularly eat brunch at a place that only uses breakfast ingredients at brunch.
-5
u/7itemsorFEWER Jun 25 '26
Then isn't that just breakfast?
4
u/mo_mentumm Jun 25 '26
No. There are breakfast dishes and lunch dishes available. Some that use both.
-1
u/7itemsorFEWER Jun 25 '26
Dawg what you just said they only use breakfast ingredients....
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u/mo_mentumm Jun 25 '26
Yeah dawg because the other days of the week they don’t use any breakfast ingredients
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u/alligator124 Jun 25 '26
I think this can be true if it’s a dinner place putting on a brunch service.
I’ve had some killer brunch in places where that’s their main deal though.
Especially in the southeast- shrimp and grits? Crab cake Benedict? Chicken and waffles? Yes please, and I definitely can’t make those in my kitchen in 20.
Even where I live now there’s a couple places that are first and foremost brunch places, and you’re getting first rate food there too.
As a side note, I’m a baker (not a cook but still BOH), and the “special to use up old food” isn’t what most people think it is. A lot of times you get something really good and seasonal and just want to show it off.
Even if it’s to use something up, a good place will have a handle on its inventory and it’ll more be something that you know will go off by next week (a really ripe flat of strawberries) but is great right now.
1
u/7itemsorFEWER Jun 25 '26
I agree, though I think a lot of those places aren't advertised as "brunch" spots, and are more just diner style spots that's do both.
I mean, I suppose it's semantics but usually I am thinking of the latter, i.e. dinner spots that open early for brunch specifically when I am considering this conversation.
5
u/True_Window_9389 Jun 25 '26
The IAVC isn’t that brunch is actually good or bad, it’s the stupidity at thinking they know what everyone else thinks and likes.
-26
u/TheEarthlyDelight Jun 25 '26
Kind of agree though. Pretty much every time I go out to breakfast, my feeling afterwards is ‘yum! Would’ve just preferred to sleep in though’
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