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| - We visited the Orpheum's Sunday Brunch today. It wouldn't be our first time to the brunch, and it is usually a good bet. Today was the first time we had been there later in the brunch hours, and if this visit is any indication of the state of things as they progress throughout the morning, I would advise; go early.
They always get asparagus right. Although I was surprised to see it in the dead of Winter, it was perfectly cooked and the light way it was dressed was just right. They also have the good sense not to keep it in a steamer, so it never becomes overdone.
Smoked salmon and bagels with all kinds of fresh toppings are also a mainstay at this brunch. And they make a lovely veggie benedict with thin slices of avocado and tomato nesting the egg. It gets a little ugly under the heat lamps, but maintains it's delicious flavor and is never served dried out.
The fresh fruit and wild rice pilaf are flavors that blend nicely with their other entree and side dish choices, making this brunch always worthwhile, along with always tasty little bites of danish pastries for dessert.
This time, the meat choices, of which there are several, sat in greasy room temperature pools of their own fat and the pancakes became severely dried up under the heat lamp, which seemed to go unnoticed as they were never replaced with fresh versions. Perhaps they should be done to order instead, or made in smaller batches. I also passed on the mushroom quiche which was not kept warm at all, possibly because the eggs were already green and dry from overcooking leaving you with a room temperature, rubbery pie. I bet it was a beauty about 20 minutes before they removed it from the oven.
The servers stood in a huddle at the back of the room and our friendly server came to the table to get us our drinks informing us that a drink comes free with brunch. My companion ordered a Bloody Mary, which was tasty, generous and good-looking, but I noticed the server did not correct himself to inform us that only non-alcoholic drinks were free. Kind of a misrepresentation not to say "non-alcoholic" to begin with, and then, not mention it after your customer immediately orders a Bloody Mary. We were fine with that, but a person expecting a free beverage and not hearing the disclaimer may not be happy. The orange juice I ordered was also generously poured and of good quality.
When we asked for our bill, he was great about getting that to us, but when we looked for him to return and take our payment, he had disappeared with the other waitstaff. We had to get going and waited for awhile to try to pay with a credit card, but ended up needing to pool what cash we had so we would not be late to where we were going. So, although we generally leave 20% tips, we could only do just over 17% with the cash on hand. It did make me wonder how much is lost in wages when the staff disappears.
All in all, I always recommend this brunch to people who would like a good breakfast downtown on the weekend. If I am not going to be in that area, I prefer the Eldorado or Daisy Cafe for breakfast or brunch.
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