A Tasty Brunch at Brenda's French Soul Food

What an enjoyable weekend, and it’s not over, yet. I am sitting here enjoying a cup of Drink the Leaf Keemun, a tasty, mild, but flavorful rich black tea. Willing myself to get up and go to the grocery store to complete the last item on the list for the “ Surprise Birthday Weekend”: Savory Bread Pudding (see previous post). However, my mind keeps traveling back to the amazing brunch that we had yesterday in the city. We love discovering new restaurants, especially when it’s at the last minute, and recommended by my new nifty device: the I-Phone.

To digress, this I-phone has become my latest obsession. I can talk, type, listen, view, and ignore all at the same time! The free applications are the best, and my favorite is Urbanspoon. Thank you to my dear friend, Pam, for introducing me to this informative tool. The Urbanspoon is an ideal application for any of the following reasons:

1)You are in food freak, and need to find a restaurant ASAP
2)You are lost, and you remember that there was this cool restaurant nearby
3)You are craving Italian, Indian, or whatever you fancy-
4)You want to find out how to get there
5)You are obsessed with researching restaurants
6)You travel frequently, and need to be in the know! The list goes on and on


Back to the brunch. We were in search of finding a restaurant near our hotel, and narrowed our quest by selecting Breakfast/Brunch. Viola! Brenda’s French Soul Food popped up. Three miles from our hotel on Polk St & Eddy- perfect. Urbanspoon also gives the user the ability to rate the restaurant with a simple: Like Or Don’t Like. (91% was the favorable score). Reviews, articles, and menus are also available. We headed out.

Brenda’s is owned by Chef Brenda Buenviaje, a native of New Orleans. This diner totes Creole food “with a French style and New Orleans Soul”. Only open for breakfast and lunch, and with a line out the door. It’s a postage size stamp of place, where we counted about 30 seats total. We put our name on the list – tacked to the outside of the building, and waited. About 30 minutes total. Not bad, because we were rewarded with a very flavorful meal. The menu ranges from Beignets to Fried Oyster Po’Boys. Sitting in this restaurant makes you feel like you stumbled upon something really special, and you can't wait for the chance to tell your friends about it.

We settled on the following:

• 2 cups of Café au Lait
• One Order of Beignets- Traditional- the dough, deep-fried, was hot and moist, with confectioner sugar sprinkled on top.
• Tea Drinker: Croque Monsieur with a side of French Fries: Baked ham, topped with Gruyere, and béchamel sauce on sliced sourdough. A great base for the rest of the day.
• Wife of Tea Drinker: Florentine Eggs Benedict- Today's Special- Oh my. Two perfectly cooked poached eggs with sauteed spinach sitting on homemade “cream” biscuits, all smothered with a delicious Cajun hollandaise sauce. Side of potato hash. Need I say more…Okay, I will. I will be thinking about this hollandaise until I can get back there for more.

Go to this place-you will not be disappointed. Other items that caught our attention were: Crayfish Beignets, Chicken, Sausage, & Okra Gumbo, Bacon & Egg Tartine, and Fried Catfish.

Well, my last sip of Keemun is getting cold. Time to go to the store, or maybe I can convince the Tea Drinker to settle on leftovers- Potato Hash from Brenda’s…..