Arlington Brunch Club

Great Easter Brunch Recipes

2011-04-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! It's such a beautiful day so, I figured why not take a break from going to brunch and make brunch at home to celebrate this glorious holiday! Here are a few different recipes to create for today or for whenever!

apple butter hotcakes

ingredientsPrep: 25 min.Cook: 4 min. per batch

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 12-ounce package frozen pitted light or dark sweet cherries
1/2 cup cherry jam or cherry preserves
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
1-1/2 cups packaged regular or buttermilk pancake mix (not complete pancake mix)
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup purchased apple butter

directions

1. For flavored butter, in a small mixing bowl, use a small whisk to combine butter, honey, and cinnamon. Whisk until well combined; set aside.

2. For cherry sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine frozen cherries, cherry jam, and orange peel. Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly. Cover and set aside; keep warm.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together pancake mix, milk, oil, eggs, and apple butter. Stir just until moistened (batter should still be lumpy). For mini-size hot cakes, spread about 1 tablespoon batter into a 1-1/2-inch circle onto a hot lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. (For standard-size hot cakes, spread about 1/4 cup batter into a 4-inch circle.) Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side or until hot cakes are golden brown, turning to second sides when hot cakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Serve warm with flavored butter and cherry sauce.

4. Makes 32 to 40 mini-size or 8 to 10 standard-size hot cakes

Recipe from http://www.bhg.com/holidays/easter/recipes/an-easter-brunch-that-dazzles/

Salmon Roll

Two 6.5 oz. pouches salmon

1/2 cup chopped pecans

8 ounces softened cream cheese

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 drops liquid smoke or Worcestershire sauce

crackers for serving

Combine salmon, cream cheese and liquid smoke or Worcestershire; mix well. Shape into ball or log. Roll in mixture of pecans and parsley. Roll up in plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill to blend flavors. Serve with crackers.

Makes 2 cups.

Recipe from http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/easter/brunch-recipes/salmon-roll.htm

Eggs Benedict

For the Hollandaise Sauce:4 egg yolks

½ cup very hot water
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups clarified butter

Over medium heat, in the top of a double boiler, add egg yolks, cayenne, salt, and ½ of the water. Stir until mixture reaches the consistency of mayonnaise. Remove from heat. Alternating the water and butter, starting with the water, slowly add the remaining hot water and butter, whisking constantly, until gone. Adding more water will thin the sauce, adding more butter will thicken the sauce. The sauce will get thicker the longer it sits. Keep the sauce warm until ready to serve.

For the poached eggs:

2 large fresh eggs
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

Fill a large saucepan with 3 inches of water. Bring water to a gentle simmer, then add the vinegar. Carefully break eggs into simmering water. Cook for about 3 minutes. Yolks should still be soft in center. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and gently place them on a plate. Keep eggs warm until serving.

To finish the Eggs Benedict:

2 pieces Canadian bacon
1 English muffin
Softened butter, for spreading on English muffin
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Brown the Canadian bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast the English muffins.

Spread toasted muffins with softened butter, and top each muffin half with a slice of bacon and one poached egg. Drizzle with Hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

Serves 1 with leftover Hollandaise sauce

Enjoy your Easter!!

Brunch at Carlyle

2011-04-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

4000 Campbell Avenue

Arlington, VA 22206

(703) 931-0777

Hours: Saturday Brunch 10:30am-3:00pm Sunday Brunch 9:30am- 3:00pm; Regular Hours: Monday- 11:00am-10:30pm; Tuesday-Thursday 11:00am -11:00pm ; Friday- 11:00am-midnight; Saturday-10:30am-midnight; Sunday-9:30am-10:30pm

Neighborhood: Shirlington

Nearest Metro Station: N/A

Brunch Prices: A la carte $5.50-$20.00

Featured Brunch Cocktails:

Sparkling Virginia Cider $3

Mimosa $6

Grand Mimosa (with Grand Marnier) $8

The Bellini Cocktail $7

Absolut Peppar Bloody Mary $7

Carlyle Website

Yes! I finally found another location with Saturday brunch, although I went on a Sunday. This time I decided to venture away from the metro line and go to Shirlington. I have heard a lot of good things about Carlyle and decided the Brunch Club needed to make a trip over there. Carlyle is one of the Great American Restaurants, which in my opinion they never disappoint. Just like the rest of their restaurants Carlyle gets just as busy so for brunch you will most likely not be able to do a reservation, but you can call ahead while you are on your way to make the wait shorter.

Sesame Crusted Seared Rare Tuna Salad

Mango Chicken & Spiced Pecans

The food is amazing! Although, if you are looking for a more breakfast food, this may not be the best place for you, but if you want more of a lunch type of menu this is a great place. They have small salads like the Traditional Caesar or Warm Goat Cheese & Spiced Pecans. If you’re looking for a bigger salad they have a Short Smoked Grilled Salmon Salad or Mango Chicken & Spiced Pecans. There are a few breakfast type dishes like the BBC Brioche French Toast or the Stake & Eggs Benedict. The deserts looked amazing, but we were to full to eat them, but they had (yummy) Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee, Warm White Chocolate Bread Pudding or even a Best Buns Dog Biscuit to take home to Rover if you really wanted to! I decided to get the Crab Cake Sandwich without the bread… and it was great! The French fries and coleslaw were awesome. (I am getting hungry just thinking about it right now!)

My Crab Cake " sandwich"

The mimosa were good, but they were nothing to write home about. Compared to other places I have gone, having one mimosa for $6 is not that appealing.

I would have to say Carlyle is a great place to go to brunch after church or with family and friends if you are looking for a classy place for brunch. This would not be a good location to starts a Sunday or Saturday Funday.

Brunch at Caribbean Breeze

2011-04-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

4100 Fairfax Drive

Arlington, VA 22203-1678

(703) 812-7997

Hours: Sunday Brunch 10:00am- 3:00pm; Regular Hours: Monday-Thursday 11:30am -10:00pm ; Friday- Saturday 11:30am -12am; Sunday- 10:30am -3:00pm and 4:30pm – 10:00pm

Neighborhood: Ballston

Nearest Metro Station: Ballston-MU

Brunch Prices: All you can eat buffet: $19.95

Featured Cocktails: $5 UNLIMTED Mimosa with different purees ( mango, guava, passion fruit, orange and peach); Build your own Bloody Mary Bar (Prices depends on Vodka chosen)

Caribbean Breeze Website

(Not a great location for children)

Well, its’ close to summer time and it’s time to get out of Arlington! Unfortunately, time does not permit me to travel back to the Caribbean, BUT Caribbean Breeze is a great choice if you need a little kiss from the Caribbean! I have to say that I love the atmosphere with the bright colors, the floral shirts and when its nice out there is even a volleyball court and a Corn Hole game area! But because of the great sunny (not!) weather we are having I did not have a chance to experience the greatest of their outside. I would have to say that it really does feel like a resort when you walk in the door. (At least to me it did! )

When you first walk in your immediately see a large buffet in front. It not only has traditional brunch food (such as waffles, sausage, create your own omelet, bacon, etc) but they have food that you would usually find in the Caribbean (hence the name Caribbean Breeze). There were floral skins, a separate salad bar with different types of salads (potato, chicken, tomato and mozzarella, tuna, cucumber and tomato….) a roast beef caving station, smoked salmon, plantains, black beans ( they are awesome), jerked chicken and rice and beans. Lastly, there is a chocolate fountain! Of course there is more, but I have to leave some to the imagination!

Overall the food was amazing! I have been to Caribbean Breeze many times and every time I go I am never disappointed.

On a scale rating one through ten I will have to give Caribbean Breeze a nine. It is a great location if you want to bring your parents that are visiting in town, go to brunch with a few friends or even start a Sunday Funday there when the weather is nicer. Stay tuned for another review very soon!

Brunch at Front Page

2011-04-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

4201 Wilson Blvd # 103
Arlington, VA 22230
(703) 248-9990

Hours: Sunday Brunch 10:00am-3:00pm Regular Hours: Monday-Friday 11:30am - 2:00am; Saturday-Sunday 10:00am to 2:00am

Neighborhood: Ballston

Nearest Metro Station: Ballston- MU Station

Brunch Prices: All you can eat buffet: Adult $18.99 Children ( 12 and under) $8.99 A la Carte ranges $10.00 and below

Feature Cocktails:$1 Mimosa (with buffet) ; Create your own Bloody Mary Station $5.

Restaurant Website: Front Page Arlington

Frontpage Arlington is one of the Caps’s (Washington Capital’s hockey team) bars, which many people (include yours truly) like to watch the games at , little did I know that they serve Sunday brunch there!

When you first walk in you are immediately greeted with a create your own Bloody Mary bar and the beginning of the brunch buffet. The prices on the Bloody Mary can vary depending on the type of vodka used, but they seemed to be running about $5 per drink. If a Bloody Mary is not your cup of tea they also have $1 Mimosa that go along with the brunch. (If you could not tell from previous post I love Mimosas!)

The buffet I felt had a great selection of both breakfast and other foods. The first part of the buffet consisted of salads, smoked salmon, tomatoes and mozzarella, and baked goods such as muffins, croissants, bagels, etc. Next were combination of lunch food and breakfast such as sausage, Belgian Waffles, pancakes, French toast, Blacken Chicken Fettuccine and scrambled eggs. I will have to say the Blacken Chicken Fettuccine was awesome! I was not the only one going back for seconds! There was also a carving station and create your own omelet station which included shrimp! Many places I have gone to in the past had an omelet station, but they did not include shrimp! The buffet had many more items, but its best to leave that secret until you go there!

If a buffet is not quite what you want, they also have an A La Carte menu, which runs between $7.00 and $10.00. A lot of the same items are featured on the menu but for a cheaper price than the buffet.

My Plate

Front Page is a great place to have brunch if you want to catch an early game on TV or have a low-key brunch with friends. You have the option of sitting in a dining area or at the bar. The only thing that was a little disheartening was the service that was provided to us. It was very hard to get the servers attention ( his may have been because they were watching a game on TV) I had to do addition research to find out the prices of the drinks for brunch because they were not marked any where and when I asked about them I could not get a complete answer. It was like pulling teeth to find out what the drink specials were and how much they cost!

All in all we had a great experience there, I would rate this brunch on a scale ranging from one to ten as a seven. If you wanted to start a Sunday Funday their it would be quit easy due to the $1 Mimosa, $5 Bloody Marys and you are already at a bar with some sort of sport game on.

Try it out and enjoy your brunch! Stay turned for more brunch reviews!

Stay Tuned...

2011-04-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Brunch Clubbers! I know it has been a while since I have blogged but stayed turned! In the next few days there will be two new blogs posted!

Brunch at Ragtime

2011-03-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

1345 N. Courthouse Road

Arlington, VA 22201

(703)243-4003

Sunday Brunch

Neighborhood: Court House

Nearest Metro Station: Court House

Brunch Prices: Sunday Waffle & Omelet Bar $12.99

Feature Cocktails: Mimosa and Mimosa Pitchers

Bloody Mary

Bellini

Restaurant Website: Ragtime

I must say Ragtime has a new spot in my heart for brunch! It you want a true Sunday brunch experience this is the place to dine. There was a live jazz band and TVs with all of the popular games on. The prices ranged between $9- $15 which is great if you do not want to spend a lot of money. Especially since many places around Wilson Blvd are becoming more expensive. They do not have a full brunch buffet but they do have a waffle and omelet bar. The bar also had sausage, bacon and home fries on it. Which all tasted delicious!

To my surprise they have pitchers of Mimosa! ---How can you go wrong with that!? Of course if you want you can also have it by the glass.

Yum!

The regular brunch menu was smaller, but it had diverse choices of breakfast and lunch ( such as sandwiches or soups) . There are choices such as Breakfast Burrito with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheddar & Jack cheeses with pico de gallo rolled in a flour tortilla. Served with home fries or Crab Benedict english muffin topped with poached eggs, Maryland crabmeat & hollandaise. Served with home fries. If you want something that is more like lunch they have munchies which range any where from Buffalo Wings with jumbo spicy chicken wings served with your choice of Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing. There are also choices for soups and salads.

I decided to get the Waffle and Omelet bar which was yummy! ( Please excuse the not so full plate!!) It was a great choice since I always like making my own omletes and all I really wanted was eggs and waffles. This gave me the choice of making my own omelet and putting everything I wanted on my waffle.

Ragtime is a great place to start a Sunday Funday. The music really puts you in a good mood. I honestly could have sat there for hours! On a scale from one to ten I would put Ragtime at a nine. It over all was a great experience! Ragtime would be a great place if you would want a more relaxed brunch that is not in a "stuffy" location.

I cannot wait until the next time I can go there for brunch! Stay tuned for another brunch review!!!

Brunch at Witlow's on Wilson Bar and Grill

2011-03-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

2850 Wilson Blvd.

Clarendon, VA 22201

(703)276-9693

Brunch served Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00am - 3:00pm ( A La Carte) and 10:00am - 3:00pm (Buffet)

Regular Hours Monday- Friday 11:00am -2:00am Saturday & Sunday 9:00am - 2:00am

Neighborhood: Clarendon

Nearest Metro Station: Clarendon Station

Brunch Prices: Adult Buffet: $17.95 and Kids 10 & Under: $5.95 A La Carte: Varies

Feature Cocktails: Mimosa

Bloody Mary

Restaurant Website: Whitlow's on Wilson Bar and Grill

So finally I caught a brunch on Saturday! I have gone to Whitlow's many times to either hang out or hear a band, but never for lunch. I figured that since this past weekend was gorgeous that starting my Saturday off with brunch with my good friends would be a great idea.

I must say I like the option of having a brunch with A La Carte and a buffet. The buffet seemed to be a diverse selection of food ranging from a create your own omelet to crab legs. Although, it was a good selection I was not that impressed by it.

The Brunch Buffet

I decided for a la carte since I figured I would not be eating $17.95 worth of food from the buffet. Instead I ordered an egg white omelet with ham, mushroom and onions. It came with toast, sausage and home fries. It was good but nothing to write home about. The menu is close to what you can get on the buffet which I found interesting. It defiantly had a lot more breakfast selection on it than other places we have gone to.

The mimosa was good, but then again it is hard to mess up mimosas.

My mimoas

I found Witlow's to be great spot to start your Sunday Funday if you are going to have one. There were tons of people there, with different sports games on in the bar. But if you are looking for a classy place to go on a Sunday or Saturday morning this may not be the best place to choose.

On a scale from one to ten I would give brunch at Witlow's on Wilson Bar and Grill at five.

Stay tuned for more reviews of brunch in Arlington!!

Brunch at CIRCA in Clarendon

2011-03-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

3010 Clarendon Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 522-3010

Brunch Served: Saturday and Sundays from 10:30am - 4:00pm
Regular Hours: Monday- Thursday 11:00am-12:00am (midnight); Friday 11:30am - 2:00am Saturday 10:30am- 2:00am Sunday 10:30am -11:00pm

Neighborhood: Clarendon
Nearest Metro Station: Clarendon Station
Brunch Price: Varies
Featured Cocktails:Bloody Mary $9.00
   Mimosa  $5.00
   Rise and Shine Martini $9.00
   The Grandest Mimosa $12.00

Restaurant Website:CIRCA at Clarendon

For the past few months I have passed the building site of CIRCA and wondered what was going to go there. Well, now that it is complete I decided I had to investigate whether or not CIRCA at Clarendon had brunch just like the other two locations. To my liking I found out that they do!

When the brunch club got there we were pleased to see a very trendy looking restaurant, it was easy to get a seat ( but then again it was 2:00 in the afternoon on a miserably rainy day)

Very trendy!!

Once we got there we immediately noticed that they did not have a brunch buffet. Not going to lie I was looking forward to a custom made omelet, but alas they did not have it. Maybe next week the brunch club will find it. The menu was a combination of breakfast and lunch time selection of food. It was a little disappointing looking for a more traditional breakfast dish, but we found a few. So note if you would like a traditional breakfast CIRCA at Clarendon may not be the best choice for you.

The food was very good we all got the Circa American Bistro Breakfast which was 12.00. The food ranged from $5.50 for a Roasted Butternut Squash soup to $20.00 for Bistro Stake and Eggs. We thought this was a good range for the food, but the drinks were a little expensive, especially if you want to have more than one. One of the brunch clubbers got the same dish as me, but with chicken sausage. I have to say that sausage made the dish really pop! So please if you go for brunch to Circa get the chicken sausage. I promise you will not be disappointed!

Yummy food!

Over all we were impressed with the brunch, but I am not sure if I would go back there anytime soon for brunch. So on a scale from 1 to 10 I would give CIRCA at Clarendon a 6.5.

For those of you who go to brunch looking for a hangover cure depending on what you order this place may cure it. The food is very good and not greasy, but the ingredients are not overly complicated.

Stay turned for next week as I continue my search for bottomless mimosa and another buffet brunch!

Sunday Brunch at Liberty Tavern

2011-03-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

3195 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 465-9360

Brunch Served Sundays from 9:30am - 2:00pm
Regular Hours: Monday- Saturday 11:30am; Sunday 9:30am - 2:00am
Neighborhood: Clarendon
Nearest Metro Station: Clarendon Station
Brunch Price: Adults $19 Children $8
Featured Cocktails:Fresh Fruit Bellini $8
   Mimosa made with fresh OJ $4
   The Grapefruit Buck with Absolute Ruby Red $6
   Breakfast Bloody Mary with Brooklyn Lager chaser $5

Restaurant Website: The Liberty Tavern

I have always thought of The Liberty Tavern as a great place to have drinks with friends and grab a snack or dinner at but I never realized that they served brunch on Sundays. Once I found this out I had to investigate what this brunch was like. Would there be mimosas? Would it be expensive? Well here is what I found out...

The price of the brunch was a good price. $19 for all you can eat buffet or A La Carte menu. The buffet included food such as fruit salad, scrambled eggs, North Country Applewood Smoked Bacon, rice, salmon with lemon caper sauce... you will have to either visit the website or go to brunch to know what the rest are. Here is a picture of the brunch set-up upstairs.

The Buffet
What I loved about this brunch is that every person that gets a buffet brunch gets three pancakes with it. I did not realize this when I was getting my food and a very nice server found me and brought me my pancakes :) Here is a picture of my plate... not the usual brunch combination you would see but you can see some of the food they offered from that.

My very interesting combination for brunch

The one thing that I was a little disappointed about was that they did not have a create your own omelet station. You can get an omelet off the A La Carte menu, but then you would have to pay for the buffet and the omelet.

The A La Carte menu looked tasty. One of the brunch clubbers decided to get order from the brunch menu. The combinations looked tasty, but not the best if you are hungover like I was. The menu follows Liberty Taverns unique but great combination of food. An example of this would be Maine Lobster Roll, housemade split top roll, cucumber mayonnaise, tarragon, scallion which is $15. Sounds amazing right?

The drinks prices seemed to be good, but when there are places that included bottomless mimosa for brunch. If you are looking for a place to start your "Sunday Funday" this may not be the best place to start. The prices are good for drinks, but if you would like to have tons of "fun" there are places in Arlington that have I have heard have bottomless Mimosas.

*Note Liberty Tavern may not be the best place to get brunch if you are hungover. Let's be honest, when you are hungover you want something fried and potentially unhealthy. Everything at The Liberty Tavern is healthy and may not help cure your hang over.

The Arlington Brunch Club rates this brunch a 8 out of 10. Look job Liberty Tavern!

Stay tuned for next weeks review. Will I find bottomless mimosas in Arlington for brunch?? We shall see...

It's brunch time!

2011-02-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that it is hard to find brunch deals online for Arlington or just figure out where to go for one? I know there have been many Sunday mornings ( or Saturdays mornings) that I have been laying around and want to get something to eat, and not just the Ihop or Silver Dinner down the street, but something really good. Something that can fill my belly and also kill my possible hangover from the night before. (Possibly, with another drink...) So I decided that there needs to be an end to this madness of lack of information. It's time to let people know there are GOOD places to go on this side of the Potomac River. So starting next weekend ( Just so happens to be Valentines weekend) I, Ms. Bean and friends will start the Arlington Brunch Club. We will search for great deals, food, atmosphere and of course MIMOSAS!!! We will leave no area of Arlington unturned ( okay, okay at least we will try to) I wonder where we will end up?