A Brunch Food & Drink focus edition Saturday, March 18, 2017 • Page 1B
Liberty Kitchen Garden Oaks serves up winning tacos
Upon walking into the restaurant, your visual senses are immediately stimulated with the beautifully decorated restaurant, bar and sun room for dining seating. I started my brunch with a Liberty Mimosa recommendation from the waiter – pineapple infused vodka, champagne and a black berry floater. I kept my starter simple so I could enjoy my brunch entrée and placed an order for the bacon jam eggs - two deviled eggs topped with their signature bacon jam. If you’re a bacon lover, these are a must. I spent a few minutes with the brunch menu weighing out my options. I was stuck on the fence with my order, debating between the half Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs, the also appealing Real Cowboy Surfers-Style Chicken and Donut Bowl, or the taco plate. Eventually, I came to a final decision on the Lutheran High North Lions Game Day Taco Plate (2) – meat, cheese, egg, taco sauce, pico
By Christina Martinez Christina@theleadernews.com
Amongst the tall trees and bucolic natural elements that surround the Garden Oaks neighborhood, is a new creature that has called the neighborhood its home – construction. Although construction is not a new creature to the neighborhood, or the city, it is a new challenge that many businesses are facing and one that has had an effect on the restaurant Liberty Kitchen Garden Oaks. On my drive over to LKGO, I drove in from the Heights coming down North Shepherd and turning into the neighborhood from 38th Street. Eventually, the construction path sat directly on my destined route, and even though there were re-routing signs to guide me to the restaurant, I contemplated avoiding the construction all-together and dining elsewhere. That very thought process steered me to find the re-route to LKGO parking, with lingering thoughts of how neighbors or potential diners might skip over the restaurant due to the construction annoyances.
Photo by Christina Martinez The Lutheran High North Lions Game Day Taco Plate at Liberty Kitchen Garden Oaks, located at 3715 Alba Rd.
See TACOS 3B
Dishes rated ‘Eggcelent’ on brunch dining scope Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
A staple in the brunch department, eggs are both delicious and nutritious. But it’s the delicious part that probably holds sway when most people are looking at a menu on a leisurely morning. The Leader asked readers about some of their favorite dishes and then went out to sample them. Most Egg-cellent! Runner’s Bowl - Cedar Creek Café, 1034 W. 20th St. Reader Brenda Spurlin said she had brunch a few months ago at Cedar Creek and ordered their Runner’s Bowl ($11). “It is two poached eggs over quinoa,” she said. “I fell in love. I make it for dinner about every other week.” In addition, the dish contains a little fruit, broccoli, asparagus and avocado as well as some sausage. Spurlin says that she jazzes up the quinoa with more veggies and nuts when she makes it. Try it yourself or head over to the Creek.
Cedar Creek manager Cory Pitts says it is one of their top three sellers. “It’s a healthy option,” he said. “And the quinoa, sausage and egg marinate very well together.” Verdict: If you are a quinoa person you have to try this.
Crab and Spinach Omelet at Union Kitchen, 3452 Ella Blvd Several readers mentioned dishes at Union Kitchen, but Alexis Eaton singled out the Crab and Spinach Omelet ($14.95). Eaton is not alone in her opinion. This omelet was one of the first brunch items on The Union Kitchen menu and has consistently been one of its most popular dishes. Paul Miller, owner of Gr8 Plate Hospitality, was in California on vacation and went to a seafood restaurant with a similar dish. He loved it and decided to add it to the menu at The Union Kitchen. Verdict: I felt both healthy and a little bit decadent with this dish.
The Farmstand Farmer’s Market in Garden Oaks, Wakefield near Crowbar For sheer value, you can’t get a better deal in the area. Last Saturday I had two breakfast tacos on corn tortillas and an orange juice for three bucks. Yes, three dollars. It’s $2 for an order of one flour or two corn tortillas. Mickey Morales’ egg-pertise is not a secret as many people mentioned his creations as a weekend meal staple. He’s been at it since the stand opened four years ago. Morales thinks the popularity of his tacos and omelets is due to the good ingredients. He gets his eggs from Cathy Sullivan of Happy Heart Farms. Since Sullivan’s eggs are generally in shorter supply October through January, Morales also has a few other sources that he trusts. Garnishes include cheese, fresh cilantro and a salsa he says he’s been making for his own family for 20 years. Verdict: Did I mention my whole delicious breakfast was three bucks?
The Runner’s Bowl at Cedar Creek Cafe, located at 1034 W. 20th Street.
Photo by Betsy Denson
Contributed photo The slowdough artisanal pretzels and dipping sauces served at Beaver’s during brunch.
Stalking the best brunch bread By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader
When The Leader’s Food Editor Christina Martinez asked us to study brunch offerings in the area and select the best breads served with them, my mind went straight to toast. Toast is so, well, ordinary. I should have had more faith in the community’s creativity because the selection of items made with grain, yeast or batter available is breathtaking. During brunch at Onion Creek Cafe, we went for the home-made buttermilk biscuits and the sausage gravy that comes with them. After dousing the warm, flaky, golden medallions in just the right amount of thick, gloppy, heartclogging gravy - we swooned. Who cares that Onion Creek has no creek when the brunch biscuits are this good? Another fun choice for brunch is Beaver’s on Decatur Street in the Heights. Some of the recipes are the creation of owner Chef Monica Pope, and none disappoint. The menu is chocked full of unique flavors. On our brunch bread hunting visit to Beaver’s, we opted for an order of slowdough pretzels. If we were anywhere else, that might have been risky, but our faith in Pope payed off. Two, large, warm artisanal pretzels appeared, with two house-made dipping choices: a 1836 beer sauce, and a peach bourbon mustard sauce. The pretzels had just the right amount of salt, and a hint of crunch on the outside, a nice compliment to the pillowy dough in the middle. Both dipping sauces were memorable, but as pretzel purists, we went for the peach bourbon mus-
tard. The golden goo was full of spicy mustard seeds with the peach adding an interesting undertone. The best part? These bunch treats are not limited to brunch. They also appear on the regular menu. If your dreams of the perfect brunch bread lean toward sweet stuff, we have a musttry that will satisfy. Located on N. Shepherd St. at 19th Street, Hugs & Donuts is worth a stop for a one-of-kind, worth-every-bite, sugar coma. The little spot offers a small number of tables painted like donuts for dining, and an enormous selection of the most original yeast donuts, cake donuts, fritters, and kolaches anywhere. Try one of the donuts
crammed with house-made fillings such as Boston cream pie, or fluffer nutter. For adventure, there’s a green tea coconut donut or a tres leches, and for a sweet-savory choice, there’s the maple bacon. Yummmmy with four “m”s. The kolaches here are equally interesting and tempting. There’s a sausage and pepperjack kolache, a BBQ brisket and cheddar kolache, a spinach and artichoke, and our favorite, a fig and brie topped with arugula and almonds, among others. If you can’t wait for brunch to try one of these, you’re in luck. Hugs & Donuts serves its sweet-savory treasures seven days a week.
3814 N. Shepherd 77018 | 832-667-8081
www.farmboybrewshop.com
Do it yourself
Beer • Wine • Mead • Cider Cheese • Yogurt • Kombucha Bread Starters
& other fermentables
Choose from the best ingredients and enjoy friendly service
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