Back to Brunch

We love brunch—even those bare bones menus with just a French toast or waffle option and the requisite two eggs and choice of meat. As long as a hearty portion of TLC was applied to the preparation, the combination of carbs, butterfat, something sweet and something salty pretty much makes this meal the most satisfying of them all. This is why it pains us to see great restaurants haphazardly throw together a Sunday brunch that falls short of the quality of its dinner and lunch options. And we find this happens far too often.

But some restaurants find a way to deploy their A-team even during brunch. Majestic Café, whose dinners are well documented by the food media as superb, puts together a brunch that easily rivals its nighttime menu, and its brunch offerings are, on average, about $10 cheaper. In fact, we’re a bit surprised area foodies haven’t caught on to this amazing deal.

The menu is anything but ordinary, as it throws in a few unconventional choices in the mix. Our personal favorite Majestic original is a dish of deep fried poached eggs on a bed of beluga lentils. This is one of those meals that we can eat in its entirety without looking up once to address or even acknowledge our brunch companions. Delicate poached eggs (usually a bit runny, but sometimes a bit hard in the middle; we’re fine with them either way) have been deep fried just long enough to create a crispy, slightly resistant coating. These little dumplings are nestled on a bed of earthy beluga lentils, stewed in a tangy tarragon sun dried tomato butter sauce and garnished with watercress. There are so many flavors and textures going on here; the snap of the poached egg and the crackle of the fried coating are perfectly complementary to the soft lentils and aromatic sauce. Even the garnish, which would normally be an afterthought, adds a peppery crunch to the dish.