trius winery's market brunch | niagara on the lake, ca

I grew up on fried bologna sandwiches, and Zander grew up on soft shell crabs. I'm overjoyed every time I tweak my recipe and taste my homemade red sauce, and Zander feels the same way as a first course is set before him at a new restaurant from an esteemed chef. When it comes to food, he and I come from different worlds. We're both "foodies" in our own right - he's more adventurous than me and loves anything straight from the sea, and I appreciate classics and southern comforts upped to the next level with fresh, local ingredients. We got the best of both words - well-known favorites with a twist and cultured offerings - with an added bonus of exquisite preparation - at the renowned Trius Winery brunch.

Niagara on the Lake is a short 20-30 minute drive from Niagara Falls, Canada. It's a gorgeous old town with a main street lined with boutiques and gathering places. From the town center it's an easy walk to the lake, where baby blue water stretches into the horizon. I wandered into a boutique clothing store and left with two dresses. I get more compliments on those dresses than just about anything else I own. It's a nice reminder to shop local and not to solely rely on my staple of J Crew.

I read a few places before our trip to Niagara Falls that Niagara on the Lake has been voted Canada's most beautiful town. It attracts retirees with enough money to buy old houses and keep them functioning like new. It's also known for its wineries. With more than 30 within and on the periphery of the town, it's one of Canada's premiere wine destinations.

When I started mapping out a wine-tasting route for Zan and me, I stumbled upon Trius Winery's farmer's market brunch. Not the wine tasting. The brunch. Everywhere I looked, I saw reviews and comments and blog posts and articles about the quality of this spectacular brunch with a wine pairing. Zan took one look at the prix fixe menu, with several options available for each of the three courses, and just like that, we had a reservation.

We were seated outside on a covered patio overlooking a fountain and endless rows of grape vines. Our server greeted us warmly and poured us welcome, complimentary glasses of Trius's sparkling rose. We could have ended the experience right there, and I would have left happy. I've never had a drier, crisper, more refreshing sparkling wine - and a rose at that! I left with two bottles and wish I had purchased even more.

As we, okay I, gushed over the wine, a food runner set a basket of homemade breads and red wine-infused butter in front of us. She quickly but calmly and thoroughly explained each of the varieties of bread and the butter. Her explanations were one of my favorite parts of the experience.

For our first course, Zander chose salmon and crab rillette served with Niagara cherries and house made Focaccia bread. It was paired with a late harvest Vidal wine. I chose the crisp romaine hearts with smoked bacon with a creamy parmesan dressin wrapped in prosciutto and served over lentil du puy with a hen's egg. I was served an off-dry Gewurztraminer with the salad. Can I just say that I'm writing this at 10:15pm, and I'm salivating thinking of this salad. It is, hands down, one of the most delectable courses - and by far the best salad - I have ever had in my life. A later blog post will be my attempt to recreate it.

Our second and main courses blew us away, as well. Zander opted for the Bradford Bay capon with fresh Ontario mozzarella served alongside an Ontario mushroom and sweet pea quiche with smoked bacon and apple and raisin dressing. I'd never tried capon, and I thoroughly enjoyed it - it was light but filling, tender, and tasted like the end of summer. His dish paired perfectly with a Sauvignon Blanc. Knowing that we'd be wine tasting after all the wine we were already drinking, I went for the heartiest option - a ribeye burger slider and Icewine pulled pork slider, both with maple peameal bacon, blue haze cheese, and spring cabbage slaw. It came with hand cut truffle fries and house ketchup, and those fries were gone faster than it took me to type this sentence. They are that incredible. Trius's medium-bodied, dry Cabernet Sauvignon complemented the rich red meat perfectly.

For dessert, I went with a homemade ice cream bar served with local fruits and a Reisling Icewine. I have never developed a taste for Port or other dessert wines... but I enjoyed the Icewine. The bitterness of the dark chocolate cut through some of the sweetness of the wine. It was delicious and indulgent. Zander devoured a peach and caramel laced dessert paired with a Cabernot Sauvignon Icewine. I found the Cab Sauv Icewine infinitely sweeter than the Reisling variety.

After brunch, we strolled stuffed to the gills into the tasting room to try the wines we hadn't already. The winery is one of the larger ones in the area, with multiple buildings, an ample tasting room, and vines that extend for ages.

The Chef at Trius Winery knows what he's doing. He has created a brunch with local flavor, stylized touches, and food so versatile it'll make a couple who comes from different food worlds wonder if maybe they didn't, after all. 

 if you go...

trius winery

farmer's market brunch menu (changes seasonally)

cost: $50/$75 with wine pairing

where to eat in atlanta | brunch at rosebud

Let's get the bad news out of the way: By Atlanta law, restaurants cannot serve alcohol until noon. That's an improvement over my years serving tables in Newnan, Georgia back when Coweta County was dry on Sundays. But it's a disappointment coming from DC, where brunch isn't complete if it isn't preceded by the words "bottomless mimosas." The food at Rosebud in the hip Highlands neighborhood of Atlanta far makes up for its champagne deficit.

I'm fortunate to have two friends from high school middle school that I still call my closest. Melanie is one, of course, and the other is Randall. I wrote about our mud hike and delicious lunch at Thai Square after his last visit to DC. I have a picture of Randall and me hanging in my room from a 7th grade science nighttime "trip" outside of school to look at the stars, or an eclipse, or something in the sky. We both have braces, and we're happy, typical 13-year-olds. I smile every time I catch a glance of us back then.

The three of us are rarely in the same city at the same time, so we took advantage of us all being in Atlanta a few weekends ago to catch up over brunch. Randall, the only one of us who lives in the city, suggested Rosebud and got us reservations. Rosebud serves a twist on a traditional southern-style brunch, complete with cheese grits and bread pudding french toast, and fried chicken so good I'd have just about eaten it off the floor.

We decided on sharing the bread pudding french toast as a "starter." Spoiler alert: we never finished it. We tried our hardest, though, and we did make a substantial dent in it. The portion sizes are generous, to say the least. It was, hands down, some of the best french toast I've ever had. In fact, I'll just say it - it was the best. The texture of the bread pudding made the dish creamier than it is traditionally, and the rich, warm real maple syrup had me sticking my fork back in for "just one more bite" more times than I needed. I loved the addition of the fried egg on top, the yolk adding another level of flavor that I've craved ever since leaving the poor remains on that table.

I'd like to be able to tell you about the various other brunch dishes Rosebud serves, but we all ordered the same thing. Great minds think alike, and all that. But honestly, when there's an option for fried chicken on homemade biscuits with sausage gravy and a fried egg to top it off, who sees anything else?

We would have done well to order two of these monsters instead of three. Melanie and I barely made it through half of ours (Randall didn't have a problem finishing his). It was so good Melanie and I took our leftovers to our hotel for Ashley's wedding and snacked on them while we got ready. We couldn't stop. It's no surprise that an Atlanta restaurant has mastered fried chicken, but it doesn't mean I appreciate it any less. This chicken was decadent - juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and the key - flavorful. It's so easy for fried chicken to come out bland or tasting like the oil in which it was fried. Rosebud's take on it is moist without being greasy and seasoned to perfection.

The dish is served with grits or potatoes, and as true Georgians, we all went for the grits. Randall and I opted for cheese on ours. I've ordered grits at every brunch I've been to in DC that offers them, and I've been disappointed every single time. I grew up on Mom-made, homemade grits. I know the real deal. It should be bursting with flavor - peppery and savory, the cheese adding a punch of saltiness. The grits at Rosebud reminded me that they can be done right.

We finished eating at 11:50. Don't worry, we saved room for a round... or two... of mimosas for dessert.

if you go... 

rosebud

1397 n. highland ave ne atlanta

price range: $10-$15/entree

$7 mimosas or a $27 for a carafe of oj & a bottle of bubbly

menu highlights: fried chicken, "big nasty" (fried chicken sandwich)

brunch at boundary stone | where to eat in dc

You know those brunches when two hours pass in a matter of seconds, it seems, and the food is just right, and the mimosa glasses are never empty, and you're laughing too hard to remember to take pictures to document every sip and bite on your blog? Man, they don't happen often enough. But I relish them when they do. I relish every moment like that - so present and alive and buzzing with energy and friendship. I live for that.

I had one of those brunches a few weekends ago at Boundary Stone in Bloomingdale. I've been a fan of the whiskey bar since it opened a few years back. It arguably has the best wings in the District, the entrance is through an old barn door, the beer is local, they always have bubbly on hand, and it's in one of my favorite neighborhoods. For the too-short time that I lived in Bloomingdale, I frequented their happy hour ($4 wings), and Zander and I occasionally stopped in for a night cap. It's a neighborhood bar that welcomes you home, even if it's your first time there.

When my girlfriends Clare and Sara and I met up to try their new full-service brunch with a bottomless drink option, I didn't know what to expect. The food has always been great, but I couldn't put my mind around exactly how brunch would work. It works well.

I arrived at noon, and the restaurant was full but not overflowing. I waited, looking like a wallflower, for five minutes as a couple sitting at a booth inside paid. A friendly server noticed me eying the table and quickly cleared and cleaned it for me to sit. I ordered bottomless mimosas while I waited for my girlfriends to arrive. And they. are. strong. I'd expect nothing less from the Stone. If they're going to charge $12 for bottomless mimosas, they're not going to hand you a glass of orange juice with a splash of champagne - they care about quality too much. They also used fresh orange juice, and the difference it makes is huge.

Sara and Clare and I ordered seitan wings to share, and I discovered that vegetarian "meat" isn't as scary as it looks. Then again, I'd probably gnaw on a tree trunk if it were covered in their wing sauce. At some point - oh, 30, 45 minutes, maybe an hour later - we finally got around to looking at the brunch menu and ordering. I tried the chorizo sandwich ($13). It's served with a fried egg and green salsa on top and roasted breakfast potatoes on the side. If I could have fit another sandwich in my full stomach, I would have ordered a second. Clare had the vegetable quiche and gave it rave reviews. Sara ordered off the lunch menu and tried the half smoke - also delicious.

We drank and talked for so long that when Zander came to pick me up (sweet boyfriend!), he ended up joining us for a little bit.

Sometimes I forget that having brunch isn't just about the newest restaurant or the hottest scene or the best chef in town. It's really easy to get caught up in wanting to try everything and photograph it all along the way. Having brunch with Clare and Sara was my favorite brunch I've had in ages. It was about sharing an experience more than experiencing the food. Though, it doesn't hurt that the food was damn good, too. And those mimosas. I'm still rehydrating after those.

if you go...

boundary stone

116 rhode island ave nw

@boundarystonedc

roasted leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic

Every winter I think I'm fine, right up until I feel the first warm rays of Spring sunshine. My mood soars as high as the temperature outside. I feel unstoppable and like the city is brand new; every time it hits 65 again after a long, dark, cold winter, I fall in love with D.C. again. I'm a different person infused with Vitamin D. I'm the version of myself that I crave and love the very most. I was born in the Sunshine State; it's in my bones.

While Spring teased D.C. and me this weekend, I ate like it was my last weekend of winter. I guess I wanted the best of both worlds. I had Italian-certified pizza, (over)indulged in a brunch of chicken and waffles (and chocolate chip pancakes the next day), tried a new ramen place with an old friend, and made a homemade dinner of roasted lamb. I squeezed into my running pants and fit in a hike and a run in there, too.

It was simply the best weekend.

And on top of it all, on Friday night, my roommate Matt received his admissions letter to the School of International Service at American University. He's officially a grad student! It was incredible to see all of his hard work over the last year pay off, and I'm so proud of him. Which, of course, meant there was celebrating to be done! I didn't know you could get cut off from Champagne, did you?

So about that lamb...

After all the celebration shenanigans Friday-night-into-Saturday-morning, and a jam-packed Saturday afternoon, all Zander and I wanted to do was take a nap and spend the evening indoors. He had a leg of lamb laid out from earlier in the week, and potatoes, cauliflower, and asparagus left over from last week's Green Grocer box. I couldn't dream up a better dinner to say goodbye to winter and hello to Spring.

I adapted this Emeril Lagasse garlic and rosemary lamb recipe to meet our tastes. The rest of the meal is my own. 

roasted leg of lamb
1 leg of lamb (we used boneless, about 5-6 pounds)
fresh rosemary (~3 tablespoons, or, as much as you want)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
pinch (or 2) cayenne
salt & pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

sauce
every great meat dish has a sauce to go with it...
herbs of your choice (we used rosemary, fresh basil, and oregano - parsley would also be good)
1/2 large onion diced
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup red wine

mashed potatoes
4-6 small potatoes of your choice
1/2-3/4 cup milk (or cream)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 of a stick) + 1 tablespoon
salt & pepper, to taste

roasted veggies
1 head cauliflower
1 bunch asparagus
lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper
2-3 cloves crushed garlic
handful of shredded parmesan

how to... 

Lamb: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Using your hands, rub the leg of lamb down with the fresh rosemary, garlic, cayenne, salt & pepper. Dip your hands into the lemon juice and rub the juice into the meat. Place the hunk of meat in a roasting pan, and roast for 20 minutes. Turn the oven temp down to 350 degrees and roast another 35 minutes. Take the pan out, and place the meat on another plate or serving platter to cool for 10-15 minutes. Don't get rid of the droppings in your roasting pan, we'll need those next! TIP: It will cook (a lot!) as it cools. If it still looks rare, it will up-cook to medium rare. Mmmmm!

Sauce: Set your roasting pan vertical on two burners on your stove. Add the onions and herbs and stir until everything is evenly mixed and coated. Add the chicken stock and wine - this will deglaze the pan, meaning you'll be able to get up the little scraps stuck to it. Turn your burns on medium-medium high heat and stir constantly until the sauce begins to simmer and thicken.

Potatoes: While your lamb is roasting, peel (or don't, skin is good) and cut your potatoes. Wash. Place in a large pot with enough water to cover + 1 inch. Add a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt to the water. Let boil until you can easily insert a fork into the potatoes. Remove and drain. Dump potatoes into a mixer, add milk or cream, butter, salt and pepper, and fresh garlic, if you'd like, and mix until smooth and creamy. Add more milk and butter depending on the consistency you want. I like peppery potatoes, so I load it up.

Veggies: While the meat is roasting, roughly chop your cauliflower florets. Tear off the ends of your asparagus and break into as big or small pieces as you'd like. In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with some of your left over lemon juice,olive oil, sat & pepper, and crushed garlic. When the meat comes out of the oven, raise the temperature to 500 degrees. Spread out on a thin roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes (the meat will be done then, too!). Sprinkle parmesan on top and move to a serving bowl.

And there ya have a delicious, savory meal that will bridge these awkward days between winter and Spring!

St. Arnold's breakfast makes a believer out of me

[caption id="attachment_333" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Belgian waffle with powdered sugar and homemade whipped cream $7[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_334" align="aligncenter" width="538"] The Drug Opera $10[/caption]

I like to make my own breakfast; I don't like to go out for breakfast. I know, I know, it's weird... and neurotic! Everyone loves going out for breakfast! ...except me. That said, I love to brunch - you know, with bottomless mimosas and a big group of friends. But when it comes to just going out to eat for breakfast, I'd rather spend my money on dinner.

Zan loves going out for breakfast, and he has been sorely disappointed with my lack of interest in it ("babe, I can make scrambled eggs even better, right here, for free, and we don't have to put on pants!" = our conversation every Saturday morning). So when I woke up yesterday morning hankerin' for a Belgian waffle (I blame it on friends discussing them the night before!), he practically whistled and skipped on our short walk to St. Arnold's Mussel Bar.

The Belgian bar on Connecticut Ave. is a local favorite for their namesake, mussels. However, they've expanded their hours and menu to include brunch. It's a narrow space with a shallow patio that's open when it's a little warmer. Service is friendly and quick.

You won't find fresh squeezed juice here or a lengthy list of eggs Benedict options. St. Arnold's offers a handful of options, including a waffle burger that I saw but couldn't imagine how to eat! You can also get a regular burger, a Belgian breakfast, a traditional English breakfast, complete with bangers (I just wanted to say bangers), and several more options. All of their food is made fresh in house.

Z & I decided to split "The Drug Opera," a grilled (thick) ham and Gruyere sandwich on crostini, topped with 2 fried, over easy eggs, served with breakfast potatoes and a side salad. We opted to sub out the potatoes for their famous hand cut frites (I was dying to try them; I'm such a sucker for great fries!). We ordered a Belgian waffle with powdered sugar and handmade whipped cream to share, as well.

The waffle is perfectly done - it's so fluffy, you barely need to cut into it with a fork for it to separate. The whipped cream is light and has a zesty, lemon note to it. And y'all. The sandwich. Oh, that Drug Opera sandwich. It's as incredible as the individual ingredients. I'm still daydreaming about it today. The frites are impressive - not too salty, well-seasoned and truly homemade. The garlic aioli served alongside them is nothing short of addictive.

We skipped the alcohol and truly enjoyed breakfast out. I've never been so happy to be proven wrong.