Inside My Table #52 | Restaurant listings
Sunday Brunch
Sunday brunch can be the best of all meals, or the worst. It all depends on the state of your liver. This is the meal when we tuck into delicate comestibles most of us would never eat any other day of the week: huge stacks of pancakes squishy with maple syrup. Hollandaise sauce by the boatload. Pork and eggs in myriad combinations. Brunch even has its own drink menu—mimosas, milk punch, bloody Marys. Yes, we love Sunday brunch! Here are 14 brunch spots that cross many ethnic and price borders.
ARCODORO RISTORANTE ITALIANO, 5000 Westheimer at Post Oak Blvd.,713-621-6888. A fashionable Euro/Persian princess/Latin crowd gathers for brunch at Arcodoro. This is more about unhurried family get-togethers than roll-out-of-bed-in-running-suits fueling. The Sardinian menu includes salads, egg dishes (try uova al pomodoro, two eggs cooked in a wood-burning oven, covered with a fresh tomato sauce and pecorino), pastas, meat and seafood. Served 11 am to 3 pm. $$
ASHIANA, 12610 Briar Forest at Dairy Ashford, 281-679-5555. Big, lush flavors and an intoxicating blur of textures mark this Indian-style brunch buffet, which is kept fresh as can be. There are several vegetarian (e.g. saag paneer, spicy yogurt curry) and non-vegetarian (e.g. salmon tikka, chicken tikka masala, lamb rogan josh) selections, plus an ever-changing slate of appetizers, tandoori breads and desserts. Don’t forget build-your-own bloodies and live jazz. Served 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. $$
BACKSTREET CAFE, 1103 S. Shepherd bet. W. Dallas & W. Gray, 713-521-2239. Backstreet has long been famous for its brunch, served 11 am to 3 pm, due in equal parts to the pleasant patio and chef Hugo Ortega’s well-grounded American menu (e.g. ribeye and eggs, crabcakes and eggs, brioche French toast). Brunch draws a diverse crowd, including families, couples, younger and older people, gays, small parties and large. The Bob Chadwick Trio begins playing at noon. $$
BISTRO LANCASTER, 701 Texas Ave. at Louisiana in the Lancaster Hotel, 713-228-9502. What a perfect spot for a leisurely brunch before catching a matinee at one of the nearby theaters. Sit-down Sunday brunch choices range from roasted crabcakes with lobster sauce to grilled chicken salad to “The Lancaster Breakfast” (poached eggs, English muffins, grilled Virginia ham, grilled tomatoes and Hollandaise sauce). Do it right and begin with a glass of Champagne. $$ – $$$
BRENNNAN’S, 3300 Smith St. at Stuart St., 713-522-9711. Is there a Houston brunch-lover alive who is innocent of the Texas-Creole fare served at this vieux carrÎ-style restaurant? Of the charming patio? Classic “eye-openers” like sazerac and milk punch? Hollandaise-glazed eggs Sardou, grillades and grits, and bananas Foster? This is the mother of all jazz brunches. $$ – $$$
LE MISTRAL, 1420 Eldridge Parkway, bet. Briar Forest & Memorial Dr., 832-379-8322. French food doesn’t have to expensive, and this reasonably priced little spot is French to the coeur. Try the oeufs Florentine (poached eggs with sautÎed spinach, garlic and bÎchamel sauce), quiche Loraine, tarragon-scented chicken pot pie or a croque monsieur/madame. Desserts and brunch drinks round out the menu, which is served on Sundays 11 am to 3 pm. $ – $$
MASRAFF’S ON POST OAK LANE, 1025 S. Post Oak Lane bet. San Felipe & Woodway, 713-355-1975. The progressive kitchen and dapper service make this pretty spot a swell way to ease into a Sunday. Serving brunch 10:30 am to 3 pm, Masraff’s offers an upscale menu (bananas Foster pancakes, lobster frittata, eggs Benedict), as well as pizzas and fabulous desserts. Live music, too. $$ – $$$
OCEAN PALACE, 11215 Bellaire Blvd. at Boone (outside Beltway 8), 281-988-8898. In the mid-1990s we liked Imperial Palace for its Hong Kong-style dim sum Sunday lunches. Now the crowds and the pageantry have moved west to this even grander hall of small bites. It’s busy – intense is more like it – but the pushcarts are full of savory surprises, including all of your favorites and many about-to-become favorites. $ – $$
QUATTRO, 1300 Lamar at Austin in the Four Seasons Hotel, 713-276-4700. The formula here is simple: Combine one part 55-foot appetizer buffet (e.g. oysters and crab claws, fresh shrimp, blinis and caviar), one part choose-an-entree (try the eggs Benedict or cinnamon-scented sweet brunch risotto) and one part chocolate dessert bar. Mix with a pitcher of bellini or bloody Mary. Offered Sundays 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. $$$
RAINBOW LODGE, 2011 Ella Blvd. at T.C. Jester, 713-861-8666. As pretty as ever, this bayou-side hideaway offers one of the city’s most glorious settings for brunch. A recent visit yielded housemade breakfast sausages, an open-faced omelet strewn with grilled vegetables, thick juicy porkchops and, yes, even pancakes. A stiff bloody Mary will smooth out the kinks. $$ – $$$
RAVEN GRILL, 1916 Bissonnet at Hazard St., 713-521-2027. The quiche changes every week, but you might also like the brunch migas with black beans and green chili cheese grits, Southwest enchiladas topped with a fried egg or eggs Benedict topped with ancho Hollandaise. Be sure to order one of the excellent bloody Marys. Brunch served 10:30 am to 3 pm. $
THE REMINGTON, 1919 Briar Oaks Lane at San Felipe in the St. Regis Hotel, 713-403-2631. The brunch offered by chef Toby Joseph is simply one of the grandest in Houston. This is the place to celebrate an anniversary, with stiff napery, fresh flowers and enormous silver-domed chafing dishes. The buffet changes weekly but may include house-smoked salmon, made-to-order Belgian waffles and slow-roasted prime rib. $$ – $$$
TILA’S RESTAURANTE & BAR, 1111 S. Shepherd bet. W. Dallas & W. Gray, 713-522-7654. Early risers will appreciate that Tila’s begins serving Sunday brunch at 10 am (through 3 pm). There are American brunch items as well as many savory Mexican dishes, including huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, roll-your-own breakfast tacos and great Mexican cocoa. $
