We drove an hour each way to experience our first brunch at Michael Symon's Bar Symon today. Drive two hours just for brunch, you say? I'll admit, I was more partial to a meet-up on the east side when we first started discussing this with some friends, but now, I am very glad they prevailed upon us to go west.
While I was enjoying my freshly squeezed orange juice (which I did not get a good photo of, sorry), a server dropped this plate on our table, courtesy of Chef Matt:
Freshly Fried Donuts Over Honey and Nutella
Oh, yes. And that little bit of orange that you see above is orange zest. This isn't on the menu - but it should be!
Eggs Benedict: grilled ham, poached eggs, hollandaise, hash browns
I did not get to taste this, but the diner to my right was very happy with his brunch plate.
Symon Burger: w/fried egg, cheddar, bacon & fries
I thought it was kind of ironic that Bob ordered the burger, since B Spot is so close to where we live (and both burgers contain the same meat, custom blended and ground by Pat LaFrieda in NY), but I can't complain because I got a bite of it! I also got a bite of the Pork Pastrami Hash that another tablemate ordered - it was tasty. But I have to say, I think my plate was the winner (ah, it feels good to eat on The Pork Side):
Biscuits & Gravy: 2 eggs, bacon, scallion, cheddar biscuits, sausage gravy
The sausage gravy was so tasty that I could have skipped the poached eggs entirely. But I didn't.
The yolks were wonderfully bright and runny. Just the way I like 'em.
The biscuits were studded with bits of chewy bacon, scallion and cheddar. The combination of biscuit and egg yolk was a well made match - but oh my that sausage gravy - fresh, well seasoned sausage meat popping with flavor, nestled in smooth and creamy gravy, with more of that flaky, cheddary, bacony biscuit underneath. This is serious comfort food and highly recommended.
We were so full from our Bar Symon brunch that the chicken and dumplings we'd planned on making for dinner tonight got bumped to tomorrow. Looking forward to playing with the new Bar Symon dinner menu too!
