A distant relative of teatime and the midnight snack, brunch remains unique in the culinary family because it straddles meal categories and skews dining hours. A combination of "breakfast" and "lunch" and traditionally designating "a single meal taken late in the morning," the name of this portmanteau offspring originated in fin de siècle British university slang, as the Oxford English Dictionary tells us. Launched in 1895 by Guy Beringer, writing for Hunter's Weekly, the following summer Punch picked it up, declaring: "To be fashionable nowadays we must 'brunch.'" Americans, apparently, agreed. The trend came of age stateside during the 1930s, popularized by bicoastal film stars who spent Sunday train stopovers brunching in the Pump Room of Chicago's Ambassador Hotel. A buffet-style incarnation also was born in the United States, glorified by association with special occasions, such as Easter Sunday and Mother's Day. By 1941, when H. L. Mencken catalogued brunch in American Slang as "served from 11am to 3pm," the neologism had come to signify lavishness and leisure, typified by the sometime-descriptors "champagne" or "jazz."
Food historians trace the protocols of brunch to aristocrats through the ages who could afford to spend extended time and expense indulging themselves in the pleasures of food. Avatars of Roman emperors and medieval kings fond of daytime feasting surfaced in mid-19th century England, where as a family became richer its breakfasts grew in proportion, reflecting "the power and influence of the British Empire itself," according to Colin Spencer, author of British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History. Precursor to the banquet-hall buffet table, the sideboard in the morning room was "laden with extra dishes," an array of choice meats—sliced, chopped, or cutlet; whole legs of ham or tongue; sauce-dipped legs of various fowl; pickled pork, curries, and fried potatoes; hashed or devilled game; croquettes, rissoles, and soups; and savory puddings and gelatins.
Brunch items that became staples at American hotels and resorts have their own history. Most famously, Eggs Benedict dates to 19th-century New York City and Delmonico's (Manhattan's oldest operating restaurant). Tired of the usual lunch fare, regular Mrs. LeGrand Benedict consulted with the chef, calling for toasted-muffin rounds topped with ham, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. Chef David Kamen, associate professor at the Culinary Institute of America and spokesperson for its newly released recipe book Breakfasts & Brunches, traces the hybrid nature of such inventions to the type of diners they attract—later risers who still want breakfast or the midday-meal crowd. Some crave foods sweeter than those served at lunch and dinner; others prefer starting the day with saltier and smokier choices.
"Brunch trends follow food trends in general," says Kamen. "A lot of attention these days is placed on regional cuisines of the world with emphasis on sub-regions. The Mediterranean is a particularly hot area, so we're using more olives and tomatoes in breakfast and brunch foods. You also see less meat and more whole grains and greens, such as couscous and salads." Reinventing proverbial dishes, for example ham-and-cheese or Spanish omelets, chefs are using fewer eggs in churning out hearty Italian-inflected frittatas or tortilla española. "We're taking the flavors and elevating them, and taking ingredients and crossing the bridge to lighter, healthier recipes," the chef maintains. And though portions are shrinking, carnivore-centered dishes still abound. Naming broiled steak with sautéed mushrooms as his personal favorite from the recent CIA book, he notes, "The shallot-gravy and Yukon gold hash browns make it very brunchy."
 The Mediterranean Spread at Roasted Garlic at The Red Hook Country Inn. |
Mohonk Mountain House
1000 Mountain Rest Road, New Paltz, (845) 255-1000
Sunday, 11am-2pm
$39.50 per person, cash bar; $21.50 children ages 4-12
Advance reservations are required to partake of brunch in the elegant main dining room of Mohonk Mountain House, a 19th-century grand Victorian castle perched on a Shawangunk overlook surrounded by 2,200 acres of protected wilderness, far and away the most scenic dining destination in the Hudson Valley—and arguably beyond. Though executive chef Arnd Sievers hails from Germany, his kitchen features modern American cuisine emphasizing indigenous ingredients and wholesome seasonal menus. The buffet includes made-to-order omelets; soup, salad, and griddlecake bars; carving and cold fish stations, smoked vegetarian specialties, and assorted desserts. Side dishes such as basil pesto rice add flair.
Roasted Garlic Dining Room at the Red Hook Country Inn
7460 South Broadway, Red Hook, (845) 758-8445
Sunday, 10am-3pm
$20 per person, cash bar
Live jazz music wafts through the Roasted Garlic's taproom during the weekly all-you-can-enjoy buffet, inaugurated a year ago by co-owners Pat Holden and husband/chef Nabil Ayoub, graduate of the City and Guild of London Institute. From ketchup to caviar, three sides of this rustic Victorian taproom overflow with traditional and trendy brunch foods. In addition to the usual range of eggs, carving-station offerings, and baked goods, steam tables abound with Mediterranean dishes like baba ghanouj, hummus, and falafel, as well as world-cuisine entrées, such as moussaka, Hungarian goulash, and Irish lamb stew. House specialties include vegan soups, oatmeal, and scones served with clotted creams.
 Brunch at The Emerson in Woodstock. |
Locust Tree
215 Huguenot Street, New Paltz, (845) 255-7888
Sunday, 11am-3pm
$15 prix fixe; cash bar
Housed in an exposed-beam-and-stone 1759 farmhouse, the Locust Tree exudes natural elegance. Styling their restaurant after European country bistros, co-owners Robert Khimeche and chef Barbara Bogart have embraced the trend of cooking with fresh, local, and organic produce and meats in creating their seasonal brunch menu. Diners may choose mainstays, such as steak and eggs, or dabble in salmon hash with poached eggs, or crispy duck confit over lentil salad, each main dish accompanied by a glass of juice, muffins, jam, and coffee or tea. The brunch-drink lineup includes four kinds of mimosas, along with whimsical potables like the Bitter Queen (Campari, vodka, and OJ) and the Nervous Breakdown (Vox vodka, Chambord, and cranberry).
The Emerson at Woodstock
109 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock (845) 679-7500
Saturday & Sunday, 10am-3pm, $8-$17, cash bar
A pastiche of opulent and rustic accents, the Emerson has recently relocated to a 19th-century Woodstock farmhouse. This luxurious yet snug, affable bistro features American comfort food with a gourmet twist as styled by young and inventive CIA grad Jessica Winchell. An advocate of local and sustainable purveyors (sometimes supplying eggs from her own at-home coops), Winchell's ingredients may come from nearby RSK Farm (heirloom potatoes and greens) or Fed-Exed from California's Niman Ranch, producers of grass-fed beef. Limited and focused, her scrumptious egg dishes include Maryland Benedict (poached eggs on crab cakes with Choron sauce) as well as a Florentine variation. Vegetarian tofu and shiitake scramble, selected griddlecakes, and sides such as apple wood-smoked bacon complete the breakfast offerings.
Red Dot
321 Warren St, Hudson (518) 828-3657
Sunday, 11am-3pm / $8-$15, cash bar
According to Alana Hauptmann, co-owner and brunch bartender at this funky Hudson bistro, Red Dot's Bloody Marys are legendary (due to a special ingredient Hauptmann won't divulge), and several local specialty foods retailers have offered to market the mix, a possibility Hauptmann is seriously considering. Aside from killer Bloody Marys and a lively atmosphere and witty waitstaff, Red Dot is known for its take on Eggs Benedict, which pairs the classic poached-egg dish with potato latkes. According to Hauptmann, when Red Dot started serving brunch six years ago, their chef at the time had deep Jewish culinary roots, "and the latkes have been a big hit ever since." Other offerings include omelets, potato latkes with apple-pear compote and sour cream, challah French toast with orange-butter batter served with berries and cream, and a Duck Trap smoked salmon plate.
Main Course
232 Main Street, New Paltz (845) 255-2600
Sunday, 9:30am-4pm / $8-$12, cash bar: wine and beer only
Main Course has always emphasized local ingredients in its cuisine, but according to owner and executive chef Bruce Kazan, the restaurant has placed a premium recently on attempting to source as much of its food as possible in the region. This includes organic eggs from Million Dollar Farm in New Paltz, maple syrup from Russell Farms in Rhinebeck, and sausage and nitrate-free bacon from Western Massachusetts. At press time, Kazan was in the process of changing the brunch menu at Main Course for an early April rollout and was unwilling to divulge what its future contents might be, but judging by past offerings like breakfast polenta with poached eggs, red-chili hollandaise and andiulle sausage, and the "LA Omelet" (gruyere, herbs, and shitake mushrooms), expect innovative takes on the traditional. The restaurant is also in the process of creating a wine bar featuring inventive wine drinks with herbs and aromatics.
The French Corner
3407 Cooper Street, Stone Ridge (845) 687-0810
Sunday, 10am-3pm / $8-$23, cash bar
Though Jacques Qualin serves some dishes you would expect for brunch—waffles with red fruit, buttermilk pancakes, a variety of omelets, French toast (made from brioche)—this chef from France's Jura mountains veers clearly away from typical home fries-and-ketchup fare, balancing out his breakfast offerings with Sunday afternoon supper dishes like house-made country pate, roasted salmon, and hanger steak with fingerling potatoes. Leslie Flam, co-owner of the French Corner with her husband, Qualin, describes their brunch as "a three-course meal that's more like dinner," including dessert, whether it's the simple cheese plate, chocolate mousse cake, or creme brulee, made with either black currants or cranberries.
23 Broadway
23 Broadway, Kingston (845) 339-2322
Sunday, 12-4pm / $8-$17, cash bar
While you can order of their inventive and extensive tapas menu on Sunday mornings if you're hankering for a mini-buffet of Spanish-style delicacies, 23 Broadway employs a secret weapon on its brunch menu you may want to try—duck eggs. According to chef Rich Reeves, the organic duck eggs he serves with his butcher's style braised short ribs and fries are a quack above chicken eggs. "Duck eggs are bigger and have more luxurious yolks than regular eggs," says Reeves, who also serves them in Eggs Benedict and poached atop a crab cake.