Photos: new brunch menu at Due Amici

One of my favorite brunch spots in town, Due Amici, recently updated their brunch menu, and they invited me to try a few of the new items. The new menu has introduced some completely new dishes while revamping a couple of favorites. Their overall goal was to make it more “authentically Italian,” which includes changing up some ingredients, renaming a few things, and adding some new eats. Notable additions include the crispella del giorno (crepe of the day), which may be savory or sweet, depending on seasonal and locally available ingredients. There’s also a new margherita pizza, soups and pasta, and a salmon eggs benedict (which I need to try on a return visit).

One thing that didn’t change: they’re still serving coffee from Cafe Brioso, just down the street. Due uses a special espresso blend. Always good.

When it comes to beverages, most folks are there for Due Amici’s popular Bloody Mary cart. Judging by how busy they were at the cart, customers are ordering quite a few!

They typically roll up the cart tableside, which lets you customize your Bloody Mary. Ours was very good. Crisp and refreshing, just right for a beautiful August morning.

One of our favorites from the old menu was the breakfast pizza, and it’s returned in a new, “more breakfasty” form. The previous version was essentially a standard pizza topped with some sausage and a fried egg. This edition substitutes a white sausage gravy for the red sauce, and adds potatoes, bacon, and keeps the fried egg. Suggestion: break that yolk and dip a slice in it.

One new addition – and our favorite of the morning – was the Greek yogurt parfait. The yogurt is made in-house, and is layered with granola and fresh berries, and served with filo dough crisps.

Our server explained to us that you’re supposed to pile the yogurt mixture on the crisps. We wouldn’t have known that if she hadn’t told us, but we’re glad she did. Overall, a very well-balanced and delicious dish.

Our final meal was the French toast stuffed with berries, cream cheese, and a berry sauce (coulis) drizzled on top. Again, the actual choice of fruit will vary depending on the season.

The brunch was busier than I remember it being, so word seems to be getting out. With the combined power of Due Amici, Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails, and now the new Zen Cha Tea Salon location, Gay Street is becoming a hotspot for weekend brunching! Has anyone else tried the new Due Amici menu?

If you want to visit:
Due Amici
67 E. Gay St. downtown
due-amici.com
Serving brunch 11a-4p Saturdays and Sundays

Jury Room | Columbus, OH

Jury Room (Facebook / @jury_room)
22 E. Mound St. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 220-0964
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Open daily 11a-2a (brunch served Sat & Sun 11a-4p)
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/Y/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 12:45 pm

IMPRESSIONS: Admittedly, it’s difficult for me to write an unbiased review of any of the Columbus Food League restaurants (the organization formerly known as the Betty’s Family of Restaurants). I remember the day when only Betty’s existed, and how soon Surly Girl Saloon joined the ranks, and then Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails downtown. Then we all followed on Twitter the long journey of Dirty Frank’s Hot Dogs opening, and finally the Jury Room around the corner. (Psst, and there’s more to come!)

ATMOSPHERE: We hit up Jury Room early on a Sunday afternoon, and the place was relatively quiet (hint: a little too quiet). We arrived with a group of eight and the server easily pulled a couple tables together. The restaurant is a large single room, with a long wooden bar and an assortment of tables with big wooden chairs. There’s a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a fireplace in the corner. The furniture and decor is selected to fit the history of the restaurant, which dates back to the early 1830s. It’s a cozy pub-like setting, and sidling up to the bar or sitting at a table near the fire means you’re joining a long tradition of folks taking a break from the hustle and bustle, even if you’re not on break from a trial at the nearby Franklin County Courthouse.

FOOD: As it was brunch-time and technically p.m., our party started with a couple drinks. First was their Bloody Mary, which you would expect to find on any brunch menu. Jury Room’s version was spicier than I prefer, but it wasn’t so loaded with other accoutrement that it was awkward to drink. So if you want a Bloody Mary that’s flavorful but easily drinkable, this one will work for you.

They also have a nice selection of mimosas, made with orange, cranberry, pineapple, peach, or bitters. One of our brunchers chose the Peach Mimosa. It’s light, refreshing, and delicious.

The food menu has a great mix of things, including some unique items such as brisket and eggs, a bunch of scrambles, sandwiches, burgers, and French toast. Pictured above is the B.E.L.T.: bacon, eggs, arugula, and tomato. It’s a nice big sandwich, very tasty, and comes with really well seasoned and crispy potatoes.

Any trip to the Jury Room must include a plate of their truffle fries. These are thick-cut, crispy potatoes dowsed in some truffle oil and topped with big flakes of shaved parmesan cheese. Pair them with the aioli sauce, and I could eat them for days on end.

I was in a burger mood, and I love a brunch burger, so I picked up Jury Room’s Breakfast Burger. Excellent burger: cooked just right, including the egg, with crispy onion, arugula, and tomato on it. Includes bacon, provolone, and their spicy aioli, plus a side of  the potatoes. Great burger, whether you eat it for brunch or not.

One of our party ordered the Roasted Ohio Chicken off the regular menu. This is a beautiful dish featuring Amish chicken, potatoes, peas, onions, and a cream sauce. I didn’t have a bite, but I was told it’s delicious. If it tastes half as good as it looks, it must be a great dish. This is one thing that I really enjoyed about the Jury Room brunch (and about food at Columbus Food League restaurants in general) is that the menu is fun and casual while still featuring fairly sophisticated food at a good price. It’s costs more than your average diner breakfast, but the quality ingredients and preparation are worth it. Keep in mind, too, that CFL menus always include solid vegetarian and vegan options.

SERVICE: We were well cared-for by the handful of servers at the restaurant, although there weren’t many customers there. But CFL employees are generally very knowledgeable about their food and drink, and our server certainly had fun with us. He was able to accommodate everything for our group, which was decently big and included a three-year-old.

OVERALL: Jury Room holds the distinction of being Columbus’ oldest continually operating restaurant, since 1831. Liz Lessner and the Columbus Food League crew took over about a year ago, when the restaurant went up for sale, and Columbus’ dining scene has been all the better for it. They’ve given this historic restaurant new life, while still retaining some of the traditions of the location. It’s one more step in building a better downtown food scene. The brunch (at least on Sundays) is a quiet and comfortable affair. Great food in a very cozy atmosphere. I look forward to returning for brunch. Oh, heck, or for any meal there.

OTHER LINKS:

Due Amici | Columbus, OH

Due Amici (Facebook / @dueamici)
67 E. Gay St. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 224-9373
Open Mon-Sat, 11 am – 11 pm; Sun, 11 am – 9 pm (brunch served Sat & Sun 11 am – 4 pm)
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 1:00 pm

IMPRESSIONS: Due Amici is one of the anchor restaurants in the still-budding section of Gay St. downtown. This strip of restaurants, hotels, and shops is defying the difficult lack of crowds downtown outside of the Monday to Friday working hours. Due Amici is known for producing some high quality Italian fare throughout the week, but one of their big weekends draws is, of course, their brunch.

Their space is a classy update of an old downtown building. I’ve always been a fan of the big wooden floors, tall ceilings, and huge brick walls. The restaurant is split into three sections.

You enter in the middle, with the hostess stand, waiting area, and bar. The bar’s nice and swanky-looking: big mirror, house-made flavored spirits in progress. To the right of this room is a smaller room for private rentals.

To the left is the main dining area: booths, tables of all sizes.

ATMOSPHERE: Despite the more sophisticated atmosphere, Due’s brunch still has a pretty casual vibe. We saw families with kids of all ages, sport coats and blue jeans, all mixed in a very talkative buzz.

FOOD: The brunch menu features a pretty wide selection. I would say it’s vegetarian-friendly, but there’s definitely more big meat dishes. But they’ve got everything covered: appetizers, pizzas, traditional breakfasts, salads, pastas, seafood, plus bigger entrees. We sampled a mix of things. They have a special deal on selected items (at the top of the menu) that lets you choose an entree plus a brunch drink (Bloody Mary, Bellini, or mimosa) for $15. Pretty sweet deal for the amount of food and drink. We tried a couple. The first was the asparagus and mushroom frittata. The eggs were nice and moist, as were the vegetables and mushrooms. Came with a side of hash browns, which are diced and nicely browned. A little hard to eat with a fork, but the flavor’s all there.

We also took a stab at the breakfast pizza (not part of the $15 deal). Features bacon, sausage, cheese, roasted tomatoes, with an egg on top. We took our server’s suggestion and ordered the egg over easy so we could dip the pizza slices in it. I was a big fan of the whole pizza, especially the sausage and tomatoes. Nice freshly-made crust, too. And definitely best with a dipping egg.

My favorite bit of the meal, however, was the Due Brunch Burger. It’s a standard burger with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cheese, but adds a fried egg, basil aioli, sandwiched between two halves of a toasted English muffin. The burger was very well constructed. The egg yolk is medium, so it doesn’t run. The real highlight, however, is the 1/2 pound of black Angus beef. I just can’t describe it adequately – it’s delicious, grass-fed beef, very flavorful, cooked medium. One of those bites that you take that just stops you. Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve had some properly treated beef, but this burger made us both say “wow.” Seriously, one of the best burgers I’ve had in Columbus.

Another favorite for Due brunch fans is their Bloody Mary cart. Get your customized Bloody Mary made table-side.

We let the server recommend ours: she used their house pepper-infused vodka, tomato juice, clamato, horseradish, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes. Garnished with pickle, celery, lemon, and banana peppers. I’m not a huge fan of Bloody Marys, so I’m far from being the expert, but ours was refreshing and delicious. It’s such a big mix of flavors and textures that it’s bound to complement at least one of your dishes.

Plus there’s just the fun of watching the Bloody Mary construction.

SERVICE: The service matches the casual atmosphere. You can banter with your server, they make suggestions, food comes out quickly. Great conversation with the server handling the Bloody Mary cart.

OVERALL: Good, good brunch. Nice pricing, whether you want to go big with steak and shrimp, or you want a deal with the $15 special. Upscale-but-casual atmosphere. High quality food, especially that burger. Good for families (our 2-year-old did fine). A definite reason to head downtown on the weekends.

OTHER LINKS:
-> the (614) Magazine write-up on brunch spots (including Due Amici)

Worthington Inn | Worthington, OH

Worthington Inn (Facebook / @WorthingtonInn)
649 High St. (map it!)
Worthington, OH 43085
(614) 885-2600
Brunch served Sundays, 11am – 2pm
Accepts cash and credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? N/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.

IMPRESSIONS: Ah, the Worthington Inn. It is truly a Columbus institution. It’s practically tied with the newly-reborn Jury Room downtown as the oldest operating restaurant in the city, since 1831. The Inn’s building is as much an institution as their food. Since the 1800′s, it has served variably as a house, a stagecoach stop, and a hotel, all the while operating as a restaurant in some form. Its current version maintains the food service, but the former hotel portion is now condos, and the upper floors are rent-able for private functions. On top of this rich and varied history, the Worthington Inn’s Sunday brunch is consistently voted one of the best in the city. So it’s time to check it out.

ATMOSPHERE: The Worthington Inn’s brunch lies a little more on the formal side of things, but they manage to still keep it fairly casual. But the house itself supports the formal atmosphere. Enter the front door, and you’ll find room after room of Victorian decorations, low ceilings, fireplaces, creaky floors, and plenty of old wood accents.

It’s worth the trip just to wander from room to room for a bit. Seriously, some of these rooms make me want to grab a pipe, a beer, and a book, and find a big armchair.

There are three dining rooms on the main floor, plus the pub room where the buffet is laid out for you to attack.

The pub sports a nice, long bar with marble counter-tops, big mirrors, and glassware.

The Sunday brunch at Worthington Inn is popular, so you’d best make a reservation (especially with a group). It’s priced at $21.95/person, and that includes the full buffet and drinks like coffee, tea, juice, soda, etc. Bloody Marys, mimosas, and Bellinis are also available. And they make every effort to use pretty high quality ingredients: Amish eggs, great cuts of meat, hollandaise made in-house, and so on.

FOOD: Let’s take a stroll down the buffet line, shall we? I’ve had a few brunch buffets, and they can be hit or miss, but Worthington Inn seems able to avoid the major pitfalls like over-cooked food that sits for too long over the warmers. At the top of the line you’ll find cold salads. Next come the veggies, such as green beans or a mixed vegetable medley.

There are also trays (not pictured here) of your breakfast standards: bacon, sausage, potatoes, and a whole tray of eggs benedict.

Every week, Chef Tom Smith and his crew create three specialties, too. The Sunday I visited they had beef ragu (pictured above)…

…potato-crusted cod…

…and bistro chicken.

At the end of the line you’ll find the gigantic tray of smoked salmon and peel-and-eat shrimp. Knock yourself out.

Aside from the main buffet line, you’ll find two other tables. The first features an omelet station. Custom omelets, made to order.

See? Omelets!

There’s also a waffle bar…

…plus prime rib sliced to order.

The other table is for desserts, all made in-house. Cookies, pies, cakes, what have you.

This is my first plate all loaded up: the three specialties, shrimp, bacon, sausage, and potatoes, plus an eggs benny. Like I said earlier, there can be a certain blah uniformity to buffet food, but I think Worthington Inn manages to keep things fresh enough – and the crowds are busy enough – that the food tastes great and doesn’t get a chance to go stale. My only complaint was the uniform eggs benedict. I’m a huge fan of a good eggs benedict, and these were (necessarily) made in large batches.

SERVICE: I honestly didn’t interact with the servers that much, mostly because of the buffet style, but everyone I did encounter was nice and helpful. Just what you’d expect from from a more upscale brunch. As a side note, you may see some of the upper floors in use if you go for any of the big “brunch holidays” like Easter, Mother’s Day, etc. They open up the second floor and create another buffet line to serve everyone. Then the third floor (pictured above) is available for rentals, too. Like the first floor, the upper levels are decorated in that exquisite Victorian detail.

OVERALL: Yeah, it’s a very good brunch. Consistently voted one of Columbus’ favorites, and while you won’t get anything too funky or off-the-wall here, I wouldn’t call it stodgy either. Worthington Inn has a got the full package: classy location in downtown Old Worthington, well preserved old building with lots of character, and a very popular brunch. All very worthy of a visit.

OTHER LINKS:
-> the (614) Magazine write-up on brunch spots (including Worthington Inn)

Jing Fong | New York, NY

Jing Fong
20 Elizabeth St.
New York, NY 11013
(212) 964-5256
Open Sun-Thurs, 9:30-3:30 & 4-10:30 pm; Sat, 9:30-3:30 & 4-11:30 pm
Accepts cash and credit cards

Date of Visit: Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.

IMPRESSIONS: My first foray into a multicultural breakfast! On the advice of some trusted food friends, I sought out some authentic dim sum while in New York City. Further advice from other friends led us to Jing Fong, one of the city’s more well-known stops for dim sum.

I had to do a little bit of reading about dim sum: the literal translation means “to touch your heart.” It originated in the Canton province of China, and is typically served starting early-to-mid-morning and lasting until early afternoon. When dim sum came to the Western world via Chinese immigrants in the 1800s, the tradition of dim sum is thought to have actually sparked the creation of brunch: a large, late morning meal that combines the sweet and savory dishes of breakfast and lunch.

Thus, my justification for reviewing dim sum for a breakfast blog: it’s a Chinese brunch.

ATMOSPHERE: Our meal at Jing Fong proved to be one of the most exhilarating and bizarre experiences of our trip to New York City.

We didn’t know what we were in for when we entered the tiny front door on Elizabeth Street, stepped into the small lobby, and then took the looooooong escalator up…

…into an enormous and almost-capacity dining room that seating around 700.

The place was absolutely packed with people. A vast majority of the clientele was Asian, although it was fairly mixed overall. The bright dining room was buzzing with hundreds of conversations and the sounds of servers and their carts trundling around. (More on the service below.)

FOOD: Dim sum consists of a wide variety of foods, all served in small portions, so we ended up eating 10-12 different dishes. I’ll be honest: we couldn’t identify everything that we ate (although we did decline the fried chicken feet), but we loved almost everything we had.

Some of my favorites were the steamed dumplings with vegetables and shrimp that came out in stacks of these wooden bowls. These were served first.

This one with shrimp and veggies and capped with a single pea was probably our top favorite of the meal.

These seemed to be thick rice noodles filled with beef wrapped like burritos, then covered with something like soy sauce. Very delicious, but also very floppy and therefore incredibly difficult to eat with chopsticks.

These dumplings were fried – very delicious!

Amazing fried calamari. We also had a fried pork dish that was our least favorite, mainly because it still had the bones in it.

The one dessert dish we tried: a small fried dough ball with something like almond paste in the middle. Barely sweetened, and offset by the toasty sesame seeds on the outside.

Our bill. When we selected an item from one of the carts, the woman pushing the cart would mark this bill on our table. We think that each category is a different price point, and the marks they made were their signature, which meant they maybe received some sort of commission on each dish. Which, of course, explains the somewhat aggressive service approach. Oh, and the total for our bill? $44 for four us, i.e. $11 a person. Amazing!

SERVICE: Service was good, although overwhelming, especially for the first time visitor. We were surrounded by carts before we even sat down, and most of the women only spoke a few words of English, so we couldn’t get an explanation of what was happening at first. My advice: just go with the flow.

At one point we tried asking one of the woman what was in a particular dish. She motioned that she couldn’t explain, and called a manager over. He rushed over, she asked him the question, and he held up a finger as if to say, “Hold on one second.” And then he disappeared, never to return. Oh well. It didn’t diminish the experience.

OVERALL: This proved to be one of the craziest, tastiest, and most memorable experiences of our trip. As we strolled back out onto the street afterward, we couldn’t believe what had just happened, and so quickly! The rush of sensations: sounds of busy servers and customers, the smells of all the food, the bright lights and massive size of the dining room… all of these were almost overwhelming, but we plunged in and ended up having a good time. Learn from our experience, and be sure to try it yourself – either at Jing Fong or somewhere else – if you’re in New York.

OTHER LINKS:
Dim sum on Wikipedia