Fool's Errand Kitchen & Eatery, Milwaukee (3rd Ward) , WI

 

A sibling and I decided to start off a short road trip at the best place you can start any weekend day - brunch! 

I knew of the 3rd Ward in Milwaukee from having lived there previously, and it seems it's only gotten fancier and more shopping and dining friendly since I left. I knew we could get brunch, shop and even drink if we wanted to. This place got on my radar though a simple Maps search, having earned a 4.5/5.0 rating. How bad could it be!? 

On the day of our brunch outing, with both of us driving an hour or more, we found the place fine, even grabbed parking easily on this Sunday morning.Not too many pandemic-related nuances once inside. 

What a lovely space it is too. The 3rd Ward buildings are often repurposed factories from a bygone era, and this space seems like no exception…

As for food, I decided to "go light" for my meal, and chose a Broccoli and Wheat Berry Salad (or bowl). It came with two poached eggs on top, and frankly, I wouldn't change this choice. It was perfect and delicious - maybe even healthy  

My sibling had the Eggs Benedict, and while the ham was a bit salty for their liking, I had a taste or two and felt it was a solid option...

We also ordered their version of Monkey Bread (if you don't know it, find it!). This turned out to be maybe a muffin-sized pastry, but again, it was the perfect size. Sweet, cinnamon-y, and delicious.

A very enjoyable brunch, nice staff, and cool space. They also had the technology set-up to review their menu with a QR code and pay for your meal online. Pretty slick these days. To be sure, I'd definitely go back.

Martina, Minneapolis (Linden Hills), MN

This might be my first restaurant post where I have no pictures of the food, only the drinks. Its certainly not b/c the food was not good - in fact, it was excellent. I think it's simply that the drinks got going quickly (first meal of the day) and by the time the food arrived, I tore into it.

Here's there brunch menu, in case you want to gaze...

At brunch, drinks are the only way to begin, right? Well, we wasted no time... speaking of wasted... this was the friends selection, then my 2nd drink, a pretty spicy Bloody Mary (beer was first drink)...

What was also great about Martina, besides the drinks and food, maybe even more-so than them, was th space. It's just really well done for decor and it makes being there that much more enjoyable. If you don't believe me, take a look below, and then go for yourself.

Lovely dining area...

Glorious kitchen...

Oooh, firewood! (but that also means they have some wood-roasted options on the menu!)

Even the patio is on-point...

I would be back in a NY minute.

Scratchboard Kitchen, Arlington Heights, IL

Who doesn't love a good brunch - Am I right?! 

Coming out (knock on wood) of the pandemic, this was a unique dining experience, especially since we're all sort of relearning how to dine out over again. I think this also applies to the people working in all the restaurants too.

While we did eat indoors, but I've not gotten used to standing in the restaurant and taking pictures of the space and staff. Hopefully that comes back soon. The space is quite long and welcoming inside, with a number of tables set for outdoor dining (and reservations). As you'll see below, I simply took pics of our dishes as they arrived on our table, and before we dove into them.

I went with a sibling and we split a few plates of food, which were in order - pastry board, citrus toast, and short ribs "hash".

This pastry board was the only "off" item of the trio. We cut them up to share and started with the matcha muffin, then the rhubarb scone, then then the cherry "pop tart". The muffin and scone hit us funny and we realized they both had some sort of pork fat flavor in them (like your nose was over a pot of sausage gravy simmering on the stove). This was not a welcome flavor and we chatted with the staff about it. They assured us the pastries are not made with pork fat in any way. Our only guess what that is was near something else being made or rendered and they absorbed the flavor. BUT, the upscale pop tart was very very good and had no off flavors. (Note: SK took this menu item off our bill - thanks). 

After the pastries, I went for the Citrus Toast and my sib went to the short ribs. I think it's fair to say that neither of us quite knew what a citrus toast would be... and perhaps at first glance it looks kind of odd, but it was delicious. They use four different citrus fruits on top, with a mascarpone base. The flavors are vibrant, refreshing and not odd at all. Even the toast used seemed to add something to the dish. I would order this again any day.

Our final dish was a Short Rib hash. The egg was done well, the short rib fell apart, and they added in some potatoes too. Though very rich, as you'd expect from the ingredients, this was a tasty bit of brunch fare. I would order this one again, but copy my sister's choice of having this 2nd and "cleansing the palate" with the citrus toast after.

With a welcoming staff, highly-competent kitchen, interesting menu items, and a fun, inviting space, I think it's fair to say I would recommend this place to any group, family, or couple. If I get the chance before the next move, I will be back in a blink.

Early Bird Cafe & Bob's Donuts, Omaha, NE

I've heard from at least a few Omaha natives that these two storefronts now represent the best brunch spot in town, i.e. not to be taken lightly. The spots are located in an older neighborhood, but with some new-age gentrification going on. Think boutiques, custom ice cream, drinks, and many eateries.

Perhaps the best part, of at least this trip, is that these two establishments are connected on the inside. When the temps are in the single digits, you can easily walk back and forth b/w the two joints. It helped that day, for sure.

Early Bird
Seriously fun menu for this brunch/lunch-only spot. Good service, interesting layout and decor, and a very creative & tasty food mix.

These unique circular booths hold a bunch of people and were fun to see too.

Basically an "Egg in the Hat" French Toast. Was eaten very fast.

Their version of "Avocado Toast". I think I would have appreciated a couple tweaks - a nice avocado spread on the toast and a poached egg.

Bob's Donuts
Wow, just wow. Amazing looking product, tastes as good too... and all we took home were a couple Chocolate Glazed - they were that good.

If you live in the area or are heading through on I-80, definitely stop in. You can go full brunch or just grab coffee and a sugar puck.

This was taken in the pass-through to both places. That might be myself and a niece.

Marigold Kitchen, Madison, WI

So, you know brunch is a pretty awesome part of the weekend, right? And you NEED to have a solid, go-to brunch spot where you live. Well, I think I've found mine in Madison. It's not exactly close to home, but not really far either. It's downtown, off the Capitol Square, a little out of the way, but also centrally located if any out-of-towners care to take in a Capitol tour after brunch or walk all the way down State Street. So, I probably won't walk to this place, but it's a short drive or ride away and a good location, imo.

Not only that, but once you're inside (or seated outside), this place brings it. To be clear, they're only open for breakfast and lunch, so they don't get distracted by dinner malarkey. This is also not a full wait-staffed set-up - rather, you place your order at the counter, receive a number for your table, then go hunt for a spot to sit. They bring your selections out to you as they're made. I think it's a fine system for brunch and seems to fit this place well. I've sat at a table and at the bar, with really no trouble getting a seat. It is busy on the weekends, and by no means a secret spot, but I think they do well at getting people in and out, in my experience.

 

They have a varied, American brunch menu, with some hearty, South-Central WI staples and offerings for the experimental college crowd too. They have great pastries & coffee drinks available, so sit down, grab a paper, sip on something -  don't rush the meal, take your time.

There's no question that it's a bustling place on the weekend, but isn't that part of the fun of brunch on the weekend? See some oddballs, eat some good food, have a drink at breakfast (they have that too).

This visit was in the fall, so they had some great fall decor and Pumpkin Pancakes on the menu. I can't say no to these, so I didn't this time. I did get a short-stack though (2 instead of 5), and a side order of a local breakfast sausage (which was very good).

To be clear, those a hearty Pumpkin Pancakes with Whipped Cinnamon Butter and local maple syrup on the side (soon to be on-my-pancakes).

When you're in town, we'll go, you'll love it.