benedict – Houston's Blog https://www.houstons-inc.com/blog Tue, 23 Jan 2024 19:39:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.2 Easter Sunday Brunch Buffet: Are you In? https://www.houstons-inc.com/blog/2015/03/23/easter-sunday-brunch-buffet-are-you-in/ https://www.houstons-inc.com/blog/2015/03/23/easter-sunday-brunch-buffet-are-you-in/#respond Mon, 23 Mar 2015 22:21:19 +0000 https://www.houstons-inc.com/blog/?p=1001 Brunch.  That lazy Sunday meal, that “cheerful, sociable and inciting…talk-compelling…sweep away the worries and cobwebs of the week” meal comprised of all that is good about breakfast and lunch.  Although the origins of brunch are unclear, what is clear is that the concept caught on in the United States probably around the 1930s, as Hollywood…

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]]> Brunch.  That lazy Sunday meal, that “cheerful, sociable and inciting…talk-compelling…sweep away the worries and cobwebs of the week” meal comprised of all that is good about breakfast and lunch.  Although the origins of brunch are unclear, what is clear is that the concept caught on in the United States probably around the 1930s, as Hollywood stars stopped in Chicago to enjoy a late-morning meal while traveling by train from the East to the West.  After World War II, when women entered the work force for the first time, the rise of popularity of the Sunday Brunch was noticeable.  After all, married women needed a break too, and hotels or restaurants catered to the masses with decadent spreads of food and morning cocktails, elegant drinks such as Bellinis and Mimosas, but also Bloody Mary’s to quell any lingering hangovers from the night before.

Hotels and restaurants were happy to oblige the Sunday late-morning crowds with lavish multi-course meals with whatever meats your heart desired, eggs, fresh fruit, sweets, waffles, flapjacks, and more.  But chefs weren’t (aren’t) huge fans of the brunch spread.  After busy Saturday nights it is nothing short of a chore to create a menu for a meal that lasts from roughly 10:00 am until 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon, finding balance between breakfast foods and lunch foods, or creating some hybrid of the two that diners will find tantalizing.

Enter the buffet.  Well, the buffet has been around for ages and ages.  In the 16th century foods were spread on a buffet table and were meant to show wealth and prosperity to visitors.  Elaborate and ornate “buffet” tables, adorned with serving pieces of silver and gold, fancy textiles, and a variety of rich and sophisticated foods were served, all with the intention of impressing the guests.  In Sweden, the meal was known as a smorgasbord, after the table of the same name where guests would gather for drinks and snacks before a more formal dinner was served.    And in 1920s America, the “informal luncheon…the light meal eaten between breakfast and dinner” caught on as a way to eliminate maid service for entertaining during the day.

So anyway, enter the buffet.  Plenty of food, plenty of variety, all at a reasonable price.  Families can feed their picky children, and hungry people with large appetites can get their fill of food without waiting for table service.  Diners can tailor their meals to their liking, choosing their favorites from the vast food displays, taking the quantities they want.  And people will often try new foods that they normally wouldn’t if they were choosing from a menu.   Win-win for the chefs who work hard to prepare the meal, and for the diners who eat it.

When Easter Sunday rolls around, many restaurants offer extravagant buffet brunch affairs.  Will you be taking your family to your favorite restaurant?  What brunch options do you look forward to eating?

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