Al Vento **2.5/5 stars

When Mizz Franklin texted me and said, "We need to do Al Vento brunch. It's $20 all can eat and drink." I jumped on the phone and made a reservation, assuming it would be slammed. They set me up a table for six and we were good to go. Then things began to unravel...well, not really, but I'm trying to add dramatic effect. So after discovering that Beth and Matt couldn't join us. I asked around to some Bad Eggs friends/fans and was able to round up Miss Colleen Belmont, Alyssa Fox and Paul Stroot. Add it up, folks, that's four, not six... 

Al Vento is a good 5-mile bike ride from 35th and Blais... you get to ride the creek for most of it.

As we pulled up, I saw the amazing patio and was hell bent on getting seated outside... So in this modern age, I figure people are pretty good at adjusting reservations, especially when your party shrinks in size. I am owning up to the fact that we were ten minutes late and two people short.

But our table ended up being in the loud, dark and crowded back dining room...

As Colleen's mom says, if you want it, ask for it, so we politely asked to be reassigned to an outside table. This caused a lot more drama than I expected. Our server was totally cool with it, but our host was not. I can tell you that in all my years of dining, I have never been reprimanded for changing a reservation last minute. Oh, I'm sure it's annoying, but most people just suck it up and go with it. The host at AV was quick to explain to us how they had held that table especially for us and that next time we'd better not make this mistake again. Yeahhhh... The dining room wasn't full. I'm sure some fine, less obnoxious family was seated soon after.

Nevs the less, we made it outside! So worth it. But now we've been black-listed. 30 minutes passed before Al got her screwdriver... She's still smilin'...

So that's the buffet Italiano. Eggs, potatoes, sausage, ham, pancakes, cheese, greens and a CHOCOLATE FONDUE FOUNTAIN????

We loaded up. But, honestly, I've never met a brunch buffet that blew my mind. And this one is only okay. The eggs were cold, the poached were hard, there was no bacon... there was no bacon.

BUT there was an endless supply of mimosas, bloodies and screw drivers. 

We closed the brunch down. Colleen had to call her lovely fiance for a ride, so I'd call it an ultimate success. Remember to ask for an outside table and keep your afternoon open... getting home will be an adventure...

The Bad Waitress ***3/5 stars

Biking is the best way to get to brunch. We saddled up this fine pre-fourth morning to hit one of my old faves, The Bad Waitress. I mean, how brilliant, to put a disclaimer on your service right in the name of your joint. Truth is, the "service" is not always that great, but I feel like I can't really say anything about it... I, myself was once a bad waitress. A terrible one, really, that spilled coffee on small children and flipped malt cups onto ceilings. For real. But I needed $$ to buy malt liquor and Girbaud jeans, so I guess it was worth it.

So the deal here, if you're not aware, is that you write down your own order and pay at the register. Then they bring your food out. I hope this strategically works for the business, because the novelty of taking my own order is lost on me...

Each table has a persona. We got the Joker today, which Nicki referred to as the Riddler. We almost didn't get our food...

The BW has a pretty extensive menu; whatever you're looking for brunchwise and lunchwise, you will probably find it. They boast organic ingredients. I feel like this is just a given nowadays, but appreciated, nonetheless. FYI, the pancakes are quite good.

Beer and wine only; we ordered a carafe of mimosa.

And a badass coffee for my ladies. Drip coffee makes me rage, so I don't usually partake, unless I need to be woken from the dead.

The interior is really beautiful and eclectic, diner style, and the juke box has some great tracks.

Egg white omelette with turkey and spinach and gruyere. Quite lovely, although I might skip the turkey next time. Something about sandwich meat in my eggs just turns me off.

 

This be a scramble with broccoli and shit. Nicki was wondering why she was so gassy after this meal...

 

Another scramble with some chorizo and crap in it. That strawberry jelly was the jam. The hashbrowns were perfection.

 

Sexy fools on Civia's. Get yourself one, so you can go to brunch in style.

 

The Bad Waitress promises you nothing, but rest assured, Bad Eggs gives this Eat Street gem three enthusiastic thumbs up ;)

Hazel's ***3.5/5 stars

I've been on hiatus. Apologies. Lack of proper internet service has kept me from my duty to report on the search for best brunch. Fortunately, a strapping young Comcast prodigy woke me from my delirium Saturday morning between the hours of 8 and 10am and now I am back with the times. Better late than never, I have a good report.

Even though I sort of loathe the idea of this neighborhood with its cute kitschy shops and its 30-something 1.5 child families, I connect with the nostalgia of old NE, simpler times and admiration for a place where brunch is taken very seriously.

Enter Hazel's and you'll find a pile of eager, well-behaved adults, a few toting their well-behaved offspring, waiting patiently for a table. I trust it immediately because of the visible, well-lit kitchen and chalk-board menu (gets me every time). The place isn't huge, so you can expect a wait.

Being the Saturday of Memorial weekend, and being that the weather was on its never-ending trend of shit-tastic, people were flocking to drown their sorrows in piles of homemade cinnamon rolls, braised meats and "well, okay, if i must" sake bloodies, which, in my opinion, were too spicy.

Tempting.

 

The menu has some cool stuff in homage to our fallen heroes. Like American French Toast and meaty hash w/homemade BBQ. We got some.

The hash was incredible. A true honor to eat...half of it. Because it's so freakin' much food. But wow, that BBQ sauce was killer, and I even thought about asking them to leave it off, for fear of unknown territory.

 

Nick got the Pico (essentially a mexican omelette, how anti-American) and somehow it had too much roasted red pepper. Looks pretty, though, eh?

 

If you've got stable blood-sugar, they have a drunken banana french toast that is on the regular menu that I highly recommend.
 

Across the way, worst name for a store, ever. But, dang, if you're in search of a killer antique broach, a flashy pleather bag and an uber decent meal amongst the adorbs young fams of North Johnson, grab your stroller and your sudoku and post up.

Lush ***3/5 stars

LUSH. My new favorite random warehouse bar/restaurant in NE. Let's be real here. The gays know how to party. And apparently they know something about brunch, the kind that serves giant bottomless mimosas. And on a nice day, this makes for the perfect bike ride from south. We only had to make a small detour when Al's crank arm fell off... 

Space Horse lookin' fine...

Inside is quite an industrial night club atmosphere which is surprisingly charming in the daylight hours with all the doors open to the wrap-around patio. Watch out after dark, though. People on the dance floor gettin' handsy. Unless, of course, you enjoy that.

Our lovely entourage.

The menu looks like it was done in paint shop or one of those random non-pro design programs, but I like what I'm readin' here...

As, I mentioned. Mimosas. Bottomless. $8. Drink up. Don't come here for the beer, though. I think they only have Bud Light. Seriously.

Service was REALLY SLOW. But I'll cut them some slack for this fact that it was one of the first nice days in a long time. I think they only had one server on staff??? But when the food finally came, it was more than satisfactory...

Florentine Benny

Hash with Pot Roast. Yum.

Buckwheat Crepes

Egg Sammy endorsed by the Dude

Regular Benny

So, this is LUSH. Day or night, gay or straight, you're gonna end up with a full belly, a buzz and perhaps an HJ in the bathroom. Who could ask for anything more?

Public service announcement: If you're drinking and biking, be careful and wear a helmet.

Downtown Pizza Luce ***3/5 stars

Late night sh*t show vs. brunch oasis, the Downtown Pizza Luce has been sobering people up since 1993. And they do a pretty mean brunch. 

You find a better scenerio around 10am than you do around 2am. The space is open and comfortable when the afterbar crowd isn't raging from too many strobe lights and Bacardi cokes.

 

The bloody mary bar is pretty dece. Three mixes, lots of condiments and a nice bowl of fresh horseradish. Vodka's holding its own here... Still trying to decide if that woman's pants are holding their own...

The menu has a lot of fun stuff. Lots of benny's (the pesto hollandaise is a fave) and veggie/vegan options.

Here's that pesto/sausage benny...

And here's the cajun hash...

Everything is starting to look yellow.

And the veggie skillet. Cha cha cha. This one gets a fancy doily. Wooooo.

http://lookatthisfuckinghipster.tumblr.com/

And this one.

 

Special problems.

Vegas delerium.

Too happy.

Trench coat mafia.

Hey, buddy, go slam some Luce brunch before your next tat/piercing appt., or whatever. It's the right thing to do.