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Can't Miss It: Thanksgiving Eve
We don’t go bonkers for brunch. Why pay ten, fifteen bucks for someone else’s spin on eggs or bubbling of batter when we can easily cook that stuff at home?
But friends recently came to visit from Japan and wanted to take us out for a meal before dashing off to their next destination. Time was short, so we needed a quiet, comfortable place in walking distance of our Queen Anne location. The 5 Spot: too loud. Betty: too early. Top Pot: too doughnutty. (Said friends did stop by there right after breakfast, and we should have a report on that experience soon.)
Julia’s was the answer. For the Tokyo-dwelling twosome, the setting was intriguing. They loved the homey feeling: the real and fake photos, the artifacts, and the furniture.
The menu had the usual brunch suspects. Everything was good enough, though it’s the piles of potatoes we remember most. So we turn to the photos for historical documentation. Ah. Eggs Benedict with salmon were a favorite at the table. Biscuits and gravy were fun for the first few bites. The "Best" sandwich (eggs, tomatoes, bacon, and spinach on whole wheat) was alright. And the Florentine burrito (spinach, garlic, Swiss cheese, and scrambled eggs) was filling.
All too often, brunch is more about the gathering than the grub. We’re happy that our Japanese friends enjoyed the experience. They liked the setting so much that they even joked about opening a Julia’s in Tokyo—if they could only find such space!
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I would be all over that Best sandwich.
I've been loving Portage Bay's brunch for special occasions. It tastes better in my experience, and fresher -- maybe I just OD'd on Julia's in decades past, though! Another brunch place I've been meaning to hit again is 14 Carrot Cafe. Anyone been there recently? I haven't been in at least four or five years.
The 14 Carrot Cafe is still tres tres yummy. I used to go there for lunch when I worked on eastlake when I was craving breakfast at a non-traditional time.
I always go for the "Hobo Breakfast" at Julia's, which features their delightful potatoes, with green peppers, onions, and cheese.
The thing with Julia's is it is incredibly hit or miss. Some days it's great, tasty, and served speedily. Sometimes it takes an hour and a half, with no coffee refills, and the final product being a semi-cold and uninspired plate.
Though I am a devoted bruncher, nowhere in Seattle tops "Zacahry's" in Santa Cruz, CA. My first regular brunch place and Mike's Mess -- the most delicious breakfast food ever.
For me, the most delicious thing in Santa Cruz is a wine bar called Soif.
Meh. My experiences with Julia's have definitely been "miss". The last time I went, my girlfriend and I were left on our own long enough to wonder if we'd been abandoned. When the waitress finally showed up, she was very abrupt: "Know what you want?" This for a menu that seems devoted to "Ask your server for the daily special."
I'll stick with sitting at the counter at the 5 Spot or hiking over the hill to Roxy's.
Soif was definitely not there when I roamed the streets of Santa Cruz! My drinking spot in SC was a bar called "The Poet and The Patriot."
But I will stand by my love for Zachary's and Mike's Mess until the day I die.
I'm always underwhelmed by Julia's. Everytime we decide to go, I feel like I'm getting dragged into a Nicole Kidman movie. Takes as long, too.
zing! brad is the winner
I can report the Queen Anne Top Pot as being as reliably delicious as all other locations.