Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Eggs Worth The Drive: Victoria's Brunch Wins Us Over With Poached, Scrambled And Bacon

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon
The eggs are so good at Victoria Gasto Pub that they will lure me back on the road for brunch.

My big brunch years are behind me.  It was a fine decade across three cities when single folk and a few couples would leave their tiny apartments and gather on weekend mornings.

Poached eggs
I've got a house now . . . and a steady date.  Most of my friends aren't free on Sunday morning.  And I can cook eggs way better than the greasy diner plates that are my favorite memories of college.  Most weekends, we stay home with the papers, and we're happy.

But we took a niece to Victoria Gastro Pub last weekend, and the eggs are absolutely work the drive.  This is restaurant brunch.  Poached eggs with a lemony hollandaise sauce, prosciutto, kale and crab meat.  That's light, balanced.  It's perched on what I think was one of the biscuits that Victoria serves with dinner.  It's a rich dish, but a light meal that's just better than anything I'm scrambling at my own stove.

Our niece and I each ordered scrambled eggs.  Hers had leeks and mushrooms.  Mine had smoked salmon and gruyere.  They came on top of potato cakes, shredded potato crisped on the edges and perfect to dip in the bright herby sauces.  They're all interesting.  They're fun.  (Even more fun with the side of pepper-edged bacon that I added to mine.)

Here's the best part:  If someone at your table doesn't want breakfast, they can jump right to the burger for brunch.  Victoria's burger reigns as my Howard County champ -- although I hear there are competitors at the Ale House Columbia.  The Victoria brunch menu has a charcuterie plate, the lobster grilled cheese, and lots of other options.

Next time, Mrs. HowChow is going for the mascarpone-stuffed French toast.  Since we'd never had brunch at Victoria before, she'd shied away for fear that she'd get a platter of greasy, sweet bread.  With the skill in the eggs, she's anxious try the other offerings.

Where else do people recommend for a weekend brunch?  They're great for dates, great to entertain house guests.

6 comments:

Alicyn DelZoppo said...

I absolutely love brunch at Victoria's. Because of work I can barely make it anywhere for brunch, but when I do it is Victoria's. We always tend to mix a typical starter with a Brunch entree, which I love.

Zevonista said...

Granted, I've only had the burger at the Ale House once. It was fine, but it was not in the same league as VGP's burger. While the beer selection and burger are better at VGP, they're also more expensive.

leah said...

The french toast is a great choice. My husband had that the only time we were there for brunch. I had some kind of breakfast rissotto --- divine!

Tot Lot Mom said...

The jalapeƱo cheddar grits that you can get as a side dish there are to die for. Although NOT light.

Mike said...

Stained Glass Pub over in Elkridge offers up a few standard, but superbly done, burgers. Rest of the menu is pretty well done too. Lots of TVs that the staff will change to accommodate. Offers BuzzTime Trivia & Poker as well on any TV.

K8teebug said...

That is my favorite brunch dish! I don't really go out for brunch anymore because I think it's one of the easiest special meals to pull off at home, but I freaking LOVE that dish at Victoria!