I like brunch. I like brunch buffets. I like the general attitude surrounding brunch. When my dining companion got a new job that gave him weekends off. I got excited about Eggs Benedict. I think that was the first thing I said. "We can go for brunch and get Eggs Benedict!" That's where my head's at.
So, now for a place to get brunch.
Today, is all about Olivia on South Lamar in Austin. Olivia specializes in farm-to-table style with unique takes on classics.
I'm going to get a rant out of the way. Austin is becoming a very important food city receiving national and international attention. As restaurants are moving into the spotlight, the hosting staff is getting snotty. Not necessarily the service staff, but the people who have the job to show you to your table. It's found all over the city and it bugs me to no end. Is it that hard to say hello, show me to a table, give me a menu and say "enjoy"? Jeziz, what is your problem?
Sadly, when you first walk into Olivia you are met with a host staff with an attitude. I've been on more than one occasion and on each of those occasions there's a young woman working I've never heard speak. No, I take that back. I heard her say 'No' when her co-worker asked if she's the one who took our reservation. And she's always wearing these nasty flip-flops.
My first visit involved calling for a reservation and the host staff stating they had nothing under that name upon our arrival. They questioned how the reservation was made. A huffy sigh was made. Then they said they had a bar table.
Again, how hard is is to say "I'm so sorry, I'm not showing anything. But, we do have a table available in the bar. Please come this way."
Okay, enough of my bitching.
Olivia is a gorgeous space done in a mid-20th century style with huge windows that let in a lot of light. It feels open, fresh and clean. The sage green, white and chrome motif is upscale but you don't feel out of place if you arrive in jeans. There is a garden in front of the restaurant and the menu reflects what is in season. Summer time leans more towards greens and fruits. There's a chicken house on the grounds so you can eat eggs while watching the chickens roam around if you sit outside.
The food they serve is very fresh. The side salad reminds me of the salads I had at my grandparents' house that were made completely of vegetables my grandfather grew. The from scratch, buttermilk dressing is wonderfully creamy but not so heavy that it overwhelms the veggies. I liked it very much.
For brunch, they offer a very nice selection of dishes. I prefer to actually do things after brunch instead of collapse into a food coma, so I skip the Willie Nelson.
The Willie Nelson is a 6 ounce chicken fried steak, red-eye gravy, 2 fried eggs, herb mashed potatoes served with a green salad. In addition to the nap inducing Red Headed Stranger, there's a veggie quiche, fried quail, pancakes, french toast and eggs florentine. The menu changes with the seasons, so as the weather shifts around the menu will have new things to try. They also offer an a la carte menu so you can put something together to your liking.
For the most part, I like the food here. The hollandaise is, what's the word I want to use? Off. It's off. It just tastes like melted butter. This makes me sad, since hollandaise is one of my favorite things ever.
But, everything else has been pretty much spot on. The potatoes are crispy and cooked through. (I've had the unfortunate experience of getting excited about breakfast potatoes and then not being able to get my fork into them, they're so underdone.)
Except, the host staff. They're always a pain to deal with.
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