Denrael

In his book Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain commented that one of the things to avoid in life is the Sunday Brunch. In his words, the restaurants A-Team are on Saturday night, and Sunday brunch is the time to clean out the walk-ins.

The problem is that with my travel schedule Sunday brunch is an ideal time to catch up with friends and family. So, with that in mind, I took my mom last weekend to 20-21, Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. She wanted to go there, and what better place to spend a Sunday than relaxing at the Walker.

I should note here that spending $30 per head on brunch doesn’t scare me. Hell, I’ve spent over $200 just dining alone at dinner. But, in Minneapolis, $30 per head is nearing the market’s top end for brunch. Given that, I expect a very good experience.

The space at the walker, is clean and contemporary. With a long bar and a semi-open kitchen, it’s a fun place to go. Overall, the staff is friendly.

Sunday Brunch at 20-21 is buffet style with the traditional steam table line. As I’ve gotten older, I find myself less and less attracted to this style of brunch, preferring being served family style at the table. Brunch should be a time to relax, not stand in lines reminiscent of school cafeterias. Reading the little signs as I walked down the line, however, there appeared to be some nice selections: poached egg on prosciutto cake, a duck stir-fry and a scallop curry all sounded interesting.

The poached egg was very nicely done with the egg tasting better than I would have thought possible coming out of a steamer. I can’t comment on the duck as both that tray and the roasted potatoes were empty. There was enough of the curried scallops left for my mom to get a taste and she said it was wonderful with just the right amount of heat.

For desert, I chose the fresh fruit. The pineapple and strawberries were some of the best I’ve had all season. All in all however, I have to say I am disappointed with the brunch at 20-21 and will probably not be returning.  Here are a few of the reasons why:

• If a restaurant is going to take the steam table approach to brunch, the steamers should never be empty. It’s the responsibility of the restaurant to make sure when I go through the line that I have a complete and attractive selection of items.
• Certain of the items were just plain bad choices for a steam table (i.e. Belgien Waffles and  Banana Stuffed French Toast). Even if they are standards, a restaurant like 20-21 should know better than to present them in a steam table where they can’t help but get soggy. As I looked at the French Toast, I couldn’t help but think about what Tom would say if that was presented on Top Chef.
• My mom had to ask for more coffee multiple times. This was with the dining room half empty.
• Table clearing was inconsistent. When we were enjoying our after  brunch coffee, the table was cleared except for one empty orange juice glass and one dessert plate. They seem to have been “forgotten.”

Were any of these things terrible? No, of course not. That’s not the point. I go to a restaurant expecting a good experience. There are many choices in today’s world for consumers to choose between in deciding how to spend their dining dollars. Any restaurant can’t afford to become sloppy in their presentation, even less so when you expect to receive top dollar and flaunt a celebrity chef’s name.

One of my favorite restaurants in the country is Mesa Grill. I have been there well over 2 dozen times, and never had a bad experience. Service is impeccable, and the dining experience always a pleasure. I suggest that Chef Puck visit Mesa Grill to see how wonderful a brunch can be.

I think my mom summed it up best when as we were leaving she said next time, could we go to Fat Nat’s (a local and amazing diner) instead?