DIANA REPUBLIC

This morning marked the beginning of the brunch season in our family. Easter Sunday is like opening day of the eating season. For some families the eating happens around the Christmas holiday and while we eat our share then as well, I prefer the brunch season.

In a departure from my usual culinary snobbery, I love me an all- you-can-eat brunch. All those tables with chafing dishes offering the best of breakfast, a couple of carving station with a little lunch and to top it all off, the perfunctory chocolate fountain.I know that brunch is the red headed stepchild of the restaurant world. Nothing served in chafing dishes is at its best, but the quality of the food isn’t the draw. It is the quantity and the variety of the food that reels me in. And I love that all normal food rules are set aside in the world of brunch. A plate with roast turkey and watermelon is acceptable. Would you like some bacon with that Danish? Waffles with whipped cream and corned beef hash? Sure, why not?

Girl Brunch

For someone like me, who feels that a meal mis-ordered is a meal wasted, the brunch buffet is ideal. No commitment required. Didn’t like the cauliflower omelet? No worries, leave you plate and try something else. A little known brunch tip; don’t snub the kids’ table – mac and cheese are a great addition to prime rib. Still hungry, this is a morning meal that offers dessert. You can have pancakes and cheese cake, what could be wrong with that?

Boy Brunch (notice the second plate)

Easter Sunday, down; Mother’s Day and Father’s Day brunches yet to come. This kind of eating doesn’t bode well for the bathing suit season. My only saving grace is that I don’t train for these events. I normally don’t eat with the abandon that I reserve for brunch buffets. And even at brunch, my stomach fills long before my eyes are done eating.