Brunch. Love it, hate it, not-sober-enough-for-it, the most important meal of the weekend is also an SA mainstay. Whether you love dressing up for it, or crawling out of bed in jammies cursing the gods as to why you would ever make mid-morning plans after a rowdy night out, brunch happens (and you can enjoy it en masse with us on Saturday, June 4 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Jack Guenther Pavilion at the Briscoe Museum during United We Brunch. Visit brunch.sacurrent.com for details). Though we all have our go-tos, the San Antonio Current’s brunch-goers (Ron Bechtol, Jacqueline Fierro, Eric Moreno, Caroline Timmins, Amanda Rodriguez and yours truly, Jessica Elizarraras) curated a selection of brunches fit for just about any occasion. May your Hollaindaise be warm, scrambled eggs buttery and biscuits fluffy — anything else would be a brunch foul.
There comes a time when brunch just needs to be simple, casual and affordable … in other words, it just needs to be breakfast. Remove all the pomp and mimosa-stance from your brunch and just go get yourself some damn good food at Pancake Joe’s. An unassuming Deco District gem, Pancake Joe’s is located near Jefferson High School in a small strip center. Blink and you’ll miss it. Brave the crowds and wait for a table so you can get your grub on with amazing breakfast dishes like blueberry cheesecake pancakes, Monte Cristo-stuffed waffles, biscuits and gravy, and just about any omelet combo you can think of. At Pancake Joe’s, it’s just about stuffing your face with no shame at a reasonable price — you won’t get judged by some catty girl because you’re not wearing your best crop top and heels, and you also won’t run up your bill with all that mid-day booze. Win-win if you ask me. — CT
For the Anti-brunchers
Pancake Joe’s
1011 Donaldson Ave.,
(210) 785-9007
There comes a time when brunch just needs to be simple, casual and affordable … in other words, it just needs to be breakfast. Remove all the pomp and mimosa-stance from your brunch and just go get yourself some damn good food at Pancake Joe’s. An unassuming Deco District gem, Pancake Joe’s is located near Jefferson High School in a small strip center. Blink and you’ll miss it. Brave the crowds and wait for a table so you can get your grub on with amazing breakfast dishes like blueberry cheesecake pancakes, Monte Cristo-stuffed waffles, biscuits and gravy, and just about any omelet combo you can think of. At Pancake Joe’s, it’s just about stuffing your face with no shame at a reasonable price — you won’t get judged by some catty girl because you’re not wearing your best crop top and heels, and you also won’t run up your bill with all that mid-day booze. Win-win if you ask me. — CT
Brunch Way,
Way up North
Di Frabo
Ristorante Italiano
22211 W I-10, Suite 1101,
(210) 272-0758
difrabo.com
Sunday brunch at Di Frabo Ristorante Italiano in Dominion Ridge is a must. Brunch starts off with complimentary warm pastries and bread for the whole table so they’re already helping you stave off hanger. When it comes to ordering, diners can stick to traditional items such as the French toast or eggs Benedict, or for a more substantial meal to recover from Saturday night, pick the chicken and waffles served with pancetta and topped with berries or brisket served with eggs and hash browns. Wash it all down with bottomless bellinis. — JF
Party Vibes
Tacos and Tequila
1915 Broadway, Suite 111,
(210) 314-8226
tacosandtequilatnt.com
Tacos and Tequila is a one-stop-shop for all of your brunching needs. For just $22, you can indulge in the Sunday brunch buffet which includes everything from chicken and waffles to tomatillo chicken enchiladas. Try a little bit of everything or stick to a TNT favorite, like the street tacos and omelet bar. Did we mention brunch comes with two mimosas made with fresh fruit juices? And what is a buffet without dessert — TNT offers assorted flans, churros, fruit and fresh chocolate chip cookies. To make sure you don’t slip into a food coma at any point of the buffet, Tacos and Tequila has a DJ to keep your brunching at an all-time high. — JF
For the Boozehound
Mezcalería Mixtli
5313 McCullough Ave.
(210) 320-1660
mezcaleriamixtli.com
Let’s face it: We brunch (verb form) because it allows us to drink (verb form) in the morning. Mezcalería Mixtli has developed brunch drinks (noun form) beyond the mimosa, so, obviously … Bar guy Edgar Najera offers a more elaborate Vampiro than many with tequila, habanero sangrita, grapefruit soda and pickled veg; soon, a version with achiote syrup may appear. The michelada with Victoria cerveza comes amplified with house sangrita and Salsa Maggi. Those thinking it’s not brunch without bubbly can take solace in the Granada with cava, pomegranate and rosewater. And, at least for now, there’s a hot chocolate libation laced with chile-based Ancho Reyes. On the food side, the carnitas de Puerco are recommended — along with the chilaquiles rojos with chicken and black beans, the green posole with both pork and chicken, and the more amicable than most huevos divorciados. You’re on your own with the molletes and enfrijoladas, but we can enthusiastically suggest a side of papas con chorizo and, because why not, some sizzled chiles torreados along with — because, also why not — a Calavera Mexican Imperial Stout. —RB
Saturday Brunchin’
Southerleigh Fine
Food & Brewery
136 E. Grayson St., Suite 120
(210) 455-5701
southerleigh.com
I know how it is. It’s Friday night, the workweek is over and you’re getting turnt. If you’re anything like me, by the time you wake up on Saturday it’s well past a breakfast-appropriate hour. And thus begins the quest to find the ever-elusive Saturday brunch. Make the decision-making process easy and head to Southerleigh, which recently launched Sunday brunch, as well. Here, you can start out with stuffed crab, move onto beignets, indulge in eggs Benedict served atop jalapeño cornbread and end it with a chocolate pound cake. The menu is always shifting, but you’ll definitely find something you’re sure to be into. Complementing the food are stellar cocktails, including a boozy strawberry concoction infused with jalapeño, a delish tropical pineapple mimosa and one of the best micheladas I’ve ever encountered. Not bad for a late start to your weekend. — AR
For When
You’re Feeling Fancy
Brigid
803 S. St. Mary’s St.
(210) 263-7885
brigidrestaurant.com
As the epidemic known as “brunch” has swept the nation over the last couple of years, it has become the ideal environment for the occasionally hungover, obnoxious millennial who stumbles in with sunglasses, sex hair and plenty of raunchy stories to tell their friends to thrive. Now I’m not shaming this particular person, because I’ve been that girl many a weekend. But sometimes you just need a brunch where you can feel way fancier and super classy. That’s where Brigid comes in. Located in Southtown, Brigid has one of the hottest brunches in town. But come in your Sunday best and make sure to whisper your Tinder sexcapades to your friends. The menu has something for everyone — enticing apps like biscuits and gravy and lox on ciabatta, standout entrees like the chicken and waffles, pecan pancakes, the best frickin’ shrimp and grits this side of NOLA, and, of course, plenty of alcoholic beverage choices, including a tasty bloody mary with a gazpacho tinge and a real kick at the end. — CT
Expand Your
Horizons with Barbecue
Kings Hwy. Brew & Q
1012 N. Flores St., (210) 277-7174
kingshwybnq.com
I’m a simple gal. Give me fewer than 10 expertly executed menu items and leave the bullshit for someone else. That’s why the King’s Sunday brunch with chef Emilio Soliz is worth a visit. Start off by sitting on that gloriously sunny patio. Order your bottomless mimosas, if that’s your thing, or opt for a spicy, hot kick to the mouth with a Kings michelada (use Piñata Protest from Freetail or Santo via Saint Arnold for best results). Sure, you could order the fluffy biscuits and lustful gravy, but why not try something new like the Kentucky Hot Brown, an open-faced sammy first made in Louisville, Kentucky’s Brown Hotel, that piles on smoked turkey breast, cheese sauce, grilled tomatoes and bacon on fresh sourdough. Messy, savory and worth the cheat day. — JE
Buffet + Patio = Fun
Grayze on Grayson
521 E. Grayson St., (210) 481-8776
grayzeongrayson.com
For those of us who want to roll into brunch fresh from a sweaty 2.5-mile hike at a nearby trail, our (likely) first meal of the day needs to be several things, namely quick. What’s faster than a buffet? Probably the service at Grayze, where your Pick Me Up cocktail or mimosa hits the table almost as soon as you return from the buffet line. Served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and priced at $18.99, the spread at Grayze includes barbacoa chilaquiles, brisket hash, mac ‘n’ cheese, cous cous, along with bacon and sausage for heartier appetites. They also feature lighter items, such as salmon gravlax, minted fresh fruit salad and marinated mushrooms. The fluffy French toast platter — cranberry, bananas foster have all been recent variations — will make you a believer in the brunch gospel. The patio is also perfect for pounding a few mimosas back. Orange juice has electrolytes, right? —JE
Brews with Your Bros
Hoppy Monk
1010 N. Loop 1604 E.
(210) 454-3330
thehoppymonk.com
Scenario: You and your buds went out last night and did some damage, both to your wallet and your brain cells. Now, the sun is up, your head is pounding, your gut is angry and your soul needs satisfying that only a generous brunch can provide. Where do y’all go? Answer: The Hoppy Monk. “I wanted to make this place something special,” said owner Pedro Longoria. “If you’ve been partying the night before, you’ll come in here and get something hearty, something spicy and something good.” The Hoppy Monk looks and feels like a good English pub, but better. Head chef Emiliano Marentes built the menu to blend his Mexican roots with his classical French training (e.g. duck l’orange Benedict and grilled avocado and nopal tacos — sleeper hits at this year’s Culinaria). Drink-wise, the best of the craft beer world is here either in bottles, cans or on tap, and the brunch cocktail list — which includes beverages like the Velvet Rabbit with Irish whiskey, Ancho Reyes, carrot juice, egg white and lemon or the Batido the Tequila, essentially a tequila shake — is worth perusing. You want The Hoppy Monk; you need The Hoppy Monk. Go, now! —EM
Stick with a Classic
Cappy’s
5011 Broadway
(210) 828-9669
cappysrestaurant.com
Another contender for best Saturday brunch, Cappy’s has been under the leadership of chef Gabriel Ibarra for almost a dozen years. Offered 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, the brunch at Cappy’s gets what you’re here for. For starters, the kitchen doesn’t allow for hangriness — each table gets a warm basket of muffins or scones upon arrival. When it comes to the menu, chef and co. deliver with the usual suspects of eggs Benedict and eggs Louie (served with blue crab cakes instead of Canadian bacon), but if you’re into the sweeter side of things, Ibarra’s known for his custardy, corn flake-crusted and deep-fried French Toast, like a recent peaches and cream iteration, and specials like the seasonal pancakes that reflect a certain organization known for their cookies — mint pancakes with dark chocolate sauce anyone? — JE
Brunch We’ve
All Been Waiting For
Il Sogno
200 E. Grayson St.
(210) 223-390
It’s no surprise that one of the best chef-driven brunch options comes from an OG SA chef, Andrew Weissman. Il Sogno on the weekends is a welcome escape from farmers market franticness; its secluded patio and quiet dining room allow you to decompress and truly enjoy the badass food. Start off your meal with the French press coffee, which comes with all the fancy accoutrements you can imagine like house-made vanilla-infused sugar (pro-tip: if they also include their jam on the platter, confuse whomever you’re with and tell them it’s an Italian tradition to put the jam in the coffee, it’s really fun, trust me). You can’t go wrong with this menu. On the sweet side, the French toast and crepes are always delicious. For those who like their brunches savory, try the avocado toast or the polenta with prosciutto and eggs (ask for them coddled). And here’s some insider info: If you want to eat like the chef himself, order the steamed eggs with tomatoes and pesto. It’s a variation of Weissman’s personal breakfast that’s unlike anything you’ve had before. — CT