Is there ever a call to offer dessert menus after diners have finished breakfast or brunch? Who in this world orders a restaurant-sized breakfast — which could, of course, include a syrup and fruit-bedecked order of mega-thick French toast — and then turns around and orders a brownie sundae? Highland Grill and Muffuletta both do this… that’s surely a non-exhaustive list, however.
Open Thread: Dessert after Breakfast
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I could see the potential for a cheese course at a more up-scale location. I’m usually pretty jammed after a nice brunch, so I doubt I’d even bite at that, but there’s no way I would personally go for dessert after breakfast. Isn’t that why we have mimosas?
The heart of my complaint is that it just seems barbaric. Even after a steak and eggs — a protein-heavy savory option — dessert before noon just seems disgustingly calorific / decadent. And I’ve had a dessert menu waved in my face after ordering fully loaded French toast — a guaranteed 800+ calories of mostly carbs and sugar. I feel as though it’s just bad hospitality to try to get people to order a sundae / slice of cake / etc. after a full breakfast.
Pie AS breakfast, of course, is a totally different story. People need to get behind that.
Or you combine the two, like ice cream on waffles, one of my favorite East Coast diner meals.
During our MI Beer Pilgrimage, Kat enjoyed a slice of the cafe’s fresh-out-of-the-oven rhubarb pie that our waitress was gushing about for breakfast. With a side of bacon.
Rhubarb pie + bacon. That sounds like a perfect breakfast to me.
We once had a terrible waitress at a local breakfast/bar place and her many faults included spilling a bloody mary all over two of the group (not me) and then offering to comp dessert. When we expressed surprise anyone would want dessert with breakfast, she said “Oh you’d be surprised how many people do.” And we found out later employees are allowed to comp desserts without manager approval.
I sat at the bar for breakfast yesterday at the Longfellow Grill next to an older couple who were just finishing up their breakfasts of a waffle and an eggs benedict. Two bartenders were on staff and they both came up and offered the couple a chance to look at the dessert menu. The second one even went into detail highlighting a number of the dessert selections, after the couple politely refused (a second time, of course)! It sounds to me like the Blue Plate Restaurants are offering some kind of kickback to their staff for getting people to order dessert, even if it means offering dessert to someone who just ate a waffle with syrup!
It makes sense to me — at “brunch” at least, because while some folks probably had eggs benedict and waffles, other people might have had sandwiches or soup. I guess it depends on your theory of brunch. If it’s just a late breakfast, then call it a late breakfast. But in my mind, “brunch” lasts from maybe 10:30 to 2:30, and is breakfast for the late sleepers and lunch for other people, and so includes both kinds of food.
Restaurant brunches are often special occasions so why not offer dessert? Plus, there’s always the contingent of people who are happy to eat pastry and coffee and call that breakfast.
I tried to get my dad to eat a proper breakfast (currently he has a big glass of juice *sugar bomb*)by promising he could have dessert after. He didn’t bite, even though dessert is his favorite part of lunch and dinner.
People do order dessert at brunch. Generally, it is people that are celebrating a special occasion. Sometimes it is ordered by people that love dessert. But stating that “…dessert before noon just seems disgustingly calorific / decadent” is being a bit grandiose.
Generally, when you go in a restaurant you have already made a bad decision when it comes to your caloric intake. And what about booze with your breakfast or brunch? Drinking anything alcoholic before late afternoon has got to be considered decadent.
The thing is, going out for brunch is all about decadence. It says you have got money and time to burn. I do not see a restaurant offering dessert at any time to be bad hospitality. It is a product that they serve and they should offer it to you if you want to have it. Simple as that.
I ordered a goat cheese cheesecake for dessert after eating breakfast at Longfellow Grill. I had never had such a cheesecake so I figured it would be worth ordering at a time when I don’t typically order dessert. It was quite good and very interesting.