Saturday, May 19, 2007

An Ode to Brunch

It’s hard to explain why brunch is one of my favorite things. There’s not much that I enjoy more. Brunch is best after a big night. Brunch should be around 1 pm and should be part of a mild hangover cure. It’s best to pick up a coffee on your way to brunch so that you can wait patiently in comfort. You can’t mind a wait for brunch, as you’ll be lingering over your eggs as long as you want and for that privilege you need to be patient of the lingerers who came before you. My favorite brunches combine the sweet and savory. I like a biscuit with jam and eggs Oaxaca. Alternatively, I like some pancakes or French toast with a side of bacon. Whatever you choose, massive quantities are a must. Even more crucial is a veritable buffet of beverages. Coffee is essential and fresh OJ or grapefruit juice is advised. Probably my single favorite thing about brunch is Bloody Marys. I like them as spicy as possible with fresh horseradish and not too much salad garnish in my way. Some of my best days in (hazey) memory are those where I started out with a few bloody marys at brunch and drank them straight through to bed.

Brunch requires long and senseless conversation. You can review the breaks in last nights events and summarize the week’s happenings while you wait for your eggs to arrive, but the topics should quickly move to very mild super powers, the outcome of a hypothetical 1 on 1 between Moses and Carl Malone, or Moses Malone and Moses with the stone tablets, and things of that nature. Brunch in NYC typically involves eating in close quarters, so it’s a good time to break out the lies for the benefit of eavesdroppers. “Yes, I just interviewed for that job in the marketing department at NASA.” “My yoga instructor is offering a new underwater class for those with Scuba certification. I’m on the waiting list.” “I was at Butter last night and I saw Jacob Dylan throw a drink on Rachel Dratch,” “Yes, they served the antiviral salad dressing with the Yak meat.” "I've saved half of what I neeed to get those calf implants." You get the idea.

Brunch is a time for gluttony, and lengthy casual meaningles conversation. Done propely it consumes the better part of a day and prepares you for a golf or football nap.

This blog seems a kindred sprit and has given me plenty of ideas:
http://thebreakfastblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/best-breakfasts-2007.html

Tomorrow I’ll be having brunch with 6 or so of the gals from Team Box. I can’t wait.

In other news, I set up my wireless access in 301, so I can now blog from anywhere in my spacious apartment. Look forward to dispatches from my couch.

I’m watching TV right now and the sports announcer for the AFL game I am watching now just said, “One of the teams is going to lose in all probability anyway…” I suppose it’s comforting to know that sports casters worldwide are mathematicians.

On another channel is Crocodile Dundee 2, which doesn’t inspire the scorn here you would expect.

I went to see the Black Keys this week. The show reminded me of the last time I saw them, where I came to the conclusion that they suck. Unfortunately, I forgot that until I was reminded when they came on stage at the HiFi this Tuesday. It was crowded, hot and boring.

In other news, I still cannot find anyone here who can do my hair. My last attempt took up four hours of my Saturday and resulted in my hair being about an 1/8th of an inch shorter in some areas. After 3 hours in the chair and no noticeable result I was reluctant to ask more of my terrified stylist for fear she would cry.

Mail report: Thanks to Mom for the long lost package and Mara for another postcard. It’s not too late to get recognized here for sending mail. Get in the game!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi courtney, brunch sounds great. i'm trying to get you father to one soon.
have you found a good bloody mary in melbourne yet.
you will need to have this locked down by the time aunt vicki and i visit.
the preakness is today.
i'm bummed about the phoenix loss.
go detriot.
sj

Anonymous said...

Ah, my thanks to you for this vivid depiction. I always imagined brunch was earlier for some reason.

I'm not sure I like a Bloody Mary. I simply despise tomato juice.

Please do still be my friend.

Den.

free berde said...

i'm gonna have to think of more creative things to send you than postcards. the postage just went up another 2 cents though. maybe i'll buy an aerogram this time =)

Amy Cooper said...

Brunch-based lying for the neighborhing tables is big in CHicago, too. Simon and I recently heard a guy and girl next to us reminescing about 'that time we stowed away on the russian yacht' in conspicuously loud voices. OK, Bourne Identity.

I have items in my bag right now that will soon make their way to you in Oz.
Love,
Amy

courtney said...

Mom, No Bloody Marys stand up to scrutiny here. I will have to make my own.

Dennis, That's just more Bloody Marys for me, so I'm fine with that. Your loss. I should have stressed that this kind of heavy drinking with breakfast is only for those who can walk or use public transit to said brunch establishment. This might be hard in TX.

Mara, have a great time at Camp!

Amy, That is a good lie. I may use it here. Maybe that's how I got here. Yeah, that's the ticket. I stowed away on a Russian mobster's yacht, of course. (With my wife, Maraget Thatcher.) (I cannot wait to check my mail for items! Tell Simon I said hello.)

Anonymous said...

Love the ode to brunch.

A couple of comments. Is there an ideal number of people for a brunch? I was thinking 4. Yeah, you have wait a little longer for a 4-top, but there is likely a multiplier effect in the snappiness of the table conversation. With only two, you sometimes need a newspaper to rechrage the conversation.

The next thing is to come up with the all-time great brunch foursome. Let's call it the Brunch Hall of Fame.

I would like to nominate Phil Rizzuto. The Village Voice used to publish transcripts from his Yankee broadcaster days in poetry form.

He is the ideal idle conversationalist, doing things like spending an entire inning of a game arguing with the other broadcaster about whether or not gorillas can swim.

-Jesse

courtney said...

j-kalb: i LOVE the brunch hall of fame game. I like the Rizzuto nomination. I'm also gonna go woth Elenor Clift, as she can never get a word in edgewise on Mclaughlin group, but you know she has a lot to say. We also need a known degenerate... maybe a Cinncinaughty Bengal?

Anonymous said...

A raging degenerate would be great. I am thinking Nelly, ODB, or the late-1970s John Belushi. Maybe Jack Palance.

jkalb

courtney said...

Where will the brunch hall of fame be located? The baseball hall of fame is in Cooperstown, and obviously the rock and roll hall of fame is in Cleveland. The brunch hall of fame should be in the south. Georgia or South Carolina probably.