The Briarpatch
The Briarpatch restaurant is a heavy hitter on Park Avenue. If you’re familiar with Park Ave then you’ve undoubtedly been to, walked by, or at least seen the famous yellow awning bearing the Briarpatch name. It just so happens to be one of my favorite restaurants; for one specific factor, breakfast and brunch. I love brunch! Honestly, I’d eat brunch everyday if I could. I’ve written an article about my favorite brunch spots around town, which includes The Briarpatch, that you can read here.
The Briarpatch Has a Lot of Tasty Items
The Briarpatch has a lot of tasty items on their menu like the rock shrimp po’boy, the brisket blend burger and brown butter Belgian waffles. A brisket blend burger? C’mon, doesn’t just hearing those words together make you drool a little? I am a burger head for sure and they knock it out of the park with their brisket burger. Their eclectic menu makes them a perfect spot to grab breakfast or lunch. They even make their own ice cream and have a full bakery of fresh baked goods to choose from. If you’re from the south, like me, you’ll love that they offer an upscale take on traditional American cuisine with a southern flare. Even something as simple as grits seems to be executed flawlessly. I know it sounds a little silly to brag about grits; but the cheesy grits they serve here are my absolute favorite. Also, contrary to popular belief, making an awesome pot of grits can be a bit challenging. Every time I order grits with breakfast, I’m a little disappointed when they don’t live up to the expectations that I now have, thanks to The Briarpatch.
The Briarpatch Brunch and Breakfast
It’s not uncommon to see tables filled with eggs benedict and mimosas. I’ve had both and I can confirm that neither will disappoint. I usually take about ten minutes to decide between the eggs benedict and a traditional breakfast. Even with everything they have to offer, I still find myself ordering the same thing. A traditional breakfast. Why? Because of the execution. Two eggs over easy, bacon, and grits with cheddar cheese. You can view their different menu’s here.
If you’ve read any of my other food review articles, then you may remember some mention of me being a stickler for quality. Like a breakfast restaurant serving high-quality eggs for example. It’s easy to use the cheapest ingredients and attempt to season them correctly to make a tasty breakfast. In my opinion it’s better to use more expensive and higher quality ingredients. That’s what I think we get from The Briarpatch. Personally, I believe it makes the chef’s job that much easier to use better ingredients. Being a bit of an amateur chef myself, this is a very important factor to me.
Classic breakfast aside, they have a few other items that I order from time to time. Eggs benedict is another obvious choice but their crab cake benedict… wow. Crab cakes hold a special place in my heart. Being from Florida, you kind of have to like crab cakes, or seafood in general, to keep your Floridian card. They already make their biscuits in house. They use these biscuits for their benedict and then they top it with some crab cakes. It’s a cool breakfast approach, with a surf and turf vibe. Most people wouldn’t think to add crab cakes to their breakfast but I’m glad The Briarpatch did.
Check Out the Briarpatch for Yourself
Writing this has made me realize that I need to go back to The Briarpatch as soon as possible. If you haven’t been yet, you’re really missing out on some fantastic creations from their kitchen. Whether you go for breakfast, lunch, or brunch, I’m sure you’ll find something you like. After my first experience at The Briarpatch I have had cravings for their brunch and specifically for those grits. Order the grits with your breakfast and add cheddar cheese. I challenge you to find another restaurant that prepares grits as well as they do. If you have any restaurants for me to review, in the Winter Park area, you can email us here and put “Attn: Matt” in the subject line. Especially if they have awesome grits. Check out the Briarpatch’s website here.
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