Enjoying Brunch at Maggiano’s

Man, I love a good brunch. It wasn’t always this way but as I’ve grown older and less inclined to get up early and go I sure enjoy ordering a number of breakfast treats later in the day. Recently, Maggiano’s introduced their new brunch menu and invited me to come check it out. Already a fan of their usual fare I was eager to discover their take on the popular midday meal.

At Maggiano’s brunch is offered every Saturday and Sunday until 3pm and featured on the menu are various takes on Eggs Benedict. I was able to try two of the varieties – The Meatball and Crabcake.

The Meatball is a nod to Maggiano’s Italian theme and features giant meatballs and oven roasted tomatoes in addition to the standard poached egg and hollandaise sauce.It was pretty darn tasty and the meatball paired well with the egg and sauce. Crabcakes are not one of my favorite dishes but even I could tell this was a good one. Also large in portion it’s chock-full of seafood and is perfect for any shellfish fan.

One of the signature dishes is the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes and they are pretty dang good. They’re light and fluffy with a creamy texture, have the perfect hint of lemon and are topped with fresh blueberries and freshly whipped cream. I am so glad the whipped cream is hand made – it makes the pancakes that much more delectable.

For the veggie lover the Vegetable Frittata is perfect. Filled with mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella it’s filled with flavor. it was actually my favorite dish of the night. The Vesuvio potatoes on the side? Not so much. A bit bland and overcooked I could do without them.

I’m not a big French toast fan so their crème brûlée version didn’t entice me much especially after I found out it was made with cranberries and raisins (not such a dried fruit fan either) but, darn it, if it wasn’t super tasty. I actually would rank the dish right behind the fritatta and would definitely order it again. And the bacon on the side? So incredibly delicious. Thick and smoky it was, honestly, the best bacon I’ve ever had.

Maggiano’s has definitely entered the brunch game with a bang. I certainly enjoyed sampling my way through the menu and look forward to having it again. Especially that bacon. Yum!