October 18th, 2015 - (Codie's Pick)
Ann was too tired to come out. She got blasted at a beerfest the night before. I can imagine her in bed, still fully clothed in what she went out in the night before, splayed face down on her bed like a starfish; a small puddle of drool forming on the bed under her mouth.
Well, it was supposed to be her pick today. AND SHE FAILED. YOU FAILED BRUNCH THIS WEEK, ANN. ...you know what, though? Brunch always forgives. (Especially hangovers) And this week, we had Codie pick! More accurately, she had a google search pick!
Steampunk Coffee Bar and Kitchen - Significantly more coffee bar than kitchen. And a hell of a lot more of both of those than steampunk. They have do a lot to offer in the realm of coffee, and a few things for brunch.
It is a order-at-the-bar-then-seat-yourself ordeal. However, there was a very nice woman who came up to people in line and set aside tables for them, by assigning them numbers. A good way to dissuade anyone who is willing to become a squatter for random spots. As I sat down with my William Gibson novel, I noted and enjoyed the strange artwork on the walls; such as a large watercolor of a woman in a bathtub being scrubbed with soap on her head, foot and arm by an octopus. The room was not inundated with this strange art, but lightly and gracefully speckled.
The atmosphere was very lax. The small dining area lent itself to an intimacy that worked for AND against it. The pluses were that even though the place was loud, you still didn't have to shout to be heard in conversation. The downside being that often times you were bumping hips to get to and from your spots.
I ended up having a mexican mocha while I waited. (Because I'm always early) The mocha was not too shabby, although it certainly wasn't worth $4.50. The decorative dark chocolate patterns on the top of the foam, however, were worth a bit more. A similar decoration graced the top of Codie's hot chocolate. I give an "A" for presentation on the drink. Their french press coffee was pretty nice. And not too shabby for portioning, either. One french press gets you two very concentrated cups.
I had the garden scramble. It was a very well-prepared dish, and the scrambled eggs were barely on the underdone side of perfect - like how they SHOULD do it in Europe. (As in, NOT RUNNY)
After they brought my food out, they offered me a little spicy cream sauce. I highly recommend it for the potatoes. Not that they were done poorly, but it gave a little extra something to the scramble that brought out the levels of everything.
Codie had a Belgian waffle, hot chocolate, and a glass bottle of Dr. Pepper - all with a side of insulin.
Powdered sugar, strawberries, bananas, whipped cream (from the can, like god intended), and a little chocolate sauce. She remarked that the waffle didn't need any syrup, as the flavor was lightly sweet and balanced. I don't know what Dr. Pepper does to balance out the rest of the meal, but it seemed to work for her.
Braden decided to go with the featured dish: The Stack. Were I still eating meat, I might have ordered it myself.
That, my friends, is a waffle, with chicken-fried bacon, a sunny side eggs, crispy fried chicken strips, and country potato hash. This dish takes chicken-and-waffles back to culinary school. It seemed to me that the chicken-fried bacon was the best part. Crispy and flat, (Yes, England. Because THAT IS WHAT BACON IS) but just thick enough to have a little body to it.
Overall, I would say that the brunch dishes are reasonably priced, (each platter costing anywhere from $9.00 to $13.00) it's just the coffee that's expensive. (Espresso drinks are all around $4.00, and the french press was $5.00) The coffee wasn't really good enough to justify the price point on it, but the food sure made up for the value.
One side note on the espresso drinks that may add to the value a little: After you're done with any coffee drink, you may simply go to the side of the bar, and pour yourself some free drip coffee. (From a thermos) I'm sort of glad I didn't discover that until the end, as I would have just been doing that for two hours straight, then staying up all night playing Bio Shock. Thank god I'm not doing THAT immediately after I publish this! ...*ahem*
This brunch was with Phillip "Mandarin Vodka" Meyer, Codie "Handle of Captain" Beck, Braden "Moonshine Blindness" Yandle, and Bill "Tubthumping" Neitz.
www.steampunkla.com
(There is no website associated with this domain, yet. Is this place new?! Help support your local business! Go eat there!)
Ann was too tired to come out. She got blasted at a beerfest the night before. I can imagine her in bed, still fully clothed in what she went out in the night before, splayed face down on her bed like a starfish; a small puddle of drool forming on the bed under her mouth.
Well, it was supposed to be her pick today. AND SHE FAILED. YOU FAILED BRUNCH THIS WEEK, ANN. ...you know what, though? Brunch always forgives. (Especially hangovers) And this week, we had Codie pick! More accurately, she had a google search pick!
Steampunk Coffee Bar and Kitchen - Significantly more coffee bar than kitchen. And a hell of a lot more of both of those than steampunk. They have do a lot to offer in the realm of coffee, and a few things for brunch.
It is a order-at-the-bar-then-seat-yourself ordeal. However, there was a very nice woman who came up to people in line and set aside tables for them, by assigning them numbers. A good way to dissuade anyone who is willing to become a squatter for random spots. As I sat down with my William Gibson novel, I noted and enjoyed the strange artwork on the walls; such as a large watercolor of a woman in a bathtub being scrubbed with soap on her head, foot and arm by an octopus. The room was not inundated with this strange art, but lightly and gracefully speckled.
The atmosphere was very lax. The small dining area lent itself to an intimacy that worked for AND against it. The pluses were that even though the place was loud, you still didn't have to shout to be heard in conversation. The downside being that often times you were bumping hips to get to and from your spots.
I ended up having a mexican mocha while I waited. (Because I'm always early) The mocha was not too shabby, although it certainly wasn't worth $4.50. The decorative dark chocolate patterns on the top of the foam, however, were worth a bit more. A similar decoration graced the top of Codie's hot chocolate. I give an "A" for presentation on the drink. Their french press coffee was pretty nice. And not too shabby for portioning, either. One french press gets you two very concentrated cups.
I had the garden scramble. It was a very well-prepared dish, and the scrambled eggs were barely on the underdone side of perfect - like how they SHOULD do it in Europe. (As in, NOT RUNNY)
After they brought my food out, they offered me a little spicy cream sauce. I highly recommend it for the potatoes. Not that they were done poorly, but it gave a little extra something to the scramble that brought out the levels of everything.
Codie had a Belgian waffle, hot chocolate, and a glass bottle of Dr. Pepper - all with a side of insulin.
Powdered sugar, strawberries, bananas, whipped cream (from the can, like god intended), and a little chocolate sauce. She remarked that the waffle didn't need any syrup, as the flavor was lightly sweet and balanced. I don't know what Dr. Pepper does to balance out the rest of the meal, but it seemed to work for her.
Braden decided to go with the featured dish: The Stack. Were I still eating meat, I might have ordered it myself.
That, my friends, is a waffle, with chicken-fried bacon, a sunny side eggs, crispy fried chicken strips, and country potato hash. This dish takes chicken-and-waffles back to culinary school. It seemed to me that the chicken-fried bacon was the best part. Crispy and flat, (Yes, England. Because THAT IS WHAT BACON IS) but just thick enough to have a little body to it.
Overall, I would say that the brunch dishes are reasonably priced, (each platter costing anywhere from $9.00 to $13.00) it's just the coffee that's expensive. (Espresso drinks are all around $4.00, and the french press was $5.00) The coffee wasn't really good enough to justify the price point on it, but the food sure made up for the value.
One side note on the espresso drinks that may add to the value a little: After you're done with any coffee drink, you may simply go to the side of the bar, and pour yourself some free drip coffee. (From a thermos) I'm sort of glad I didn't discover that until the end, as I would have just been doing that for two hours straight, then staying up all night playing Bio Shock. Thank god I'm not doing THAT immediately after I publish this! ...*ahem*
This brunch was with Phillip "Mandarin Vodka" Meyer, Codie "Handle of Captain" Beck, Braden "Moonshine Blindness" Yandle, and Bill "Tubthumping" Neitz.
www.steampunkla.com
(There is no website associated with this domain, yet. Is this place new?! Help support your local business! Go eat there!)
It was a handle of Pinnacle, actually. ALSO the waffles had nutella on the bananas--also I think they actually Starbucks'd the whipped cream, as in, made it themselves as opposed to aerosol can. But still, ultimately, it would be from a can so my musings are neither here nor there on the subject.
ReplyDelete