I recently left the humidity and comfort of my East Coast-abode and ventured out to the West Coast for a week of fun in the sun (well, and clouds!) with my boyfriend. I was well equipped with things to see & do, complete with a list of excellent restaurants, courtesy of another awesome Menuism reviewer (shout-out to grubalicoussf!)…and given my obsession with all things breakfast, Brenda’s was the first thing to try!

After a bit of a wait in the freezing cold (hey, anything below 70 degrees = freezing for this Wash DC native!), our party of three was seated inside the quaint diner-style restaurant. Definitely had a funky Southern flair, and as a recent grad of University of Virginia, I felt right at home with a menu that boasted items ranging from buttermilk pancakes with pecans to omelets with shrimp and goat cheese. The place was bustling and very crowded, even at noon on a Wednesday! Food was coming in and out of the kitchen at record speeds, with two very busy yet sociable servers handling the entire costumer core.

I had to order a biscuit – if you check out Brenda’s website, you’ll know why…amazing photo mmmmm! _- and opted for the home made granola with a side of fruit, as it is my favorite food combination perhaps in the universe. My boyfriend ordered the croque monsieur with fries, and my aunt opted for an assortment of side dishes – one pancake, andouille sausage, biscuit, and cole slaw.

The food was absolutely fantastic, and everyone’s plates were cleaned by the end of the meal! Since I’m a veghead, I can’t personally comment on the quality of the meat, but the contented sighs from my aunt & boyfriend were enough to assure me it was good!

The service understandably a bit slow, given the amount of people in the restaurant/the sheer size of the dishes offered, and the food was well worth the wait! I wouldn’t recommend Brenda’s for those in a rush, so come ready to relax.

The biscuits were just…amazing. Fluffy, light, incredibly fresh, and not too sweet, exactly the preparation I like. So good, I was unwilling to give my boyfriend a taste (well, eventually I caved, can’t say no to a puppy face!) Everything tasted warm and very carefully prepared– the croque mousieur was still steaming a bit when it reached our table! – and it was the perfect comfort-food meal.

We didn’t quite have the appetites to order the beignets, but they looked totally awesome and are def on my to try list! There were four different varieties, and do some serious stalking at nearby tables…I can honestly say each order of beignets delivered to the tables in the restaurant were fully consumed! The chocolate one looked amazing – molten chocolate flowing from the inside. The restaurant also offers 3 other varieties (plain, apple, and crawfish) and ordering the plate of all four seemed to be a very popular item among those who knew the ropes!

Random factoids that hopefully someone will find helpful – no skim milk (sometimes whole is the only way to go, anyway!), credit cards are accepted (yay!), be prepared to wait, but you will not be disappointed! No reservations accepted but you add your name to a sign-up sheet out front and things move along relatively quickly. Parking is difficult around Brenda’s, though my week in San Fran taught me that parking is difficult no matter where you go :) I love places like this…and will be sure to include a trip to Brenda’s during my next West Coast Extravaganza…once I gain funding!