My Aunt was in town from Portland, OR to visit for a few days so before a day of shopping in Ellicot City we went for brunch at Eggspectations. This restaurant is an upscale casual dining restaurant with a great décor utilizing the theme “Les Cirques des Oeufs” (Circus of eggs). The menu features 160 items, including appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, chicken, fish, steaks, pasta, and a large assortment of high-end egg and crepe dishes which are available all day long. Their specialty, Eggs Benedict, is offered in over a dozen different ways.

I had the Muffin Eggsplosion -Muffin of your choice (I picked Orange Cranberry) dipped in egg whites and grilled, topped with English cream, banana, kiwi and roasted almonds. “WOW” is really all I can think to say. This was so yummy I never wanted it to end. The only thing I would have asked for is some more English cream. The roasted almonds add both texture and a wonderful crunch.

My Aunt had the Eggstravaganza- two eggs (any style) and two slices of French toast, choice of sausage, ham, Canadian bacon or bacon, served with grilled potatoes and chef’s fruit garnish. Over all it was a nice size. The flavor was average but nothing compared to the Eggsplosion.

Our server was spot on and very helpful. She checked in in with us just the perfect amount of time. Overall, the food was good along with the service and décor. I am already looking over the menu as to what I want next time I go.

Here are some nightly specials:

• Monday night is Kids NIght: Kids 12 & under eat free with adult entree
• Tuesday night is Sr. Night: after 3 pm 55 & over 15% off
• Wednesday night Pancake Night: after 3 pm pancakes with any topping $5.99

I met some friends here this Saturday for lunch at non. Was very busy at noon so expect a wait. This place a a very extensive menu with about 160 items from smoothies, soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, eggs, pancakes, etc.

The decor is set around “Les Cirques des Oeufs” (Circus of eggs). There is a lot of colorful murals and rustic walls and columns. The kitchen is ope so that you can see in. They had these great metal sculpture type things that were also wine racks.

I had the California Benedict -Two eggs poached, smoked salmon, spinach, asparagus and gruyère cheese on wheat bread with our classic hollandaise sauceserved with grilled potatoes. I switched the toast to an English Muffin. It was huge and was pilled on-top a lot of the potatoes. I expected the asparagus to be cut into pieces but it was served as 4 long whole pieces.

One person had the Eggspectation Salad- Sliced black forest ham, turkey, swiss and cheddar cheese mixed with our house vinaigrette over mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers and a boiled egg. I loved how they served the meat: it was served as meat rolls and sliced sort of like pinwheels and not chopped up. It was also very large.

Another person had the Prima Vera- Fresh vegetables with our tomato basil sauce. She also had the breadsticks that looked very good (they looked to have herbs mixed within the breadsticks). It smell very good.

Another person had one of the club sandwiches that was very loaded.

The last person had the Yogurt Parfait (granola, blueberry, strawberry) and a muffin (cappuccino chocolate chip). The parfait looked very light and filling and the muffin was huge.

For dessert I had the Lemon Drop cake which was very moist that had a nice lemon bitter taste to it. Some split the Heaven and Hell cake which was very decadent looking and had a lot of chocolate with a splash of white cake.

There were so many things that sounded good on the menu I can’t wait to go back and try them!