My BRUNCH Brand: PART 1
Originating in England during the 19th century, brunch is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch and is eaten between breakfast and lunch time, or between 10 am and 3 pm. Established by the British upper class, the popular pastime started as a fashionable event that included drinks, alongside the food. Fast forward to today, brunch, a mostly Sunday event, is still popping, especially in cities with large black populations like Houston, Atlanta, and D.C. Since moving to Houston in 2014 from Alabama, I’d immediately figured out that brunch is a HUGE deal. In fact, Houston’s brunch starts off “Sunday Funday.” People literally leave church RIGHT after the pastor is done preaching to partake in brunch festivities. Women and men of all ages, comfortably dressed to impressed, step out into the city to socialize, to drink mimosas, and to eat chicken & waffles, gumbo, and shrimp & grits.
What I love about Houston’s brunch scene is that several brunches have live music or DJs, which gives off a day party vibe. Sounds fun, right? If you want to have fun while you’re eating delicious food in your fliest outfits, then look no further than My BRUNCH Brand. My BRUNCH Brand is a series that highlights black-owned and minority-owned brunch spots around Houston. Let me take you on a journey to these Sunday locales…
Kitchen 713
Named after Houston’s original area code, Kitchen 713 is one of my favorite brunch spots in the city. It’s located along the busy and bustling Washington Ave Corridor near other popular brunch spots like Max’s Wine Dive. Its home is a fresh looking brick building that’s connected to a 3-story parking garage. The restaurant itself is very swanky and upscale with stained cement flooring, nice light fixtures, and beautiful decor; it’s very clean and spacious and has a warm industrial ambiance. Aside from the vibes, the service is really precise and quick. The waitresses and waiters are very attentive and know the menu really well.
Now, here’s the most important part: the food. The food experience is one of a kind. The restaurant is very popular for its “713 Fried Chicken Dinner,” a large entrée that includes 8 whole pieces of chicken. Just like a lot of restaurants in Htown, it caters to the Creole and Cajun populations with offerings, such as gumbo; it also has diverse offerings from across the globe, such as “Tres Leches Pancakes,” “West African Goat Stew,” and “Dan Dan Lamb Noodles.” For me, Kitchen 713 does brunch right, especially since I’m not a big breakfast type of person. The “Pecan Pie French Toast” always satisfies my taste buds. This hefty entrée comes with about 4 - 5 half slices of thick French toast made from brioche bread that are heavily drizzled with pecan pie sauce; the pecan pie sauce is very similar to caramel. Do y’all want more? Let me not forget about the pecans; the sweet pecan halves add the extra crunch to the entrée that really reminds me of a pecan pie. The French toast is also topped with powdered sugar and topped with a medley of fruit, such as kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate, and blackberries; yes, I feel like I’m eating dessert instead of breakfast, which is a good thing to me.
Furthermore, accompanied with my French toast, I get a bowl of gumbo, which includes shrimp, chicken, andouille sausage, chives, rice, and okra. The gumbo is very flavorful and is kind of spicy, and its dark roux is just right: not too thin and not too thick.
Lastly, y’all know I can’t forget about the mimosas. Kitchen 713 does mimosas right as well. Every time I patronize with my friends, we get a few carafes for the table. Flavors include ginger, peach, orange, grapefruit, and berry. I’ve tried most of the flavors, but berry is my favorite flavor. However, all of them will get the job done, both flavor wise and feeling wise.
Kitchen 713 will forever hold a special place in my heart. The food is great, the service is accommodating, and the prices don’t break the bank too much; the “Pecan Pie French Toast” is $14.00, a bowl of gumbo is $16.00, and a large carafe of berry mimosa is $25.00, which is split among my friends. I give this place 5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️). Add Kitchen 713 to your brunch list, if you haven’t done so, and get there early for Sunday brunch!
Phil & Derek’s
If you want the ultimate Houston brunch experience, then you MUST patronize Phil & Derek’s. This popping spot has it all: a live DJ, a brunch buffet, a lounge, a patio, an overflow of mimosas, dancing, and beautiful people. The establishment is conveniently located in Houston’s midtown, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city. From a size perspective, Phil & Derek’s is pretty big, since it has 3 parts (a lounge, a restaurant, and a patio); however, it can get very crowded on a Sunday, the prime brunch day. The service is pretty decent for the large amount of people that patronize the restaurant, but for the most part, since it’s a buffet, it’s self served. However, there are waiters and waitresses that come to the table to take mimosa orders and to get the tab; if you want a great server who’s attentive, then ask for CoCo!
Again, Creole and Cajun cultures are huge in Houston, so Phil & Derek’s has no shortage of the respective cuisines; of course, here, soul food is inevitable. Because I’m a huge fan of Creole food and seafood, I normally get a bowl of gumbo, a plate of collard greens, and a plate of fried chicken, fried catfish, grits, and smoked sausage. The gumbo, which has a thinner dark roux, is good and has an OK amount of shrimp; it does have okra, rice, and andouille sausage in it, which I like. Next, the collard greens are really good; I can taste the smoked meat flavor in them, which reminds me greatly of my grandma’s greens. The fried chicken is always hot and fresh when I make my buffet trips; they are normal sized wings that are seasoned and aren’t fried hard. The fried fish, which is catfish, is cut into fillets and compliments the cheesy and buttery grits well; just like the fried chicken, the fried fish is always fresh when I make multiple trips to get more food. Lastly, the smoke sausage is spicy and is full of flavor; they aren’t tough like a lot of sausages I’ve eaten.
Additionally, Phil & Derek’s is popularly known for its mimosas! The mimosas are that good and will have you on your head, if you’re not careful. LOL. Phil & Derek’s used to offer bottomless mimosas, but now, they offer carafes for $3.00 each. My friends and I normally get about 4 - 5 carafes in one setting; the flavors we get include pomegranate, punch, cherry, pineapple, and orange. From the buffet, I normally get some pineapples and put a couple into my glasses of mimosas. After several glasses, the whole restaurant becomes LIT! Everyone is up dancing to bounce music, waving their napkins to New Orleans second line songs, and singing old jams and current music; the turn up gets real!
Phil & Derek’s is the king of all brunch spots to which I’ve been. Initially, $28.00 for brunch sounds kind of pricey, but it’s worth it because the food is limitless; it’s up to you on how far your money goes. Again, a carafe of mimosas is $3.00 and is what makes the restaurant what it is today. Despite Phil & Derek’s being a great destination for brunchers, I give it 4 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️); the place gets extremely crowded on Sundays, which can result in a 2 hour wait to be seated and a 2 hour table limit. Make sure y’all visit this establishment soon, nonetheless!
The Address
Houstonians, do y’all remember the hot and popping Sunday Funday spot, “Social Junkie?” The gone but not forgotten Washington Avenue sports bar has been reincarnated into The Address, Third Ward’s hottest destination for day parties, nightlife, and BRUNCH! From Grooves to Live Oak to D Bar to Spivey’s, Third Ward stays LIT, but all roads lead to The Address. It’s a 3 in 1 type of venue (a club, a bar, and a patio); you can meet new people and enjoy Houston’s warm weather on the huge patio, you can have a few drinks and watch the game in the bar area, and you can turn up in the club section at night. Oh yea, did I mention the waitresses? The waitresses are beautiful! The DJs and hype men have the whole place jammin’, too! There’s something to do there every day of the week, but you don’t want to miss “Brunch and Beats” on a Sunday!
Additionally, The Address has typical brunch dishes with a Creole twist. There are fried or grilled lobster tails, croissant French toast, shrimp & grits, catfish & grits, chicken & waffles. However, I always get the chicken & waffles. Yes, I know this is a go-to brunch meal, but the meal’s presentation is so Texas. A matter of fact, it is Texas: a waffle that is shaped like the state. The waffle is drizzled with bourbon caramel sauce and powdered sugar and is topped with whipped cream, a strawberry, and mint; the entrée comes with a small container of syrup, as well. The waffle is very fluffy and light and is kind of sweet. For my side of meat, I get 5 chicken wings, which are fried and seasoned very well; the crispy wings are traditionally southern and can be enjoyably eaten with a side of collard greens and a piece of cornbread, if I were at home in Alabama. For my drink, I never choose to get a carafe or a glass of mimosa. Instead, I get my usual beverage: a Sprite.
All in all, The Address is a great place to brunch and party in the day. You can eat and dance your problems away on Sunday's “Brunch and Beats.” The brunch is inexpensive to moderately priced. I pay $15 for the chicken & waffles, and I’m rarely charged for my Sprite. Even though The Address is a great spot to have fun and eat, there is a few things that keep me from giving it 5 stars. The parking is a problem during high volume times of the day (Sundays during brunch), and the service can be slow. All of these issues can affect your dining experience, but they can be corrected over time. Overall, I give The Address 4 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) and will continue to support them.
As you can tell, I’m a brunch lover. I was compelled to create My BRUNCH Brand, and I will continue to share with y’all my favorite brunch spots across the Greater Houston area. If you have any recommendations, then please comment below! In the meantime, stay tuned for Part 2!