Brunch is perhaps the most universally despised meal. People who work in the service industry hate it because it involves a whole different menu than dinner service and requires them to wake up early after potentially pulling a Saturday evening shift the night before. Diners hate it because the food is, more often than not, disappointing, with even the best restaurants in any given city serving up bland scrambled eggs and cloyingly sweet, syrup-soaked waffles.
But brunch doesn’t have to be as terrible as it is. It’s a meal with so much potential. It’s purposefully slow, enjoyed in the middle of the day on the weekend, and those who participate have the intention of staying seated at the table for a couple of hours, at least, day drinking wine and catching up with friends and family. Apart from holidays, Americans don’t tend to luxuriate over lengthy meals, so brunch should be celebrated by those of us who value food, connection and commensality. Plus, it’s an excuse to eat breakfast food for, let’s face it, lunch, a cheeky refusal of an average day’s routine.
So, how can we embrace brunch again and truly enjoy all it has to offer us? If you ask me, the way forward is eating brunch at home.
Hear me out. Yes, you’re going to have to cook on a Sunday morning. But the good news is that traditional brunch food is exceptionally easy to make. Eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, pancakes… even the most average cook in the world should be able to manage a simple brunch menu. And if you really, really don’t want to cook, make it a potluck, buy some pastries from your favorite bakery and make a big plate of scrambled eggs. It’s possible to make brunch at home a very low-effort endeavor.
The benefits of enjoying brunch at home are endless. You don’t have to get dressed up—you can even stay in your pajamas if you feel so inclined. You don’t have to think about making a reservation or getting to the restaurant on time; just start eating when your guests arrive and everyone gets hungry. And of course, you’re going to be saving a lot of cash as well. Brunch can be quite expensive, particularly when alcohol is involved, which can feel like a waste when you’re getting food you could easily cook at home anyway. By saving on food costs, you may be able to splurge on brunch and bring something really special to the table, like a small container of caviar to top your eggs with or a bottle of real Champagne to pop open and pour for friends.
Brunch gets a lot of hate from people who value quality restaurant food—and understandably so. But just because you’ve had bad brunch experiences in the past doesn’t mean the meal itself can’t be a joy if you’re willing to think outside of the traditional brunch box. Taking the time out of your weekend to sit down to a long meal with friends and family is a part of our food culture that we shouldn’t let die. Maybe it’s just time to move the tradition to our own kitchens.
Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.