Breakfast Blues
Breakfast snubbed: Only one Austin restaurant makes list of 100 best brunch spots in the U.S.
We know Austin is a great restaurant town, so we always get suckered in by national lists of best restaurants to see where our top dining spots rank. Naturally, Open Table's 2013 Diner's Choice Award winners for the Top 100 Best Brunch Restaurants in the U.S. caught our eye.
And, as usual, the list is so infuriating.
Only five Texas restaurants — and one Austin dining establishment — made the list, which was compiled from more than five million reviews collected from verified OpenTable diners between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013. Qualifying restaurants were then scored and sorted according to the percentage of qualifying reviews for which “great for brunch” was selected as a special feature.
In Austin, Chez Zee made the select list. The hidden gem located off of Balcones and 2222 boasts a Parisian-style bakery combined with a casual American-style bistro that offers guests award-winning dessert selections.
Max's Wine Dive made the select list. The brunch menu at the Washington Avenue eatery includes its famous Southern fried chicken, along with a variety of egg dishes, banana crepes and crème brûlée French toast.
The brunch at Bernardo's at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston also made the list, along with Lucile's and Cafe Modern in Fort Worth and Max's Wine Dive in Houston.
We have no quibbles with those choices, but that's it?
As usual, the Open Table list is heavily weighted toward both coasts, with 17 restaurants in California and 13 in New York on the list. But it's hard to believe that Florida, with eight winning restaurants, and Georgia, with seven honorees, have better brunch spots than Texas.
What's your favorite place to brunch in Austin? In Texas? Tell us in the comments.
