Brunch Bites Archives - Detroit Duchess

What’s Better than Brunch?

April 26, 2019 by DetroitDuchess Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to Royal Oak Brunch Bites. All opinions expressed are my own.

For today’s Five on Friday post, I thought I would share more information about one of my favorites events, Brunch Bites! This is an annual event that happens in Royal Oak and Chicago and is the perfect time to round up your gal pals for one super brunch!

Read to the bottom for a chance to win two tickets to tomorrow’s event. Here are a five things to know about the best event of the year!

What’s on the Menu?

Red Velvet and Buttermilk Pancakes, that’s what!

Can we Brunch all Day?

Yes, there are 12 restaurants on the menu, which means you get a food and drink offering at each location.

What Should I Wear?

Comfortable shoes because you will be walking and layers…this is Michigan after all. After that, all graphic tees are welcome! I have my eye on this one currently…

What is Brunch?

This is the very official Wikipedia definition: Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch eaten usually during the late morning to early afternoon, generally served from 10 a.m. up to 2 p.m., and regularly has some form of alcoholic drink (most usually champagne or a cocktail) served with it. The word is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch. Brunch originated in England in the late 19th century and became popular in the United States in the 1930s. But mostly…

Where can I get Tickets?

You can buy them for $40/ticket here. Or you can win a pair from me by entering the giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Detroit Tagged With: Brunch Bites, Royal Oak

Brunch Bites: A Taste of Royal Oak

May 8, 2017 by DetroitDuchess 3 Comments

Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to Royal Oak Brunch Bites. All opinions expressed are my own.

I had a blast at last year’s Brunch Bites, so I was excited when the event coordinator reached out with tickets to this year’s event. I live in the Royal Oak area, so this is a fun opportunity to get out downtown and explore 12 different brunch destinations for food and drinks.

We kicked it off again at Bigalora with a Bigalora Waffle, house made peanut butter, banana and fresh whip cream with a Gordon Bombay Loves Brunch (Honeydew infused Bombay Sapphire, hibiscus/rose syrup, lime, soda). This was probably my favorite food item – SO GOOD!

Our second stop was at The Morrie where we chowed down on a Nashville hot chicken and waffle paired with the Lola (a Sugar Island Coconut Rum, coconut milk-bourbon vanilla simple, cold brew coffee). I don’t even like the coffee, but this was amazing. I will go on record and say this is the only coffee I will drink. The Morrie was new to brunch bites this year and I was happy to visit again.

Bastone Brewery is up next and they were another new addition this year. They served us corned beef hash with bell peppers, skillet potatoes and cheddar cheese along with a Tropical Mimosa (pineapple, orange juice, passionfruit and grenadine).

Lockhart’s BBQ is always a treat and they didn’t disappoint this year with a smoked brisket mess including smoked sausage, potatoes, onions, peppers, cheddar cheese and eggs all scrambled together. Their Poor Man’s Bloody Mary was to die for (a mix of their house made bloody mary mix combined with craft lager beer).

I had just been to Andiamo for Easter brunch so I was excited to what they were offering for Brunch Bites. They didn’t disappoint with Eggs Wellington: soft scrambled eggs, prosciutto and imported cheeses in crisp phyllo pastry with creamed leeks. They topped it off with a white sangria with fresh fruit.

No brunch would be complete without chorizo and Mesa Tacos and Tequila did not disappoint with their chorizo hash taco and Violet Beauregarde (Reposado Tequila, fresh blueberry compote, fresh squeezed lime juice, sparkling wine).

New this year was Rebel Cafe, which I hadn’t been to before. They served a mini cinnamon roll sandwich and these AMAZING brownie cheesecake bites along with a Beermosa. It was so delicious!

I was enamored with Blackfinn Ameripub’s Sea Breeze Mimosa (grapefruit, cranberry and champagne). They served a southern skillet with southern fried chicken, scrambled eggs, tasso cream, hollandaise sauce and green onions stacked on a bacon and goat cheese grit.

Pronto! served a decadent stuffed French Toast with blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, cream cheese filling and caramel maple sauce. It was to die for! Their Oiu il (Yes Please!) drink included cinnamon spiced Khalua, Chambord, coffee and whipped cream.

I took a time out at Cafe Muse due to their exotic mushroom and Boursin scramble. I cannot handle anything with mushrooms so my friend got two. They served an Aperol spritz with muddled blueberries which made up for it.

Lily’s Seafood Grille & Brewery let me customize my shrimp & grits with no shrimp so I was happy. They served a Hefemosa with Whitefish Bay Wheat Beer and orange juice.

By the time we made it to Gayle’s Chocolates, they must have been out of the advertised cookies, but we got truffles and Gayle’s Homemade Haute Cocoa so all was well.

Did you attend this year’s Brunch Bites? What was your favorite pairing? This is one of my favorite events and I can’t wait until next year!

To see last year’s Brunch Bites post, click here.

Filed Under: Detroit Tagged With: Andiamo, Bastone Brewery, Bigalora, Blackfinn Ameripub, Brunch Bites, Cafe Muse, Detroit, Gayle's Chocolates, Lily's Seafood Grille & Brewery, Lockhart's BBQ, Mesa Tacos and Tequila, Pronto, Rebel Cafe, Royal Oak, The Morrie

Royal Oak Brunch Bites

May 2, 2016 by DetroitDuchess 1 Comment

My bestie Jen and I spent this past Saturday having a blast at Royal Oak’s Brunch Bites event and I thought I would share all of my fun pictures with you. Brunch Bites is a walking food and drink event where you get to check out 12 of Royal Oak’s brunch destinations and sample food and drink at each location.

We started our adventure at Bigalora with a Bigalora Waffle (Strawberries, Whip Cream, Pine Nuts) and a Provatelo (Tito’s Vodka, Aperol, Lemon Juice, St. Germain).

Stop 2 was at Pronto! with Stuffed French Toast (Blackberries, Strawberries, Blueberries, Cream Cheese Filling and Caramel Maple Sauce) and Sinful Sparkling Sangria (Blood Orange, Kiwi, Mango, Strawberries, Triple Sec & Bubbles).

Stop 3 was at Cafe Muse with an Apple and Gorgonzola Quiche and a Sparkling Spritzer.

Stop 4 was at Lily’s Seafood with a Bayou Breakfast Fritatta (Andouille sausage, crawfish, peppers and onions with a Tabasco lime hollandaise) and Milk Punch (Cognac, milk, syrup and vanilla). I didn’t try the fritatta because I’m not really into seafood, but I LOVED the milk punch!!

Stop 5 was Gayle’s Chocolates with Mini Cookies (Oatmeal cherry pecan cookies with milk chocolate chunks and dark chocolate chip cookies with sea salt) and Organic and Fair Trade Mexican Altura Coffee. As you know I’m not a coffee drinker, so Jen got two samples of coffee.

Stop 6 was Ale Mary’s Beer Hall where they served my favorite thing Candied Bacon (Thick cut bacon candied with sage maple syrup, brown sugar) and Rochester Mills Blueberry Pancake Milkshake Stout (Fuller body and sweeter palate, flavored with blueberry). This bacon was the thickest I’ve ever had; it was unbelievable!

Stop 7 was at Mesa Tacos and Tequila where they served Corn Pudding with a warm fig compote and Mas Tequila (El Jimador Reposado, Aperol, St. Germaine, Lemon). The drink was awesome but definitely strong.

Stop 8 was at Lockhart’s BBQ where they served The Hangover (Buttermilk biscuit loaded up with scrambled eggs, bacon, bell peppers, shredded jack cheese and smothered in sausage gravy) and accompanied with a Peach Bellini (Sparkling wine with white cranberry peach juice). The Bellini was delightful! I could have drank that all day long.

Stop 9 was at Andiamo which had a Ciabatta Breakfast Panini (scrambled eggs layered with peppers bacon, cheddar cheese, Italian sausage gravy. They were supposed to have Bloody Marys, but they ran out and gave us a Screwdriver instead.

Stop 10 was La Dulce where they served a Belgian Waffle (Maple syrup and violet foam) and a Spanish Mimosa (Sparkling Wine and Citrus Juice).

Stop 11 was the Red Fox English Pub where they served an English Trifle (pound cake, raspberry puree, creme anglaise, and whipped cream) and Hot Maple Butter Rum (Goslings Black Seal Rum, complimented by pure maple syrup and a healthy tab of unsalted butter).

Last but not least is Strada with a Short Rib Hash (Braised short rib with diced potatoes, onion, green pepper, and a natural bourbon reduction) and a Serrano Gooseberry Margarita.