Brunch Review: Tarrant’s Café
I have never brunched so much in my life as I have in the last month. In the lead-up to Richmond Brunch Weekend, we have tried brunching at each of the 23 participating restaurant locations, or at least the ones we haven’t been to yet. Which is quite a feat considering how many restaurants that left us, whether we would be in town to brunch (brunching out of town doesn’t count), and finding friends to accompany us. Brunch is a group activity after all. Oh, and also money. Brunch is not cheap, people.
Brunching off of a list also has me being inflexible when it comes to brunching. A friend says we should get brunch, and I give them choice A or B: where would you like to go today?
Last Saturday I presented my friend Alyssa with option A.) Tarrant’s Café or B.) the Betty on Davis. But B.) doesn’t serve brunch on Saturdays (a tragedy that is all too common these days), so that brought us back to Tarrant’s.
I’d heard a lot of good things about Tarrant’s before we showed up, but most of those good things revolved around dinner. No one I knew had gone for brunch before. Their online menu looked promising, though.
We showed up mid-morning and found Tarrant’s decently busy, but with a few booths to spare. I warned Alyssa to be prepared for photo ops, because we needed promotional photos for Richmond Brunch Weekend for social media, but my printer had run out of ink, so the flyer was black-and-white. It turns out Tarrant’s isn’t great for lighting. That has to be my biggest complaint, which isn’t much of a complaint since most people don’t give a quack about photography when brunching.
Alyssa ordered the French Toast Foster since she had wanted something sweet, and I got the huevos rancheros after having the waiter choose between the huevos and something else that I can’t quite remember, but the waiter said you can’t go wrong with the huevos. Touché, my friend.
I also ordered an orange juice “served like a mimosa,” because we needed photos of a Massey Mimosa (for social media), and I had to do homework after brunch, so…
Tarrant’s Café, Tarrant’s West (brunch review coming Monday!), and Max’s on Broad (all owned by the same person) all are offering a $10 take on the Massey Mimosa called the Ruby Champagne Cocktail. $2 is going back to VCU Massey Cancer Center. I didn’t try this, but you should order it if visiting any of their locations this weekend or next (which you’ll definitely be brunching next weekend because…why...say it with me…Richmond Brunch Weekend…yay!!!).
While we waited for our food and I sipped on orange juice in a flute glass, our waiter brought us cinnamon buns. Um, yes. You can see them in the above photo.
Alyssa pouted because she would’ve gotten something savory if she knew she was already getting something sweet. I said, heck, two sweet things would be fine with me.
My huevos rancheros was your standard huevos rancheros except no meat, which was fine with me. The plate was not lacking for it. (The black-and-white flyer might be lacking, though....)
Meanwhile, the French Toast Foster was smothered in bourbon sauce and generously accompanied with whip cream. Alyssa let me finish her last piece of French toast. It was the perfect dessert after my savory huevos.
Tarrant’s Café, Tarrant’s West, and Max’s on Broad are all giving $2 from every item on their menu during Richmond Brunch Weekend, so this is a win-win for everyone. You could show up next weekend and order the same huevos rancheros and French Toast Foster (because you’re not brunching alone, and if you are alone, you need dessert!), and that would be $4 to Massey Cancer Center. And/or you could order the Ruby Champagne Cocktail, and that would be another $4 to Massey Cancer Center.
But let us know if you order something different! I’d love to explore more of their menu.
If you're interested in brunching at The Savory Grain, then mark your calendars for Richmond Brunch Weekend, which is May 14 and 15.
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