Is brunch a time of day or a state of mind? Turns out it’s both, as the owners of Lunch and Supper discovered. They found that their customers wanted eggy dishes not just on Sunday mornings, so they created a new addition to their restaurant family. Brunch opened to the public Wednesday.
“People kept coming into Lunch and Supper for dinner, and asking if we were still serving eggs,” says owner Rick Lyons. “We decided to give the people what they want.”
Brunch took over the old Starlite Dining and Lounge at Robinson and Main streets in the Fan. Gone are the dark, boozy booths and multiple TV screens that lined the narrow space. Instead, Brunch installed several new windows that create a lightened atmosphere along with fresh fixtures, colorful floral wall murals and lots of warm wood and brick.
Patrons of Lunch and Supper won’t be surprised by the massive eight-page menu. You’ll find brunch classics like various eggs Benedict, omelets, waffles, french toast, pancakes and biscuits. But the menu also offers lighter options like salads, sandwiches and several grain bowls, plus kids’ meals.
There is an additional four-page bar menu, with classics like mimosas and bloody Marys, and fun options such as hot toddies and a punch bowl for the table. Nonalcoholic options include sodas, chai, cold-brew coffee and local kombucha.
“Lunch and Supper are more Southern with the food,” Lyons says. “Brunch is sort of French provincial slammed into Garden and Gun.”
For example, Brunch tweaks poutine, the classic Canadian french fries smothered in cheese curds and brown gravy, by substituting crispy sweet potato fries, redeye gravy and pulled pork. The chicken and waffles dish features a delicate but flavorful bacon-infused waffle. Vegans will find several choices, including a maitake mushroom bowl and spicy-sweet barbecued jackfruit, an increasingly popular alternative to tofu and tempeh.
Foodies will notice more unusual items punctuating dishes like duck eggs, raclette, enoki mushrooms and charred green onion aioli.
Although the bar is well-stocked, Brunch won’t open for dinner until March. Even then, service will end by about 10 p.m., as Brunch doesn’t intend to be part of the popular late-night bar scene in that section of the Fan.
Brunch goes all in on local vendors, with the menu listing 22 Virginia food and beverage partners including Autumn Olive Farms, Reservoir Distillery, Ardent Craft Ales, Blue Ridge Bucha and Carytown Coffee. Grains come from Anson Mills in Charleston, South Carolina, an heirloom grains supplier favored by Husk founding chef Sean Brock.
You can brunch hard on a budget here, with most main courses priced at $10-$12. This is hearty comfort food served in large portions, so be prepared to take some home. Alcoholic drinks cost from $7-$12.
During the soft open, chatty guests filled the space with a loud, buzzy vibe, but we had no trouble hearing our conversations. Light flooded the room, and service was warm and friendly. We devoured dish after dish, each providing the satisfying heft and strong flavors typical of brunch food. For us, the post-brunch nap was not optional.
Brunch
2600 W. Main St.
Every day 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.
brunchrva.com
