Brunch: You Fancy, Huh?

As a follow up to my last post, I decided to elaborate on my musings about brunch venues and expectations by breaking down one of my favorite types of brunch: The Fancy Brunch.
The Fancy Brunch (referred to henceforth as "TFB") is the most easily recognized brunch. It has it's fingers in a lot of pots, serving as something to do with your parents on a holiday weekend, a date activity, or, if you're a yuppie, any Saturday or Sunday.

An artfully crafted cheese plate is a sure sign of The Fancy Brunch

The reason I dub TFB the most easily recognizable brunch is because it's likely the type of brunch you hated going to as a kid, wishing instead that you got to go to McDonalds for hotcakes on Easter instead of some stuffy place that forced you to sit the whole time. At least that's what I've heard; my family did not brunch, unless you count lunch at the 24-hour IHOP.

Me being fancy.

These days, I love me some TFB. I feel especially privileged living a life in which I can afford to drop an egregious amount of money on TFB. The TFB is pretty much the antithesis to my childhood when a fancy meal was one that didn't come out of a box or the school cafeteria.

I don't want to pigeonhole TFB into a price bracket. While in a sense it could be defined by a price point, really it's much more than that. It's the service. It's the presentation. It's the seasonality of the dishes. It's the range of cocktails deemed socially acceptable to drink before noon.

But there's a dark side to TFB. It's the lurking danger that exists in any relationship. It's expectation. When I indulge in TFB, I expect to pay a premium. I expect my portions to be so small they're considered un-American. And along with those expectations, I except stellar food and great service. It takes much less to make me upset. Slow service, sloppy presentation, un-knowledgable wait staff. And the biggest blight: mediocre food -- I don't care how luxurious your leather seats are, I could spend a lot less on mediocre food. Hell, I could spend a lot less on good food.

Baked Kale... Yeah, you Fancy.

Many times the risk is worth the reward. Being doted upon by an attentive staff. Elderberry and champagne. Delicious dishes. But don't let your guard down and assume that menu prices alone ensure you a good TFB.  With that in mind, go forth and get fancy.