A Sunday off work. In retail it is a true jewel. When I do get one, we (richardm and suzib) like to have a late breakfast or brunch. Initially when I saw I had today off we made plans to go to Anchorage and have breakfast at one of the two new places there. But, wait, there is some kind of festival going on yesterday and today so we decided that another location might be better. Michele's on Goss came up and since they have a brunch buffet I thought it was worth a try. Located in the Goss Ave Antique Mall on the first floor it is close and convenient.
Suzi ordered from the menu and got the Salmon Benedict (10.25), served with cheese grits. A nice touch here is that they asked how she wanted her eggs poached, so she got them medium and had a nice runny yellow. The grits were nice and creamy and did not appear to be of the instant variety. The salmon was almost like a hash, pan fried with some crispy edges. Not bad, but different. I did taste test both the grits and salmon and found both to be ok.
I on the other hand I did the brunch buffet. At 13.95 I would not get it again unless there are some changes. It was not bad per se, but it was not excellent and when you figure that LImestone has a brunch buffet for 11.95 there has to be a step up someplace.
I started with biscuit and sausage paste. The flour was not cooked done. It did have a good sausage flavor, but I should have known when there was that film on the top of the gravy. I stirred it thoroughly and briskly before dipping out the gravy for my open biscuit and it didn't flow out of the spoon. I had to urge it to cover my biscuit. To be honest, I have had better biscuits and gravy at Waffle House. I got two pieces of bacon (nom nom nom) that was fried done but still 'limp' as eddydd calls it. I don't care for burnt bacon and this was quite good. I picked up a single sausage link. At the end of the table I found a bowl of mixed fruit salad and got two pieces of sliced peaches.
As I worked my way through this plate of not quite cooked done sausage gravy, I found that the link of sausage was TOUGH. Yes, I had to use my knife to cut it as all my fork did was make it bend and squish down. The pleasant surprise was that the peach was fresh peach, not canned.
I also ordered an omelet from the omelet station. Tomatoes, ham, onions and 'white' cheese. I assumed from the way it was shredded it was Mexican cheese and thought that would be a nice change for my concoction of ovum, meet, fruit and vegetable. It was mozzarella! Quite nice and different as well. I had skippd the scrambled eggs in the buffet line as they looked way over cooked, too brown for my taste. They had Eggs Benedict on the buffet as well but it is made with country ham and I just don't care for that but about once a year and it has not yet been 12 months since my last dose. They looked great and I did see many people with them on their plates.
When I got up to go to the buffet line I had asked for Suzi to get me an 'order' of toast when she put her menu order in. She did so. ATTENTION Restaurant owners and managers who serve breakfast. An ORDER of toast is 2 pieces, which if you feel necessary you can cut so there are 4 almost triangles of toast. And, for those that don't, YOU butter the the toast in the back so it melts and spreads into the golden brown carb carrier. Cutting one piece of toast in half does NOT make it an order of toast, it is just one piece cut. OK OK I am getting down off the soap box. Now, let me say the toast this morning, altho lacking depth, was very good. I could go in with my morning paper and have 4 orders of toast and coffee and be happy. Dip the toast in the coffee, sup it down, repeat till toast is gone.
On a return trip I had to ask for biscuits as the basket was empty. I didn't get another one but that basket was right next to the omelet station and beside the sausage gravy.
I then went to 'taste test' the more lunch-y foods on the buffet. A pan of well cooked roast beast and paste...errr... gravy was first up. Once again the gravy had a nice dulled skim on top and I don't think anyone had taken any of the beef from the pan. I ventured in and got a small piece and worked the corners of the pan to find some thinner gravy and in so doing actually came across a piece of rare beef. I am not exactly sure but I believe it was top sirloin roast. It tasted good but was not particularly hot/warm even though I had dug down to bottom of the pan to get the piece. This was the first pan after the omelet station. I am not really picking on the chef there as he fixed me a great omelet but he had time between guests to walk the line and mix and stir.
Flat Italian green beans with very small pieces of ham and potatoes was the vegetable. They really did appear to be canned and had that taste but it was hard to tell exactly as they had been WELL cooked and you knew there was salt in that kitchen, which could have been from a box or from country ham(?). They were ok. The mashed potatoes were good, hot at the bottom and when I got my table and put a pat of butter on them it melted. WIN!
The final food item was fried chicken. I got a nice sized wing form the bottom of the pan. It was a nice brown and crispy, and when I took a bite it was cold. It had great flavor and would have been outstanding if it had been hot or even warm.
I sipped some coffee which was very good. This was not an after thought at Michele's or something that we need for customers. Then I went back one last time to get some more of that fruit salad. I decided against the bread pudding with carmel sauce and instead got a spoon full of MICHELE'S BETTER THAN SEX Cake. I have for 30 minutes been playing with how to describe it, knowing that there are probably some younger foodies who read this. MIchele, that was NOT cake, nor is it even close to sex, forget better than. If you want we can have a chat about both, but let me reassure you, that whipped cream, chocolate drizzle in and on top of the whipped cream, with chopped nuts is not cake. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen: I have had sex, and that is not better than sex. In fact I am not sure that is a dessert all by itself.
As I said above, for the charge I dont' think I would do the buffet again unless there were changes: The pans of food need to be covered since the heat from the alcohol/sterno cans passing to and through the food is just lost in space. If you didn't you need to make sure the bottom pans have BOILING water in them to begin with so that the canned heat keeps it warmer. Someone needs to 'work' the food line. Stir, change, fill, TEST.
