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    Easter Brunch Ideas

    Have your eggs & eat them too: The procrastinator's guide to Easter brunch

    Darla Guillen
    Mar 29, 2013 | 11:00 am

    Easter is upon us, and it's hard to resist a holiday that encourages smashing confetti eggs on unsuspecting heads and eating mass amounts of chocolate. With friends who applaud themselves for a "brunch well done," we've got you covered when it comes to any holiday or meal that's egg-related. Even if you didn't plan on Easter brunching, it's not too late to change your mind and join in for egg hunts, mimosa sipping and live music to accompany all that pastel shell pulverizing.

    Backstreet Cafe

    Almost as famous for its brunch as it is for its delicate little garden patio, this is a must-list for anything that has to do with frittatas or mimosas. Stop in between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. for an Easter egg hunt, live jazz and a special three-course menu featuring Benedict-style eggs with Virginia ham and Sardou with artichoke and spinach. The cost is $42 per person and $12 per child age 10 and under.

    El Gran Malo

    For a genuine Pascua celebration, stop in to the big bad for a tasty menu of their award-winning cocktails at happy hour prices all day and night and $15 bottomless fresh-squeezed mimosas. You can count on this spot to offer the most creative holiday discount on the list: Slap a fried egg on anything for $1.

    Up

    This opulent little patio overlooking Highland Village is welcoming brunchers to celebrate with an Easter Sunday champagne buffet. They will offer two seatings — one at 11:00 a.m. and another at 1:30 p.m. — and apart from a raw bar featuring Scottish salmon and a station carving up roasted prime rib, the meal will offer generous amounts of bubbly.

    Hugo’s

    This is one of the most popular brunch menus any time of the year, with a string quartet playing from their indoor balcony, as brunchers nom on warm and cold Mexican dishes. This Easter, Hugo's will also host an egg hunt for children — and expect plenty of Mexican Easter cheer. The usual prices apply: $39 per person and $12 for children age 10 and under from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    Glass Wall

    While this Heights hotspot doesn't usually offer brunch, it's hopping on the weekend tradition this Easter with a special menu featuring plenty of egg dishes, my favorite being the frittata with spinach, feta, heirloom tomato and olive-tomato tapenade. Glass Wall will also offer great drink specials, like $12 pitchers of mimosas and $5 glasses of rum punch (in case you need a pre-family buffer).

    Haven

    This Upper Kirby hotspot that houses famous raw bar Cove will celebrate Easter with complimentary amuse bouche before their brunch seating. The upscale atmosphere is sleek and modern, but cozy enough to encourage a warm family reunion with a special menu by chef Randy Rucker cooking up three festive dishes between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The cost is $40 per person.

    Mockingbird Bistro

    This is the only place on the list that will offer brunch all Easter day — in case you want to double brunch it this Easter. We won't judge. A three-course prix fixe menu will run you $59 per person and $25 for children (ages 12 and under). Standouts on the entrée menu include the Eggs Riviera, a dish of scrambled eggs over smoked salmon bruschetta with chive cream cheese and asparagus, as well as the eggs and bacon with Swiss chard and a red wine redux.

    Quattro

    Look out for a visit from the Easter Bunny, who will be making the rounds all brunch long at this Four Seasons eatery. Four stations, including breakfast, sushi and pastry stations will be served up for $79 per adult and includes Bloody Marys, mimosas and champagne. The cost for kids ages 6 to 12 is $39.50 and includes ice cream and milkshakes. This is on the steeper end of the price scale, but the food is solid and the festivities will delight children and parents alike.

    Blackfinn American Grille

    This Bagby favorite will offer the "Breakfast Balboa" on their Easter brunch menu, the feature item serves up prime rib, mozzarella and breakfast potatoes topped with two eggs on toasted garlic bread. Apart from the mimosa specials, the build-your-own Bloody Mary bar is a must-visit this Sunday and is close enough to Discovery Green that you won't miss the best downtown Easter festivities.

    House of Blues

    With Easter being a time for rebirth and religious reconciliation, head to this downtown staple for a gospel brunch and Easter brunch. The cost is $40 for adults and $17 for children to enjoy a performance by a gospel choir to accompany your hearty Southern Easter dishes.

    Sparrow Bar + Cookshop

    Celebrate Jesus' resurrection and chef Monica Pope's creative lineup at her reimagined restaurant, which will host its first ever Easter brunch with a globally-inspired three-course prix fixe menu from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Starters like the avocado sashimi with almond sambal and lamb crepinette with corn grits and spicy red chili chutney will surprise palates for $35 a person and $15 for kids.

    Hobbit Café

    A tiny hobbit hut might not seem like the likeliest place for Easter cheer, but with solid offerings like the salmon burger with a creamy dill sauce and arugula, the fare is always tasty. Come here to avoid the Easter brunch rush at the other places on the list.

    For some out-of-ordinary Easter brunch choices, check out these choices featured in this week's KHOU CultureMap Moment.

    If you have to wait, Haven is the place to do it — complimentary amuse bouche will be served before the brunch seating.

    Haven, patio, crowd, sign
      
    Haven Facebook
    If you have to wait, Haven is the place to do it — complimentary amuse bouche will be served before the brunch seating.
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    wine guy in NYC

    Chris Shepherd reviews the New York Times' newly ranked No. 1 NYC restaurant

    Chris Shepherd
    Jun 4, 2025 | 4:30 pm

    Sometimes, the stars just align. That was the case for my wife Lindsey and me on a recent trip to New York City. We were there for one night — one shot to eat somewhere memorable — and somehow landed a reservation at Semma, the Southern Indian restaurant from the team at Unapologetic Foods. And today? It just got named the No. 1 restaurant in New York by The New York Times. Not a bad coincidence.

    Here’s how critic Priya Krishna describes it:

    New York is teeming with Indian restaurants. Yet before Semma, a deeply personal tribute to the chef Vijay Kumar’s upbringing in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the city’s diners had never seen Indian food like this. Punctuated with chiles, coconut and earthy curry leaves, Semma’s flavors are lingering and loud, yet restrained. Its dosa is the best in the city: a crisp specimen that’s heady with fermentation and slicked with ghee and fiery gunpowder spice. Semma altered the course of Indian dining here, and four years on, Mr. Kumar’s food continues to feel fresh.

    Semma NYC restaurant
      

    Photo by Chris Shepherd

    The New York Times just named Semma as New York's best restaurant.

    We were already buzzing just walking in. The place had that feeling — you know the one. That electric hum that only exists when everything’s in sync. It’s not something you can manufacture or buy — it either exists or it doesn’t. And at Semma, it was there in full force. That warmth, that soul. Like a worn-in blanket you reach for on a cool night.

    The menu reads like a love letter to the region. Small, shareable bites to start. Bigger plates for the middle. And then the mains, rounded out with rice and breads. Chef Vijay came out to say hi — his face lit up with pride — and asked if there was anything we wanted to try. We just said, “We’re in your hands.”

    The ride began with Paniyaram — crispy rice and lentil dumplings kissed with asafoetida and served with Paatti’s chutney. Then came one of the most unexpected hits of the night: Mulaikattiya Thaniyam — sprouted mung beans with coconut and chili. Light, spicy, refreshing. Those two dishes set the tone: this wasn’t going to be a normal dinner. This was a flavor journey.


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    Next came the dish you’ve probably seen all over the internet: the Gunpowder Dosa. A lacy, crisp crepe made with rice and lentil flour, stuffed with potato masala and served with three sauces. Straight-up delicious. It landed next to a salad of snow and snap peas with coconut and red onion — clean, cool, and crunchy. Then came tender pieces of braised short rib, rich with black cardamom and Tellicherry pepper. Boom.

    We paired it all with a bottle of Matthiasson Chardonnay from the Linda Vista Vineyard in Napa. Steve and Jill Matthiasson are some of my favorite people in wine — smart, thoughtful, and making wines that speak to the land. If you haven’t had one of their bottles yet, go get one. Seriously.

    Somewhere in there, there was an amaro break (because why not?), and then the mains started rolling in.

    The lobster tail — served over a creamy, coconut milk broth with mustard seed and turmeric — was just as silky and luxurious as it sounds. The roasted lamb chops hit with perfect texture and spice. And the goat biryani? A fitting exclamation point to a meal already full of fireworks. At this point, our tastebuds were in full sensory overload — in the best way.

    And just when we thought we were done, out came dessert. One with perfect mango. The other with bright passion fruit. After all the richness and spice, these were exactly what we needed — light, clean, beautiful.

    So — is Semma deserving of the No. 1 spot? Yeah. It is. But it’s more than just the food, wine, or cocktails. What sets it apart is heart. It’s clear how much of themselves chef Vijay, Roni, and Chintan put into this restaurant. The passion, the pride, the story — it’s all on the plate.

    Thank you, chef. Thank you, Roni. Thank you, Chintan. For one incredible night, you invited us into your world. And we’ll never forget it.

    -----

    Share your NYC recommendations with Chris via email at chris@chrisshepherd.is.

    Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $11 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund. Catch his TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2 or on YouTube.

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