Breakfasting at the Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club

Some of our favorite weekend breakfast places: M. Henry, Marmalade, Alexander’s Breakfast and Lunch (click here for review).  A new breakfast and lunch place opened by the guy who helped created menus at these aforementioned favorites: Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club.

Add to these credentials that this place transformed a former dive into a gourmet dining option with quaint and minimalist and comfy decor.  (Look at what the place looks like inside now!)

And add to that minor miracle that this place is in the middle of a stretch of land contested in an eminent domain fight with much bigger political powers.

And you have…?  An amazing place with creative dishes that pay tribute to the surrounding Korean and Latino neighborhoods.  A place with good coffee served in thick ceramic mugs.  A place with sweet and savory dishes that make you wonder why you would want to fight crowds at 8am to go to M. Henry in Andersonville when you can stroll in and be made comfortable on Bryn Mawr and Kimball, a much less hip and congested area.

Apparently, they wanted to make sure that Korean patrons would feel welcome, so they included a dish called “Pajun Pancakes” (at top of post)—savory scallion pancakes with jalapenos and minced kimchi and a soy dipping sauce—with eggs, Brussels sprouts and pork belly (so, that last bit was more like some bacon pieces).  It was a lot of excellent food and a great deal!

Their Chilaquiles (above)—served here with a verdes sauce, but also available with a rojos option—are served with eggs, plaintains, rice and beans, and tortillas.  I love how slightly soft but still crunchy their tortilla chips are when cooked in the sauce, and the dish is a substantial vegetarian offering.

While smallest of the dishes ordered, Will’s “Cinnamon Hotcakes” (below) were really very special.  The apricot glaze was not terribly apricot-y (and I mean that in a good way), and the pancakes were shaped and swirled like a flattened cinnamon roll, but also fluffy at the same time.  The “frosting” was the vanilla mascarpone cream that is ubiquitous in breakfast places these days—and for good reason too!

Now we don’t know where we should have our weekend breakfasts!