East Side Cafe
2113 Manor Road, 476-5858
Saturday & Sunday brunch menu, 10am-3pm, reservations suggested
If you’re looking for someplace to while away a few hours on a beautiful Austin spring day, there’s no better place than the covered patio at East Side Cafe for brunch. First, take a stroll in the flourishing organic garden that provides herbs, greens, and vegetables for the kitchen, then settle down with the newspaper and a cup of fresh, hot coffee. The service here is both friendly and efficient; it’s as if you’ve just dropped into Grandma’s vintage 1920s cottage surrounded by well-tended gardens and are about to get a treat. The brunch menu here features several egg dishes ranging from Migas ($5.95) to Eggs Benedict ($7.75) and Florentine ($7.75) to a house specialty, Huevos Mexicanos ($7.95), in which eggs are baked with flour tortillas, green chilies, Jack and cheddar cheeses, topped with a sour cream tomatillo salsa, and served with black beans, home fries, and a fruit cup. The most voluptuous item we’ve spied on the brunch menu here is a delectable order of Smoked Salmon in Phyllo ($10.50) with slices of salmon, cream cheese, capers, tomatoes, and sautéed red onions baked in tender, flaky phyllo and topped with Hollandaise sauce. Que rico! No brunch menu would be complete without waffles ($6.75) and French toast ($5.95), and East Side offers tasty versions of both in addition to Blueberry Blintzes ($6.50), four dainty crêpes filled with sweetened ricotta and cream cheese, topped with blueberry sauce and sour cream. The menu is filled out with a selection of standard favorites from their lunch and dinner listings should breakfast not be your particular cup of tea.
This article appears in March 16 • 2001.