Adventures In Getting A Table For Breakfast Or Brunch

Yesterday morning, I rolled out of bed, showered (even washed and straightened my hair which is a project in itself), and rushed over to a small-ish restaurant/bistro, with outstanding word of mouth, that I hadn't visited in ages, because I'd heard they were offering Sunday brunch. Light bulb moment and morning. I figured it would make a fabulous post. They opened at 10am and we got there around 10:10, hungry AF. 

No line out the door, which is pretty common at a bunch of Sunday brunch hot spots in PVD, and a few empty tables. 'We're definitely getting seated.' I said to myself. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Keep in mind, I had already started planning out an entire blog post in my head, especially because this place happens to be in the vicinity of a few of my other favs - provided the food and service were wonderful.

After we told the hostess that no, we hadn't made reservations, she hesitated and then, offered us seats at the bar (K. I only saw one empty seat and it was adjacent to the kitchen. Why don't you just put us in the kitchen while you're at it? Maybe we can do a few dishes too?) or outside. If the temps had been above 65 or they'd had a heat lamp set up or there was a water (as opposed to a parking lot) view, we would have been totally onboard, but since yesterday was windy and ch-ch-chilly, we were outta there. #SeeYa

Slightly disappointed and dizzy (When you leave the house without any coffee or so much as a crumb of food...), but not deterred, figured I'd call another restaurant nearby with a similar feel and try to make a reservation for late morning or early afternoon. I mean, that's what we'd done wrong at the first place, right? We or I should've reserved a table in advance, right???

 My. Bad.

Ring, Ring. Ring, Ring.

Hostess: Hello. Thanks for calling -------.

Me: Hi, I'm a few towns over and wanted to make a reservation for today for brunch. Do you have anything open at all? 

Hostess: Oh, we don't take reservations. It's first come, first serve. 

Me: Y'ok. ***Shakes head*** 

The politics of brunch. Who takes reservations and who doesn't. Stress level right up there with trying to explain The Electoral College to someone without sounding like Miranda Sings. 

Is the idea then to eat breakfast before you leave the house? I mean, technically, brunch doesn't start until 11 or 12noon really. Anything before that could strictly be considered breakfast. (Unless, of course, you add in cocktails.) So, is the idea to fill up beforehand - in case you have to wait on line forever for seats? That way, once you get the coveted spots, you can simply order something Instagram-able (You're not hungry or hangry at this point because you've already eaten, remember?), along with a few cocktails to take the edge off following that crazy, boring wait time.

Speaking of which, a friend of mine told me that she and her significant other have actually stopped going out for Sunday brunch altogether because their restaurant of choice would always seat them at the bar to wait for a table (and wait and wait), where they would more often than not have too many cocktails and never even get to the food. 

In the end, the answer may be to head out to the country. We had some kick-ass coffee (I had at least three cups.) and brunch food at The Farmer's Omelette, the breakfast/lunch place that's open year round and located on Knight's Farm in North Scituate.

Their pancakes and eggs are beyond blog-worthy, as are the apple cider donuts, an old fashioned cake style, they're known for. #Yum (In case you aren't already in the know, donuts are a MAY-JOR deal these days.) You can buy a half dozen for the road. And there are mimosas too. We were seated right away and while we did wait a few extra minutes for menus (Our waitress apologized, saying they were short staffed.), the rest of our time there was swell. It's a comfy, casual vibe with lots of families and Golden Girls & Guys. They are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Highly recommending you check them out another day of the week though. 

*Bring some cash along because they #donut take credit cards. There is, however, an ATM on the premises.

Ciao for Now,

Patty J

Photo Credits: Top photo/thumbnail is courtesy of Getty Images for Square Space. All other photos are courtesy of PattyJ.com and the PattyJDotCom Instagram.