The Last Brunch

Handsome and I made a point of going out to brunch today, having realized a little belatedly that this is the last weekend of the year 2009, and thus the last opportunity for weekend brunch in 2009.

We've been dining in a lot recently, cooking at home much more frequently than was typical at the beginning of 2009. I'm happy to report that they've been mostly tasty and presentable, these kitchen-based efforts of mine. I feel a sense of accomplishment about that, having wanted for years to improve my skills in that direction.

But my attempts to make a good home-based brunch are more than skill-oriented. I'm learning to make brunch out of an abstract, reactionary belligerence.

Why aren't there more options for delicious, casual, bruncheon dining out in central Denver? (I just made up that word. "Bruncheon". Or maybe I'm bringing it back. Like how your grandma called lunch "luncheon".)

Even on the weekend, I don't feel like driving out to Lakewood or Boulder for a quality casual brunch. Especially when I live in what I consider to be the city center, the heart of the metropolitan area. That not just geographical snobbery, or hometown pride. It's population numbers and demographics. We should be able to produce a better-than-just-decent brunch here. There should be a whole set of options for delicious brunch in Denver.

Instead, I go to places, even places that have come highly recommended, and I think, "Well, shit. I could've done better than this at home." That is not how I like to feel at the end of a meal I'm paying for. I don't burn the potatoes. I don't cram people into my dining room. I don't overly sweeten and salten and fatten my cooking to make up for what I might be lacking in skill or the food might be lacking in freshness.

Offhand, I can think of three restaurants in town that originally seemed promising but ultimately just didn't deliver.

And Denver patrons piss me off, because each one of the restaurants that come to mind as disappointments is still open, and at each one of them, there will be a wait for a table every Saturday at noon. I mean a wait with a line out the door.

Make that four restaurants.

I drive by this one restaurant, with its line of patrons that have agreed to wait outside for mediocre brunch in an hour, and I want to heckle them. "Too bad you can't fry eggs at home..."

For real.

So, basically, my at-home brunch is an act of resistance.

Yes, in my imaginary world where it's me against the tyranny of bad food, I'm taking action.

Anyway, it takes something special to lure me out for brunch these days - the company of a good girlfriend, an outrageously good review, a compelling proximity to my house.

Or the reliability of what's tried and true.

Enter Le Central, where the host greets Handsome by name, and we're willing to wait a few minutes for an intimate, wobbly two-top on the invariably sunny patio. You can go in heels, you can go in jeans, you can go with the whole fam damily, you can go a little hungover. The prices are affordable without feeling cheap. The food is consistent without feeling routine. The vibe is casual without being grungy. The ambience is evocatively francais without being intimidating.

Le Central was the obvious choice for brunch today. It's lovely to linger over a meal, sharing bites and munching on crusty bread. As a fan of noontime drinking le weekend, I always appreciate the arrival of my white wine flight, four petite glasses of monochromatic three-ounce selections from the wine list. We tend to stay a while. Today, two different parties were seated, ate lunch, and departed while Handsome and I and several other tables sipped and nibbled. They don't get it, I thought to myself.

I have aggressive at-home cooking goals for 2010, or I should say, aggressive goals for culinary skill-building. I'm really excited about learning more and getting better. I've been enjoying poring over cookbooks, organizing recipe files, and conducting internet research. I've been watching more cooking shows and talking food with a wider variety of people. I love it when dinner tastes amazing and looks attractive and my guests take pleasure in eating with us.

I also love a place that makes me feel glad I chose to eat out.

Happy Last Brunch of 2009! Hope you chose it well!