June 23, 2008

Brunch @ The Biltmore Hotel - Coral Gables



The Biltmore Hotel opened in January, 1926. They must have started cooking non stop after that in order to produce the type of spread they serve at brunch. They have all of the traditional brunch foods, and many, many extras. Let's start where I started!



Three types of caviar, along with all the fixin's. Can you call caviar garnishes fixin's?



Shrimp, crab legs, oysters, lox, whitefish salad, smoked whitefish...



At least two different types of ceviche.



Meats!



A look at my first plate. I just had to throw in a few tater tots for a reality check.



Salads of every imaginable kind, marinated mushrooms, beets, quinoa, kasha, the variety was mind boggling.



More food.



Salmon stuffed with spinach and artichokes!



Pork rib roast. Leg of lamb. Roast beef. Some kind of rolled pork, rolled in itself with the most fantastic tasting pork skin I have ever tasted. Did I mention paella?





My second plate. OK it might have been my third. At some point, a food coma started setting in and I started losing count. Or perhaps it was the bottomless glass of champagne that was mysteriously filled whilst I was away from the table getting more food. Here is another one of my plates:



It was about this time that I figured out what my favorite combination of food was. Take the 1/2 avocado with the shrimp salad. Eat the shrimp salad. Take caviar and caviar fixin's and put inside the avocado. Use a spoon to scoop out little bites of heaven. Repeat.

I was now somewhere past food coma, quickly slipping into that category of not being able to look at another morsel just when I remembered that I hadn't eaten any dessert. I miraculously recovered and jumped back into action.







Lovely, overflowing chocolate fountain with fruit, marshmallows, chocolate brownies, cookies, whipped cream.


Perfect fruit tarts.



I managed to eat dessert just when I didn't think it was humanly possible to eat anything else. I thought I owed it to you to take one for the team. Yea, that's it. TLMM was with me- she just sat there and ate her food like a normal person should- she was happy to have the lamb, loved the little waffles with fruit topping and also enjoyed the champagne. The few times I looked up from my plate I thought I saw her looking at me as though she was watching some type of alien abduction. Horror, fear, sympathy, and (dare I say)even a small measure of disgust all mixed together. I made a mental note to ask her about it later- I'll get around to it.

The brunch at the Biltmore is by far the best restaurant brunch I have ever seen. The only thing that wasn't up to par were the crab legs- they were mushy and way too salty. The brunch is Sundays only. The cost of the brunch is $65.00 per person plus tax and gratuity, unless it's a holiday, when it costs $75.00 per person. Hours are 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM. It's on the pricey side, so save it for a special occasion- trust me, you will not be disappointed...and the eggs.


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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow.

Love,
Sparki

Anonymous said...

I second the Wow.
I'm for the most part speechless as to the brunch, everything looked spectacular. Happy Anniversary to you and TLMM.

C

Unknown said...

"Horror, fear, sympathy, and (dare I say)even a small measure of disgust all mixed together" - Jenn- it was nothing like that - I was just happy to be with you and happy to see you enjoying your food. Can't wait to enjoy another special occasion - especially there!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Looks quite beautiful as well as delicious! I don't think we ever ate there when we lived in Miami!
(:

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Your food photos are wonderful. It's 9:30 at night and I'm getting hungry all over again. Thank you for sharing.