Ah Buttermilk Channel. I’ve been meaning to visit you for SO long. Ever since I read the rave reviews in countless magazines and blogs and then found out that an old friend who I grew up going to summer camp with is the owner, I’ve been meaning to get there. It took me way too long to finally go and when the 3rd annual random friends brunch came around (a little party I throw every year where I post an open invite on my facebook wall and the first 10 to respond join me in the fun) I thought this was the perfect pick.

When we arrived, we were immediately greeted by Doug’s (the owner) awesome wife and drink orders were taken while they got our table ready. My spicy bloody mary, complete with a homemade pickle spear, hit the spot. I LOVE horseradish, and this drink was bold and flavorful with a serious kick to it. The pickle was a cute, creative touch, so much more interesting than the typical piece of celery.

When we were seated, Doug was kind enough to send over some snacks to munch on while we drank, got acquainted, and looked over the menu. As you can see by my first picture, we were hungry. We chowed down on the treats way too quickly for me to remember to snap a picture. What you see there are the remnants of homemade pickles, walnut coffee cake and these incredible maple, bacon almonds that I seriously would have eaten all of if I wasn’t supposed to share with the others. Deeeeelicious.

The menu is a bit quirky, totally comfort-food oriented, and what I’d call down-home-creative. The big hit at the table were the pork chops over cheddar waffles, but everyone enjoyed their own meals as well. I shared the mushroom, spinach, goat cheese scramble and the pecan french toast. The scramble was awesome, especially the many different kinds of mushrooms, and I really enjoyed it. The salad and toast that came with it rounded out the meal nicely, but the little potato pancake was a bit on the greasy side for my taste. Very crunchy and hot though, and I’d imagine that people who didn’t grow up in Jewish families who make outstanding potato latkes would probably have loved it. The pecan pie french toast has been talked about on almost every review I’ve read so I felt like we had to try it. It was VERY sweet, made with fresh, delicious, thick-cut bread and served with a scoop of fluffy whipped cream or marscapone, or maybe whipped ricotta (oops, I forgot to ask) and covered with bourbon, molasses pecans. This dish WAS delicious, but I would really put it into a dessert category instead of a main course. I happen to have a pretty serious sweet tooth, and this was even a little too much for me.

The overall vibe of Buttermilk Channel couldn’t be more perfect. Hip, without being at all pretentious. Trendy, but also very chill. Relaxed, comfortable, warm, and the kind of place that locals must adore meeting at every Sunday. It’s a bit off the beaten path for me- over an hour to get there, but even so, I will probably be back. Many thanks to Doug for making this event super special, taking such good care of us, and welcoming us into his second home.

 

*photos courtesy of Gabriel Sanders. http://www.magicsandbox.com/enter/Magic_Sandbox.html