Man, was I f*cking wrong.
One person agreed to brunch with me on Saturday night, and upon approach of the agreed-upon destination, I spied the turncoat sitting at last week's review, giving me a sheepish look.
Traitor: (Looking at friend)"See, I told you the wookie was going to be mad..."
They insisted I join them. I could have. They are wonderful company, and last week's brunch was a very nice experience. But then I thought of you. The reader. It's your hard-earned money must be best-spent on only the finest brunches. I set a mandate that this blog be the brunch-Zagat's of Charlottesville and I wasn't going to let a couple sirens convince me otherwise.
I went to Cassis. As planned.
Located on Water St. near the Downtown Mall, Cassis is primarily a wine bar / bistro with what I have been told is excellent Fren...excuse me, Freedom-Food. The brunch menu was posted on the door, and if I looked at brunch menus past scanning them for the benedict, I would have been impressed.
I was sat by a fantastically nice hostess, who let me know that I had the entire dining room to me lonesome. I told her, upon being seated, that I didn't need a menu, just the bloody and the beney. She returned a moment later to let me know about the "special bloody"...
(Bloody: SPECIAL HOLY GOOD CHRIST IN F*CKING HEAVEN, WHAT NOBEL PRIZE WINNER THOUGHT OF THIS!!! AWARD - 6 of F*CKING 6) Ladies and gentlemen, I have seen what is good. It comes in a pint glass with a full celery stalk, loads of horseradish, a lemon (not a lime - for bonus points, my god) and the kicker: two skewered jumbo shrimp with two pieces of Smithfield ham between them. The whole thing must have weighed two pounds, and it made me want to work harder during the week so I feel like I deserve something like it on the weekend. Perfect acidity balance, spice, sediment, and booze.
Also, I was served water upon sitting down. I can not stress the difference this makes in a dining experience. Especially a brunching experience. AND, I don't know why, but I decided against a cup of french-pressed coffee. This place rules the beverage world with an iron fist.
(Benedict: 3 of 5) When my bloo....I'm sorry, I just passed out thinking about the blooooo....Okay. Consciouness regained, icepack applied. I'll continue.
I was served challah with butter when my "beverage" arrived. The bread, along with the water at the table, is so overlooked at most places, and it makes all the difference. A couple of slices in, my eggs arrived. Now - it may not be fair to call it Eggs Benedict, the restaurant didn't use that nomenclature, because they were served on biscuits with, again, Smithfield Ham, and two adorable little jars of jelly that I didn't touch. Because they were adorable. My doctor told me I should stay away from things like that as to maintain my already septic levels of adorability.
The eggs were poached perfectly and the hollandaise had just enough lemon in it, which is something you're not likely to find very often. The biscuits and the ham, were a little tough, and a tougher knife probably should have been employed. I felt like there was simply more matter on the plate than neccessary, and that the kitchen, in preparing it as such, was challenging me to digest it all. (Editor's Note: The menu commands "No substitutions, please" for all to read, which is a credit to the management. This makes the life of the server and the kitchen employee ten million times easier, and reduces the number of whiners at the tables. Whiners not including amatuer-hack food critics who just want a f*cking English muffin...) With company, I'm sure the biscuits would have disappeared, and the excess hollandaise would have as well.
(Service: 5 of 5)
- My water was always full.
- My plate was gone before the check arrived. Before it did, the harlots arrived (sweaty, I might add) and when they sat down, they were immediately asked if they wanted water.
- When the check did arrive, my compatriots and I were told to take our time, there was no rush.
- At every encounter, my waitress smiled.
(Price: 5 of 5) $22.58US for a bloody and a beney. For a swanky place, a $9 bendict is hard to come by. The bloody was $12, with Stoli, and it was worth every penny. Left $28 (exactly 24%, - Thanks, Mrs. Race - 5th grade math teacher)
(Overall: 4.5 of 5) Remember, folks: we're rating the bloody mary / eggs benedict dining experience here, and even with the Kingdom of Heaven bloody mary and the exemplary service, the beney just wasn't good enough to warrant a five. However, the harpies told me that the rest of the menu looked awesome, and that they were (surprise) going to eat there next week.
Meaning...I am again alone in my travels. Although I don't terribly enjoy spending my Sunday morn-afternoon engrossed in an article about a methadone clinic, I have to wonder if sometimes you get good service becuase the folks feel sorry for you. Then again, people do know better than to give bad service to a wookie, methinks...
Cassis is located on Water St. in Downtown Charlottesville, across from the Charlottesville Ice Park
Phone: (434) 979-0188
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