The mini Philadelphia food saga continues. In that journey we have now made it to Saturday morning where the Hungry Trio tackled brunch in Philadelphia with Andrew’s parents (Sue and Steve). His parents live about an hour and a half from Philly, and they met us in the city for brunch after a gorgeous morning walk.
We got a recommendation to go to Green Eggs Café for brunch but were told to be prepared for a wait, as they do not take reservations. Sure enough, when we arrived there was a line of people outside waiting to get a table. Fortunately, the weather was great so it wasn’t terrible having to wait outside. I was watching the waiters bring out plates to people sitting at the patio tables. The food they were bringing out looked beautiful, and I felt so excited to take a look at his menu.
The ambiance of the cafe was cute. There were some rather artistic food drawings on the specials board. For the second time that weekend, I looked up to see the Food Network playing in a restaurant, so I was beginning to think that Philadelphia understood me on a spiritual level.
One of the complaints we all had about the restaurant was how loud it was inside. There was absolutely nothing to absorb sound. We could barely hear each other when we were right beside/across from each other. That aspect detracted from the dining experience, because you want to be able to hold conversation with your fellow diners.
As for the food, I was impressed by the menu. There were several things on the menu I could have been happy to eat. I decided to order the cajun shrimp and grits topped with poached eggs. It was served with creole sauce. I truly want to replicate that sauce. I could tell that it had the holy trinity of Cajun cooking (onion, bell pepper, and celery) but I wish I knew what else was in it.
The shrimp and grits were good, but the shrimp to grit ratio was off. The dish was just a lot of grits. The grits were perfectly creamy and well-seasoned. I just wish this dish was more balanced. I would have loved to have a much smaller serving of grits and have a side of fruit or vegetables, maybe some blackened carrots, for example.
Chris ordered the Lox Benedict, served with potatoes. This was one of the smoothest, most velvety Hollandaise sauces I have ever tasted. I could just lick that sauce off the spoon. So the theme so far is that this restaurant makes good sauces.
Steve ordered an omelette, which came with a side of potatoes and toast. He noted that the toast was not warm enough to melt the butter. The other issue we noticed was that his dish was served with a ton of potatoes, way more than the average person would normally eat. Half of the plate was potatoes. I was disappointed by the portion size of some of these meals. It feels wasteful to be serving so much food when a lot of it will not be touched. When doing some research for this post, however, I learned that the restaurant composts the leftover food when they clear the plates. That made me feel better and gave them an extra point in my book.
Sue ordered the crab cake salad, which was served with crostini arranged around the plate. It was an artistic and tasty looking dish. Sue asked me what one of the lettuce types were in her salad, and I couldn’t answer. I knew I had seen it before, but I couldn’t remember the name. I looked it up online on my way home, and I was mad at myself for not remembering it was frisée. I will never forget now.
Finally, Andrew ordered the “Kitchen Sink.” This dish was served in a cast iron skillet and was described as “three eggs scrambled with sausage crumbles, Gruyere cheese, potatoes, peppers & onions, topped with homemade jumbo biscuit and country style pork sausage gravy.” So yes, let’s just throw in the kitchen sink while we are at it. They made a very good sausage gravy.
After brunch, we were ready to go explore the city some more, and we headed off to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Despite the noise, I enjoyed this brunch experience. The food was good, and they offer some creative spins to typical brunch dishes. If you are ever in Philadelphia and want a good breakfast/brunch spot, I would go visit this restaurant. Just keep in mind that they are a cash only joint.
*This post reflects my honest views. I did not receive any compensation or other incentives to post this review.
Green Eggs Café
1301 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA 19107
267-861-0314
Catie Cooks 
Nice review
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