after dinner sneeze

t says: g and I loved Cochon’s brunch the first time we went there.  Simply put, I never had a better stack of pancakes – and I’ve had pancakes everywhere!  It brings me great pain to admit that they even bested the pancakes made by our summer-time private chef, g’s grandfather.  Of course, g’s grandfather does have some tricks up his sleeve (e.g. fresh blueberries, dark chocolate M&M’s).  But now the question – is Cochon a one-trick pony, or can it do more?  I guess they can also do “Eggs Cochon”, which g thought were very good – so maybe they’re a two-trick pony?  It took us a while, but we gathered together some of adsz’s cast members and went out for brunch.  Would Cochon live up to the hype [that I/we gave it]?

4/2010, Sunday 11am, Party of 6.  Although we had reservations, it was clear that they were not needed: there was no line of people, only two tables had patrons, and, at first, there was only one hostess/waitress/server.  I’m happy this place is still on the D-L.

We sat down with our chilled bottle of vodka (for the bloody mary mix!) and contemplated our options.  I had the pancakes last time, and while I loved them, I knew that I had to try something new … for the sake of the blog …  I felt somewhat obligated to take on the “other” classic breakfast starch: French toast.  Cochon prepares theirs with a berry syrup and fresh whipped cream.  It seemed like a winner.  I was set.  Perhaps I was too set – as I might have told the waitress that we were ready when we definitely were not …  But the result was funny and fun!  It involved a lot of “come back to me – do me last” among our castmates.  Oops!  Sorry guys!  I couldn’t help it!  I was excited!

When the French toast came to the table, all you could see were ?3?-?4? slices of bread surrounded by a pool of deep purple and hiding under a mound of off-white whipped cream.  In retrospect, I realize now that it definitely wasn’t a dish that you’d look at and go, “wow, that’s pretty”, rather, “wow, that looks delicious”.  And it smelled delicious, too; my nostrils were filled with the scent of berries and maple.  I was happy.  I offered everyone at the table an opportunity to taste my dish – because there wasn’t going to be any left when I was done.  I gave them fair warning, waiting 6-8 seconds, and when no one raised his/her voice, I dove in.  First, let’s talk about the sauce.  That mixed berry syrup was ridiculous.  It seriously was like I had jammed a bunch of berries in my mouth with some maple syrup – but it was smooth – no chunks.  There also was minimal tartness, so I imagine that lots of sugar went into it – but it didn’t taste any sweeter than normal maple syrup.  The whipped cream was decadent, just as it was last time on my pancakes – it made extra creamy Cool Whip look “light”.  The toast, itself, was … good.  It wasn’t fluffy like at Parc, but it wasn’t just plain white bread, either.  It was an inbetween that had a nice crispness on the outside with some give in the middle … but there wasn’t anything remarkable about it.  But, honestly, it could have been plain white toast and the berry syrup would have carried me through the meal until the very last bite.  I now know the ultimate breakfast … Cochon’s berry syrup … on top of Cochon’s pancakes, with the caramelized banans and walnuts … I might ask them if they can do it next time I go …

g had the steak and eggs.  She and I both agree that they were delicious!  The steak with the red wine sauce was phenomenal – I’d say almost as good as Bibou’s hanger steak, and definitely the best steak-and-eggs breakfast we’ve had (meaning I liked it more than the fancy-fancy steak-and-eggs at Tinto).

k says: I liked the atmosphere and the crab – they were generous with the crab.  But it wasn’t much of a frittata, though – it was more of a scramble.

t says: cm and d both ordered Eggs Cochon.  I think they agreed that while the pig and sauce and eggs were all good – the brioche bread left something to be desired.  It sopped up a lot of the grease from the meat and had a dry, crumbly texture.  g remembered that the bread wasn’t her favorite part last time, either, but she must have forgotten about it because the rest was so good.  cm and d still consumed the rest of their dish, so I think they at least were satisified.  I didn’t try any of their food, so I can’t testify!

Finally, d’s friend ordered tomato pie.  It looked and smelled delicious.  Once again – I didn’t taste any, but if she wants to join the cast and lend her comments, we’d be happy to have her!

All-in-all, I think that while I thoroughly enjoyed eating brunch Cochon, both g and I are noting that there are some weaknesses.  The brioche bread seems to be the biggest problem – however, g noted that they do serve English muffin with their steak and eggs, so perhaps a substitution can be requested if you ordered Eggs Cochon (actually, g prefers English muffin to any other type of buttery breakfast bread, anyways).  That said, for the price and ease of getting in (and ease of finding parking in the area on a Sunday morning), Cochon continues to be one of my favorite places to go.  Now all we need to do is try out some of their more lunch-esque items!

LATER …

Cochon has swapped out the brioche in the Eggs Cochon for “pancetta bread“.  Two words: Holy Crap.