Attention Brunch-Seekers

One of the things I miss about living in Canada is getting together with friends on a Saturday or Sunday morning and going out for Brunch. Favourite locations in Ottawa included everything from Benny's Bistro, if we were feeling a little bit posh, to Mello's Diner on Dalhousie if all we needed were two eggs, sausages, homefries, toast and coffee for less than $5.00. Since my arrival in Brazil, it seemed to me that brunch as we knew it was not an easy thing to procure here in South America. In fact, when I was in Buenos Aires over Easter, Ysa and I made a special breakfast trip to El Ateneo Café, since it served the closest thing to a North American brunch that we could find. Well, all that changed today.

This morning, I met a colleague to go out for an early lunch and I suggested that we head to Santo Grão, a nice café-restaurant on Oscar Freire [between João Manuel and Ministro Rocha Azevedo for those living here]. I had been to Santo Grão many times over the years, yet always as an after-work kind of place, as opposed to a having-a-leisurely-lunch-on-the-weekend kind of place. Well ... was I ever happy to learn that they have a brunch menu which includes many of my old favourites, even Eggs Benedict! Of course, I had to order the Eggs Benny with a side of fruit and yogurt. The eggs were excellent, the salmon fresh, and the hollandaise sauce, whipped to perfection. English muffins don't exist in Brazil, but the chefs did a good imitation, using double slices of toast cut into circles. Other brunch dishes include classic eggs, waffles, crepes, croque monsieur, fruit, yogurt and granola, etc. If you are looking for an excellent brunch location, with a great atmosphere, this is your place to go! I wonder if they have an affiliate in Recife ...