Standout Brunch at Hawthornes

Brian Freedman really enjoys his brunch at Hawthornes. He even enjoys the 90-minute wait to be seated.

French toast—really more of a thrice-cooked bread pudding—is a standout. Tucked inside the crisp edges is a dense-yet-light center that’s silky with a bit of every sort of bread the kitchen uses here: brioche, challah, multigrain and more. It’s hearty and elegant all at once, and calls out for a side of some sort of meat. (I’d go with the sausage, all snappy-cased and tender, over the thick-cut bacon, which could have been crispier.)

Other standards are just as carefully crafted, the waffles light and nutty, the omelets delicate, moist, and flavorful with ingredients that have actually been treated as integral parts of the whole as opposed to merely stuffing: Mushrooms and peppers had been sauteed, for example, as opposed to having been dumped in there raw.

The Brunch at Hawthornes is Worth Waiting For [Philadelphia Weekly]
Hawthornes [Official Site]