Stick a fork in it

You may love brunch, but what about the chefs who cook it? Is it just as fun and relaxing for them, or would they rather stick a fork in their eye? Some places don’t even serve brunch, although we wish they would—looking at you, South.

Brunch service is a whole different animal than lunch or dinner—or breakfast, for that matter. Customers usually stroll in feeling sleepy and want to linger over coffee and pastries. Restaurants can’t turn the tables as quickly, there are lots of fiddly condiments to keep in line and people are extra choosy.

“There are a lot of modifications at brunch,” says Brian Mizner, executive chef at Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. “People are very particular, like ordering bacon extra crispy. You have to have thick skin being a brunch chef.”

You have to be a master egg cook, too. Your idea of the perfectly cooked egg probably differs from your dining mates’ ideals. And no one is ever going to succeed at making you scrambled eggs just the way your mother did.

Brunch also presents yet another financial risk for restaurants.

“Brunch can be an opportunity for loss because there are a lot of components and you have to make sure your sourcing is good,” says Bacon & Butter chef-owner Billy Zoellin. “It becomes a game of keeping the money and not losing it.”

But, Zoellin adds, he managed to find a niche here. People do love brunch, and they’re willing to wait for it. Witness the hour-long lines at Bacon & Butter and Tower Cafe on the weekends.

“I almost see it as a social gathering,” says Zoellin. “Although they would prefer to be in and out, they wait.”

Think of your brunch chef the next time you stay out late and get up early. It’s a tough turnaround to go from a busy dinner service to a rocking Sunday brunch, both because everyone is tired and items need to be restocked.

“At the end of Saturday night, the entire walk-in is completely empty,” says South co-owner N’Gina Kavookjian, laughing.

South promised brunch long ago, but Kavookjian says she’s realized the restaurant can’t handle adding another service—even though she’s had a brunch menu ready for over a year.

“Our kitchen is so small. We would need literally a fresh set of legs on Sunday morning to serve brunch,” she says, adding that South will first need to expand its kitchen before considering it. “Having Sunday off is really nice. A lot of industry people like to eat brunch because it’s their day off.”

Therein lies the dilemma for chefs: Make some extra money with a short brunch service or try to recover from the weekend rush?

Chef-owner Jon Clemons of the Porch is actually adding Friday brunch this month because the restaurant got so many requests.

“It’s hard to wake up early; you kind of have to make sacrifices,” he says. “But you can be more playful with brunch food.”

And, as Kavookjian says, “It’s a good moneymaker, to be honest, because it’s eggs.”

It’s just that those inexpensive eggs also need artisanal toast, seasonal fruit, locally sourced bacon and some third-wave coffee to go with it—the kind of farm-to-fork brunch diners have come to expect in Sacramento.