Brunch 101
The word brunch first appeared in print in 1895, when Guy Beringer wrote in the British magazine Hunter’s Weekly that “… eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers.”
Beringer’s plea for a longer recovery period on Sunday morning was, and is, appealingly obvious, and we’ve been dealing with the cultural fallout ever since. What was once a marginal offering for restaurants now is almost necessary to succeed, as the Saturday night carousers of the 21st century clamor for it.
Now, a plethora of options exists for weekend Wilmingtonians, especially downtown where a host of traditional Southern options and a great mimosa or Bloody Mary is only a walk away.
PINPOINT
A lot of chefs will openly state that they don’t like brunch – it requires waking up early, after what is usually a long shift the night before, and the cooking of an immense number of eggs. But PinPoint’s chef, Dean Neff, said the meal can be a great opportunity to be creative.
“Brunch can be very middle of the road,” he says. “But if you are trying to keep the ingredients exciting, brunch can be fun (for a chef).”
True to his word, the restaurant, located at 114 Market Street, offers a menu that changes seasonally and features rotating ingredients that can be found across the South – summer squash has 
especially been a staple this past summer. PinPoint, which offers $2 mimosas on Sunday, will soon expand its brunch to include Saturdays.
BLUE SURF CAFE
Located at 250 Racine Drive, near the University of North Carolina Wilmington campus, it is unsurprising that Blue Surf Cafe attracts a younger crowd and has an affordable menu.
The cafe has a low-key vibe, and there are copies of Surfer Magazine strewn across the dining hall to remind you of the attitude one should adopt while
eating there.
The menu offers a wide assortment of items – most prominently a listing of breakfast sandwiches – but the marquee item is the restaurant’s bacon. Fans of crispy bacon will be elated, especially when pairing it with the sweetness of the maple waffles.
THE HUSK
The Bloody Mary is one of the hallowed and de facto drinks of brunch. Along with its partner-in-crime, the mimosa, it alone can lure in brunch-goers for an early “daycap.”
The popular downtown bar The Husk knows the allure of a well-made drink, as it has parlayed cocktails into frequent weekend visitors to 31 South Front Street. Nothing is really abnormal about a popular bar serving popular drinks, but what makes The Husk unique is its monstrous Frankenstein-like creation of a Bloody Mary. The end creation is a libation that includes vodka, Guinness, Bloody Mary mix, pickle and olive juice, and Sriracha – garnished with a grilled cheese sandwich, chicken wing, tater tots, slice of bacon, and a pickle (shown above).
“It’s just something we did for fun, and it took off,” The Husk’s Bekah Smith says. “In the fall, when football season starts, it is big.”
For those averse to monster Bloody Marys and the idea of having your meal in a glass, The Husk still has entry-level cocktails for your pleasure.
RX RESTAURANT AND BAR
Much has been written of the resurgence of Castle Street, but one of the more noteworthy features of that street’s revitalization is Rx, which opened there in 2012.
Rx, 421 Castle Street, is led by chef and owner James Doss, who worked under world-renowned chef Sean Brock at his restaurant Husk in Charleston, South Carolina. The menu changes on a daily basis, depending on what ingredients can be found locally.
The heavy rotation means that almost every Sunday brunch that Rx offers can be unique – a both attractive and daunting characteristic – with pork belly and a variety of fish often highlighting the carte du jour.
THE BASICS
Ask a random person where to grab brunch in Wilmington, and you are more than likely to hear The Basics mentioned.
The restaurant, 319 North Front Street, has been open since 2007 and has been building a strong reputation since. The menu at The Basics is very much the traditional fare (grits and buttermilk biscuits), 
but the restaurant does well to add its Southern twist to staples such as eggs benedict.
With an affordable menu and an energetic atmosphere, it is easy to see why it is readily recommended.
A&M and PALATE
If there is one food trend that has matched the rise of brunch, it is the emergence of food trucks – in fact, can you really consider yourself a city these days if you don’t have a fleet of food trucks roaming your streets?
Recently, A&M’s Red Food Truck has camped out next to the bottle shop Palate at 1007 North Front Street for brunch every Sunday – a combination that seems perfect for the current infatuation with brunch, food trucks, and craft beer.
And even if that combination isn’t enough to sway you to head downtown, A&M’s offering of chicken and waffle sliders, breakfast casserole, and sweet and savory crepes should.
To view more of photographer Erik Maasch’s work, go to websta.me/n/emaasch
