During my sister's visit last weekend we decided to take her someplace new, for her anyway, Can-Can. Typically we hit Can-Can a couple of times a month but, for some unknown reason, had never tried brunch. We were actually pretty excited as we have always enjoyed their baked goods and a morning of tasty treats sounded good.
M made reservations well in advance, a good thing as they were packed when we arrived around 11. Once seated and coffees and mimosas ordered we started narrowing down our selections and finding things to share for the table. A quick recap...
Madeleines - Rather larger these tasty bites were a treat. Rich with almond flour they were great with or without butter.
Beignets - Again large but these were fairly heavy. Dusted unevenly with powdered sugar they were actually a bit bitter and a bit of a disappointment.
Raw Clams - The raw clams dipped in mignonette (red wine vinegar and shallots) were so refreshing and just what my slightly damaged (from the dinner the night before with the Foodies and Cy-n-Ide) body craved.
The Entrees - M's quiche (bacon, ham & caramelized onion) was a hit and the fresh fruit was great. K's crepe du jour (nutella) was a required order for the nutella fanatic. Finn's cocoa waffles were too dry and he barely ate them, instead licking the chocolate sauce off them. My poached eggs with crab on toast was nice but the eggs were overdone, a bit cool, and really didn't need the Bobby Flay inspired touch of corn.
Service was scattered. Many restaurants don't always staff their 'A' team for brunch and many servers can be a bit worse for wear on Sundays, but Can-Can waiters should know better then sending out entrees 5 to 10 minutes apart, forgetting to order items, ordering wrong (yes, there is a child's listng for the cocoa waffles on the menu...) and on and on. Disappointing. It's hard for a restaurant the size of Can-Can to avoid staff turnover and you can have wildly different experiences based on the randomness of waiter assignment but the basics of service should not be this far off.
We also found another case of on-line menu not matching actual offerings. C'mon, online may be one of your best ways to attract diners but if someone makes a choice based on something that catches their eye on your online menu and then it's not on your current menu.... Sure fire way to annoy people.
We love dinner, lunch, and even the light menu they offer in the middle of the afternoon when your only other choices are the microwave chains, but brunch doesn't seem to be their strong suit.
5 comments:
I hate to pile on, since I'm generally fond of Can-Can's brunch (when someone else is paying). I went there last Saturday AM expecing breakfast food and was told to order from the bar and seat ourselves someone would bring us our food. They didn't have eggs or pancakes, etc. It seems brunch is only a Sunday thing at Can-Can. Fair enough. We walked across the street to Weezie's Kitchen and had a mediocre meal. Ho hum.
Can Can's brunch is best enjoyed early on a Sunday on their patio. I enjoy the eggs benedict with the house rose. I think timing is the key and would think twice about going when it's busy.
And I agree that their on-line menu sucks. They never keep it current. For a place that usually pays attention to detail, they are woefully inept with their web site.
I agree with you on the rose. I've rediscovered the simplicity of ordering carafe's of wine at Can-Can after years of avoiding the piss-water some places were trying to foist off as wine. The rose is light and refreshing without being cloyingly sweet. In this age of trying to reduce waste it's a shame more places don't serve decent carafes.
I've had good brunch at CanCan. But they really need to work on their beignets. I'm still looking for that experience I had in New Orleans cafe beignet...fresh hot beignets....YUM!
I'm still looking for a place I can get beignets in Richmond. I was told I could get them at Can Not only as part of brunch. I would love to be able to sit down to plate if hot beignets and some hot black coffee and make myself silly with powdered sugar.
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