I’m always looking for the newest, bestest brunches around town, but it’s been a slow summer (brunch wise). If you’re like me, the weekend agenda’s been full of travel or adventures and brunch has taken a backseat — also because it is way too hot outside to think about eating omelets on the patio.

But y’all, let’s get back at it with some of these delicious new brunches I’ve tried!

Cane Rosso

I’m a big fan of Cane Rosso — from their half-priced wine night to their magnificent pizza, but I would have never thought that brunch would be a big thing for a neighborhood pizza spot. That’s where I was wrong!

First of all, Cane Rosso is no normal pizza spot. The menu is so, so, so much more. Honestly, the best thing they have might be the carbonara — a pasta dish with bits of bacon, cheese and a raw egg that cooks after you mix up the hot pasta.

Back to brunch. The recently revamped menu has all the classic brunch things you desire — and thensome. Listen, we’re in Texas, so if there’s no breakfast taco, then go home. Cane’s chef knew this, but knew a taco would look weird on their menu. So one creative day in a kitchen, they concocted a spicy taco with chorizo, peppers, tomatoes — and boom the taco pizza was born.

Also deliciously innovative is the Cap’n Crunch waffles. It’s got Cap’n Crunch in the waffle batter, then cooked and topped with Fruity Pebbles and condensed milk. It’s dreamy. As in, everything you dreamt about as a kid.

The last stand out for me was the chicken biscuits. It’s on the appetizer menu, but it is way filling enough for a main dish. Two huge sandwiches on house-made biscuits. Think honey butter chicken biscuits but fancier.

Cane Rosso’s brunch is 11 am to 3 pm on Saturdays and Sundays at both their Heights and Montrose locations.

Poitin

Brand spanking new, Poitin (pronounce po-cheen) has been taunting me every time I’m across the street at CycleBar (which is always, tbh). I finally got to confront my taste tormentor and try brunch!

We started with drinks, of course. Something called the “Bromosa” caught my attention especially because, at $18, it was twice as much as any of the other drinks. Turns out, it serves up to three people. You get a 750 ml beer and a few types of juice in it to make your own beer mimosa. I thought this was super different and fun! Next up though, I switched to an aperol spritz because it’s pretty rare that I see one on a menu and I am suuuper picky about them. Spoiler, Poitin’s passed my test!

Poitin’s chef, Dominick Lee, is pretty great. The way he talks about food — from his own dishes to just southern food in general — makes you want to just pull up a seat and listen to all he has to say. We got personal recommendations from him, and he did not lead us a stray! I’d say the general theme of the menu is… well, southern? But not like comfort food. Rather, its an eclectic mix of and tribute to the best fare the south can offer. Here’s what we tried.

• “Baolache” — think bao meets kolache. This was super scrumptious to split, but would have been a small one serving.
• Housemade poptarts — they fall apart because they are so ooey, gooey and buttery!
• French Toast La Orange — this was the top veggie rec Dominick had for us and he described it in just one word” “Legit.” It’s actually very accurate of a description.
• Benton’s 10 month aged country ham — was warned this would be salty, and it totally is. Benton’s is apparently a BFD in the south so it’s super iconic to have it on the menu. The grits underneath the ham were amazing.
• BBQ shrimp and grits — Big fan of the grits still, and the prawns in this dish are HUGE.
• Eggs and soldiers — eggs in avocados — literally never seen this before.
• NOLA breakfast biscuit — Patton’s hot sausage is another southern fare institution. I love love love this dish. Bonus: it came with super yum fries.

The Grove

In NYC, my favorite weekend pastime was finding a bottomless drink and buffet brunch where I could enjoy the city views and drink and eat as much as physically possible for a blanket fee. Basically, living the best life.

Never would I have thought that there’d be something similar here in Houston, but The Grove’s $35 buffet brunch is juuuuust what I have always wanted. Plus, they have a drink menu with mimosa, sangria, margarita and mojitos where if you buy one at $15, you can get 1 cent refills of any of those drinks. Highly recommend the white sangria, but yolo, try them all!

The buffet is pretty standard — bacon, sausage, grits, pancakes — but here’s what really stood out to me.

• Biscuits with whipped butter. Basically perfection.
• Deviled eggs. Might have overindulged in these.
• Mac and Cheese. Hard to hold back on this one!
• Fish fritters. Like a crabcake but with fish.
• Cinnamon rolls. Tasted freshly baked!
• LITERALLY ALL THE DESSERTS! Chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate donuts, jello, etc. I wanted it all.

Hands down my favorite part of the brunch was that the view from everywhere in the restaurant was the gorgeous trees of Discovery Green! My least favorite part was the $9 valet… if you go, opt for free street parking when possible!