Brunch at Sabrina’s Cafe (Philadelphia, PA)

I don’t know if you guys know this or not, but I am an unashamed brunch lover, which is an interesting foil to my hatred of breakfast. For me, breakfast foods include flavorless scrambled eggs, greasy sausages, and stale cereal, but brunch foods are in a league of their own with rich eggs Benedict, chocolate chip pancakes, and citrusy mimosas. Looking at it that way, which one would you rather eat? If it’s the first one, our priorities are clearly different in life, but if it’s the second, feel free to read on and relive my first brunch at Sabrina’s Cafe & Spencer’s Too with me. As a self-proclaimed brunch enthusiast, it’s a bit shocking that I haven’t been to Sabrina’s before. Pretty much anyone who’s into brunch has eaten here, but between schoolwork and panic attacks about having to become a real person, I wasn’t able to check it out until after graduation.

My old (but best) roommate and I decided that we had to get together before I left for London and she for Lyon. After throwing out several options, we decided to stop by Sabrina’s and see what this popular spot had to offer. Luckily, even though it was a Sunday, we only had to wait a half hour before we were seated and presented with menus that covered everything from savory omelets to the mandatory hummus plate that all restaurants need to have on the menu nowadays. Now, I won’t go too much into my beef with hummus, but I really can’t wait for the day when I can look at a menu and not see hummus on it. Sabrina’s menu also had dozens of vegan options, which probably would have been more significant to me if I was still speaking to the one vegan friend I had, but may help you out depending on your own dietary choices in life.

The only thing I hate about brunch is how many choices there are, but I managed to decide on the Huevos Rancheros, a first for me as I almost always choose some form of eggs Benedict. The crunchy blue tortillas were topped with a smoky chorizo sauce, lime sour cream, spicy guacamole, tomatoes, shredded pepper jack, and two eggs. The waitress told me that this was the best option on the menu, but I just don’t think I’m a huevos rancheros kind of girl. It wasn’t bad per se, but I could have done with some more of the powerful, distinctive chorizo flavor, as well as more kick to the guacamole. I really needed everything on the plate to kick it a step up in the flavor department, but the chorizo and guac were the two biggest disappointments. The texture was layered and exciting, but the flavors were oddly one-note. It’s not something I would get again, but I wasn’t left completely unsatisfied either.

Jen chose to go into CandyLand and ordered the Stuffed French Toast, which looked big enough for five, but good enough that one really hungry person would probably keep it all for herself. I’ve been trying to eat less sugar because I’ve been reading tons of articles that discuss sugar addiction and the problems that come with it, but I have to admit that the bite I had of Jen’s syrupy French toast was more satisfying to my sugar-starved taste buds than my own choice. I have always been and will always be a sweets girl. If someone told me that I had to give up bread or fries or even steak, I could deal with it, but if someone tried to cut me off from my ice-cream? I would throw a hissy fit of epic two-year-old proportions. The real star on this sweet plate was the decadent cream in the middle which was equivalent to the richest, best cannoli cream I’ve ever had. Dessert for breakfast is where Sabrina’s really shines, and I know that from now on I’ll go with those options over the savory ones. So clearly my resolve to avoid sugar is going to last a long time.

Sabrina’s is a solid brunch option in Philly, and with locations in the Italian Market, Art Museum, and University City, I’m sure I’ll be back sometime soon. They have the affordable, gargantuan-sized plates that college students want, but still offer food good enough for people looking for a tasty meal. It wasn’t my most memorable meal in Philly, but it definitely hit the spot and is perfect for anyone looking for a great deal or a safe place to bring kids…although if you are gonna bring a bunch of rowdy kids here, please do me a favor and warn me so I can go elsewhere.

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