Brunch in the 'Spa

If there's any meal of the day that I truly enjoy the most, it'd have to be brunch. Brunch allows me to sleep in a little bit and still wake up on time for breakfast or lunch food- my choice! I find myself wandering near and far for a great brunch and wandered over to Ballston Spa this past Sunday to check out 51 Front Wine Bar & Bistro and their Brunch Buffet, which occurs the first Sunday of every month. My thoughts were that if a wine bar & bistro offers a brunch once a month, then it must be legit.

While I have yet to have dinner at the restaurant, I was really looking forward to the brunch based on their Mediterranean flair in their usual dinner fare. Though the word "buffet" scares and excites me, this buffet fully excited me. Upon arriving, I was greeted by the Elena Marosek, who co-owns and operates the restaurant with her husband Joseph. While the place isn't large, I felt that there was enough elbow room for my friends and I to dine. The buffet wasn't large at all and consisted of scrambled eggs, a quiche, hash browns, sausage, bacon, fruit salad, pancakes/french toast, eggs benedict, bagels and patries. I filled my plate up with almost one of each, eager to try everything and anything.

The highlight of the brunch would have to be the eggs benedict. I'm picky with my Hollandaise sauce and find that most make it flavorless and thick. The sauce on the eggs benedict were perfect- a little bit of sweet, a little bit tangy, with just the right texture. The egg was placed on a thick seasoned piece of turkey and an English muffin- simple, yet perfect. The french toast took the silver medal and was perfectly proportioned to fit on my plate along with the other abundant amount of food I chose. Though the servings were small, the french toast packed a punch of both flavor and texture- sweet and moist in the middle.
On the bottom of the winners circle was the potatoes. They didn't seem to fit in with the aristry of the rest of the dishes, but we all know a full brunch includes hash browns of some sort. I really would love to see some of their Mediterranean flair come out in those potatoes though!

Overall, I left full and satisfied with the Brunch Buffet at 51 Front Street and will aim to attend their monthly brunches in the 'Spa.

51 Front Wine Bar & Bistro is located at 51 Front Street in Ballston Spa and is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner (5:00 PM-close).