(Chicago) – I didn’t strictly follow the no-red-meat fasting for the whole Lenten season. However, I consciously spent a couple of days without eating meat or poultry and this made me look forward to having an abundant brunch on Easter. I thought I found the most appropriate place to celebrate Easter in Chicago: the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues that offers an amazing southern buffet while being serenaded by inspiring gospel performances. My excitement crashed when I called the restaurant just to find out that all the scheduled seating was fully booked 🙁
It is Easter and there is no need to be disappointed. Besides, this is Chicago and there are countless options around. I phoned a friend to help me start looking for second option. True enough, so many restaurants were offering Easter brunch special and it made our job of selecting, a very daunting task. After many considerations, we unanimously agreed to go to Devon Seafood Grill in downtown area. I was a little skeptical about this choice, though. I have been to this place before and they serve some of the best seafood dishes in town. But for Easter, I wanted some real bad-ass meat like steak, ham or turkey and not seafood.
My doubts vanished when I saw the buffet spread. There was a carving area for juicy beef tenderloin and perfectly cured ham. Most of the dishes served were notably delicious, like the lobster mac n’cheese, shrimp enchilada
s, thai chicken wings and ahi tuna. A few dishes were just fine, not stellar, like the mushy chicken piccata and the bland jambalaya. The cheese blintz was so good that the kitchen couldn’t keep up in re-filling the trays. We had waited for more than 15 minutes before we got a few pieces of blintz. It was worth the wait anyway.
The food was scrumptious and bountiful generally. The presentation of the dishes can be further improved, though, by adding some festive decorative, instead of just plainly serving the food on buffet tray warmers. Nonetheless, it was apparent that my friends and I enjoyed the brunch by looking at our plates every time we hit the buffet tables. I believe I had 4 trips for the whole 2 hours that we were there: 3 big plates for entrees and 1 for dessert. I just love buffets. 🙂
What is Sunday brunch without morning cocktails? Of course, a glass of bellini (a mix of peach schnapps, peach sorbet and Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut) was the consummate pairing for this Easter brunch. And the desserts: key lime tart, cheesecake tart, carrot cake and chocolate-covered strawberry, ended the feast on a high note.
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