orchids at palm court

emily wrote about it a couple years ago when we were doing our joint brunch posts (long time readers of this blog will remember me talking about how the whole reason i started up blogging again after moving to cincinnati was because emily moved away and there was nobody around to blog about brunch), but i just wanted to let you all know that yes, the brunch at orchids at palm court is still awesome.

the decor

the first thing you need to know if you are eating here is that there is free valet parking. do not be a sucker like me and pay to park. they will park your car for free. the next thing you need to know is that at $30, this brunch is a steal. i am serious. you will not get more bang for your buck anywhere in cincinnati, and not just for brunch. think about it, you will probably spend around $15-20 for brunch at most other places, and the quality is not going to be nearly as good (at most places anyway), and you are not going to have an all you can eat buffet of the best shit ever plus all the delicious coffee and freshly squeezed juice you can drink.

the ceiling

when alex and lina were here visiting me last month, they wanted brunch. and not just any brunch. "take us to the best brunch in town," they demanded. ask no more, ravenous asian brunch fiends! obviously there was only one place i could take them. yeah, you guessed it.

the asians

i like this place because of the atmosphere. well that's not the only thing but it's one of them. it's total old school art deco, lots of dark wood and plants and the ceiling is amazing. i don't know how anyone else feels about this but i think although it is a nice place, you do not have to dress up. you can just wear whatever the hell you want. that is one thing i love about cincinnati, you can wear whatever you want whenever you want, and you will still probably look better than at least one other person no matter where you are.

first course

the other thing that i like about this place is the food. now normally i am not a huge buffet person. call me crazy but i am not a big fan of eating old cold sneezed on bacteria laden food drowning in oil. but this buffet is not like that. they have juicy and delicious rare roast beef, sliced fresh for you at a carving station with mustard, au jus, horseradish, and mayo. they have huge perfectly poached shrimp, precracked tender sweet crab claws, creamy whitefish salad, and three kinds of smoked fish (salmon and i think trout and something else, i can't remember). they have an omelet chef with all the toppings you could want. they have both eggs benedict and salmon benedict, and the eggs are actually still runny somehow even though they are pre-prepared.

me and lina's dessert course (there was also a second course in there... i forgot to take a picture)

they have the best bacon and sausage and ham ever. there is a whole table of salads, both fruit and vegetable, plus a charcuterie tray. there is another whole table of breads, including servatii's pretzel bread sticks and croissants and pastries. there is also a full spread of savory foods (portobello ravioli, veal cheeks, four cheese risotto, and buttermilk fried chicken were just a few of the options on the day we were there). and there are two tables covered in mini desserts... tarts, little cakes, bread pudding, chocolate covered strawberries, pots du creme, eclairs, everything.

alex's dessert course... he is smart

the ridiculous thing about all this selection is that it is all. good. i am not kidding you. you cannot go wrong. everything is delicious and hot (or cold) and fresh and perfectly prepared. i do not know how they do it but i don't ask questions, i just eat. like i said, this is an amazing deal for $30. the service can be a little hit or miss but you are getting your own food so if you have to wait a bit for juice or whatever, who cares. i absolutely love this brunch.

p.s. one awesome final detail about orchids: they also do an afternoon tea on saturdays which i have never tried but is definitely on my list.