Henrietta’s Table

I’d heard about Henrietta’s Table in the blogosphere and the twitterverse, and the most important information I heard about?  Sunday brunch is a glorious buffet costing $45 per person.  Well, I’ll never go there I thought.  No meal is worth that much, plus I have a hard time with buffets.  I’m better at eating small amounts frequently; eating a lot in one sitting is hard!  But when my parents said we were going there for Dad’s birthday and Dad told me, You better be hungry! I knew I had to take on the challenge of a $45 brunch.

We arrived at 11:45 and had to wait until the restaurant officially opens at 12 to be seated.  No problem.  There is a small yet densely filled gift area in the front entryway filled mostly with stuffed pigs, home products, baked goods, herbs, and the Henrietta’s Table cookbook, Fresh and Honest.   Henrietta’s prides itself in being “of honest to goodness New England cooking” and I couldn’t wait to dive into the buffet as I watched a server prepare the waffle station.  And I needed a bloody mary.  Okay, I didn’t need it, but I really wanted it and sometimes needs and wants are the same.

I never thought I liked the bloody mary breakfast cocktail, but I’d recently tried a couple and surprisingly enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, I didn’t love this bloody mary – but I did the best I could!

From left, clockwise: chocolate croissant, balsamic bread salad, crackers with mustard seed, vegetable terrine, Belgian waffle with butter and maple syrup, mashed potatoes, butternut squash ravioli

For my first trip to the buffet, I took a little of everything that caught my eye, remembering I needed to save room for dessert as our server instructed.  Everything was delicious! My favorite items were the bread salad and the waffle.  Combining bread with tomatoes and calling it a salad is the work of a creative genius.  Salad doesn’t have to include anything green.  The waffle itself was light and fluffy, and the fresh butter and real maple syrup was a divine topping.  The mashed potatoes were also excellent, again because of the butter.  Butternut squash ravioli is always a yummy Fall dish and the cream sauce was perfect.  I’d never had terrine before and was a little skeptical of the mini toast shaped vegetables but I love trying new foods and wasn’t surprised at all that the little vegetable terrine was quite tasty.

I got more of my favorites for round 2 of the buffet, and I managed to save a little room to try some desserts.

I filled my plate with chocolate bread pudding with caramelized bananas and a fruit tart made with the most velvety custard and topped with real whipped cream.

We sang Happy Birthday to Dad

and had a cousin photo shoot.

My sister, little cousins, and me

The family had a great time at brunch.  Was it worth $45?  I definitely didn’t eat $45 worth of food, but this brunch was more about the experience, Dad’s birthday, and being with family, so I’ll say it was worth every penny.  I should also mention that Henrietta’s brunch buffet has a lot more on their plate than I had on mine.  They serve oysters and other seafood, chicken and steak, and they’ll cut your meat to order.  They also have a large vegetable table with locally grown veggies prepared in various ways.  Perhaps stupidly I didn’t try any of these either – the only salad I took from this table is the one with bread in it!  Henrietta’s is a great location to celebrate a special occasion, or for a random treat.  Thanks for brunch, Mom and Dad!

On my way out, I noticed this quote on the chalkboard in the restaurant lobby

Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are. – Bertolt Brecht

I’m not sure what this quote has to do with Henrietta’s Table or with brunch, but it spoke to me this day.  This quote applies to many things in my life right now.  Most appropriate for blog-sharing: my cousin just had her twins! Next year we’ll have two more babies celebrating and I can’t wait to meet my newest cousins!