Barrett’s Brings Brunch to Cockeysville

Aside from the occasional coffee shop or diner, Cockeysville doesn’t have much in the way of brunch options–an egregious shortcoming Barrett’s Grill has set out to rectify.

Since I enjoyed there for dinner, I was more than happy to return when I found out Barrett’s, located in the , now serves brunch, especially considering it’s my favorite meal of the weekend.

In keeping with my previous experience, the service was impeccable, and it should have been, considering my group was the first and only party to enter the restaurant at 10 a.m.

I can only chalk up the empty tables to the fact that brunch is a new feature  at Barrett’s, and people don’t know about it yet.

So now you know.

Although the breakfast items on the brunch menu are limited, quite a few options sounded good to me, and I had trouble making up my mind. The only glaring hole was the lack of pancakes (hint, hint).

Remembering , I decided to venture away from my usual choice of omelets or a classic egg benedict and opt instead for the day starter benedict ($14), poached eggs on an English muffin with slices of tender prime rib instead of Canadian bacon, topped with gruyere cheese, sautéed onions and a horseradish hollandaise sauce.

Although steak and eggs is a pretty standard breakfast combination, it’s relatively new to me. But I was blown away by the savory flavors of the onions, cheese and creamy sauce.

I also enjoyed sampling my dining buddies’ dishes. The triad omelet ($13) typically comes with Colby Jack cheese, mushrooms, onions, green and red peppers, bacon, sausage and ham, but for this one, we switched out the ham for lump crabmeat. Although the additional charge for the substitution was $5, the omelet was flavorful and the crabmeat was fresh and tasty.

The spinach and mushroom omelet ($12) with onions and Swiss cheese is a classic combination you can’t go wrong with, especially when it’s improved by a simple but creative twist of adding hollandaise sauce and tomatoes on top.

Finally, as if it was meant for dessert, I sampled the chocolate waffle platter ($10)–a chocolate chip waffle topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

My friend chose to skip the whipped cream, and OK, we’re pretty sure the chocolate syrup was simply your run-of-the-mill (but always delicious) Hershey’s syrup. But the waffle was baked to perfection with a crisp, golden exterior and a fluffy, warm interior.

Since I take brunch as seriously as a competitive sport, I’d love to see what else could do to expand its breakfast menu. But all in all, the food was delicious, the service was unbeatable, and brunch lasts until 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays!