Delicious Brunch Food in Downtown Orlando, FL
Buttery grits, cajun cream sauce, chopped bacon
2 house-made buttermilk biscuits with crispy chicken thighs. 1: honey butter & 2: pimento cheese, house made pickles with home fries
Fluffy waffles, crispy fried chicken, bourbon syrup
Fried heirloom tomato, 2 fried eggs, smoked gouda, hickory smoked bacon on Brioche toasts
House sausage gravy, house-made buttermilk biscuits
Sausage, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese with home fries
Prime patty, smoked bacon, fried egg, cheddar, home fries
Two eggs, home fries, toast
House-made biscuit, blackened catfish, poached eggs, fried heirloom tomato, hollandaise w/ home fries.
Veggie hash, sauage, smoked gouda, topped w/ a sunny side egg, brioche toast
Sausage, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese on a brioche bun w/ home fries
6 mini beignets, lemon fig jam
Coffee rubbed 8oz sirloin, 2 eggs your way, w/ home fries
Shredded chicken, savory gravy, house made dumplings & veggies
Thick, fluffy, cast iron pancake, powdered sugar, seasonal fruit jam
Home fries $2, 1 Toast $2 (rye or white),
1 Egg $2, Bacon (2 pieces) $4,
Sausage $4, 1 Biscuit $4,
Pork Belly (2pc) $5
Brunch Drinks in Downtown Orlando, FL
Saturday, Sunday and Monday Brunch 10AM – 4PM
Consumer Advisory: Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions. --Section 3-603.11. FDA Food Code Allergy Statement: Menu items may contain or come in contact with WHEAT, EGGS, PEANUTS, TREE NUTS, and MILK.
Brunch at The Aardvark
Saturday Brunch
Brunches are usually reserved for the Sunday crowd, with their bottomless mimosas, avocado toasts and hangovers from the night before.
Saturday brunches are uncommon.
Thankfully, The Aardvark is uncommonly good.
The Aardvark, the casual, unassuming beverage spot on Ferncreek is also becoming that place you want to spend a lazy Saturday morning with some good friends and great food.
The favorite local bottle shop where you can still recharge CO2 tanks, grab a keg or select one of their hundreds of beer & wine selections now has a menu filled with familiar but adventurous comfort food. Chef Hugh, formerly of Fleming's and The Whiskey, is at the helm.
Hugh and his crew are in charge of bringing SoDo an ever changing "Gulf to table" approach, focused on fresh seasonal items, from seafood to regional dishes.
Now… On to the food!!
I visited on a Saturday. The place had a decent buzz about it, but not too busy. A few tables and few places at the bar were open, with the occasional keg/C02 customer. We were seated quickly, and the waiter came over with a few suggestions as they passed out
the menus before taking out drink orders. The bottomless mimosas ($15) were the choice and both the pineapple & traditional orange were slightly more citrus than bubbly, and not overtly
sweet.
Snapper Crudo Flight
We got a little adventurous with our next item, a raw snapper crudo flight ($14).
These paired well with the mimosas, the delicate piles of fresh snapper, presented with 3 different ceviche type accompaniments: blood orange, pineapple salsa and a watermelon radish.
Each presented a different complimentary texture and citric, tart flavor to go with the tender fish.
Definitely recommended as a group dish to share.
Shrimp and Grits
The plate that I truly looked forward to the blue cheese Buffalo shrimp and grits - an adventurous take of two iconic flavor profiles. These hominy grits were presented well, al dente with a creamy texture with an unexpected surprise. Add in some huge, red, Argentinian shrimp that were almost prawn like. These flavorful shrimp were boosted to the next level with the addition of Buffalo sauce. That in itself would be great.
The bonus here was the not-so-subtle addition of blue cheese to the velvety grits. Not an in-your-face flavor, but someone took the time to blend this in well so that blue cheese hits your palate in a complimentary finish to each bite. Ingenious take on a classic.
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