what's better than a live musicbrunchto jazz up a sleepy sunday? extra points if it makes you feel super hip. cue beat hotel.
beat hotel is not a hotel at all. i know. crazy, right? misleading names are hip. as is the space. the funky interior decor of the large room features hemp. hip hemp. the stage is on the far end of the restaurant, so from where we were sitting the music wasn't too loud and provided a nice backdrop to our conversation. if you're more into the jazz part of jazz brunch, try to sit closer to the stage because i kept forgetting about the performers.
the waitress arrives and says she's here to "guide us through ourbrunchexperience." we're pumped. everybrunchshould be an experience.
my buddies' bloody mary's are savory and spicey. they dig 'em. i order some tea, but for some reason the waitress brings a third bloody mary along with it. she's confused and asks if we want it.
"well... i don't really need another one. will it just be thrown in the trash if we don't take it?" asks my thirsty but broke friend ($10 for a b'mary - no matter how tasty - is no joke).
"probably" is the only response my friend receives. we don't want to straight up ask our waitress if it would be free, but my friend assumes so and agrees to take it. i mean, we can drink it if we really have to.
and the food? also hip. classicbrunchstaples with a twist appear alongside more nontraditional offerings like bowls a la life alive in central. i opt for the inca bowl which features a nice mix of quinoa, avocado, greens, hominy, and other tasty morsels. you can pick your protein, and i opt for poached eggs. it's brunch, after all. the eggs were not runny at all, so i don't know what they think a poached egg is, but the mix of goodness was yummy, filling, and at least seemed healthy. abrunchslam dunk.
my other friend enjoyed her soy-based earth bowl, and my more traditionalbrunchcopatriot dug into her american breakfast featuring truffled scrambled eggs, bacon, and skinny frites that rivaled mcd's in tastiness with far more class. triple hip.
the check comes around, and y'all this place ain't exactly cheap. we're disappointed to see that that extra bloody mary was in fact charged. not hip. we were deciding whether we should be annoying and ask about it, when a manager comes up to our table saying that she heard us say something was "obnoxious" and wanted to see if it was something to do with the restaurant. the walls have ears! embarrassing. we then explain the bloody mary mishap, and she agrees that it shouldn't have been charged. it was so nice of them to go out of their way to make sure we were pleased with our experience (albeit a little creepy that they were listening to our conversations.. who knows what else they heard)!
a nontraditional, hipbrunchexperience is waiting for you at beat hotel. the mixture of delectable food, funky ambiance, and soothing live music makes me wish it actually were a hotel so i could stay longer.