Regular readers know that I have my bubble.  That’s the reason that I have contributors that just happen to cover areas north of 635 on my behalf.  I’m ashamed of myself, but it’s true.

That said, I will travel to the great, white north for select things.  One of those things: Ivy Kitchen.  I finally made it in for their brunch this past weekend and wasn’t surprised in the least by the quality of the food and drink.

My friends and I decided to start with some brunch drinks–as all brunches should.  We went with the Michelada, the Recovery (vanilla vodka, OJ, Robust), Sangria, and a pitcher of the Vine Peach Mimosa for the table.  (Because what is brunch without a pitcher of something?)  All were perfectly delightful, and the Recovery was a unique choice to break free from the usual brunch options–slightly sweet, slightly boozy, all delicious.

Once sufficiently lubricated, we started perusing the menu and had a hell of a time deciding what to order.  Ivy Kitchen does a lot of different things, and surprisingly enough, seems to do them all well.  We all decided to order a bunch of things and simply share so we could try more, which ended up being the absolute best idea.

Our brunch choices were somewhat traditional–Cinnamon Crusted French Toast that’s made with crushed cereal and the Ivy Crab Cake Benedict.  I’m not often a fan of either (I’m weird about brunch food), but enjoyed both of them a little more than my meal companions appreciated.

Round two of food led us to some more savory options (and a shot or two of Patrón), including some of their new options, the Beef Short Ribs with Mustard BBQ sauce, Smoked Bacon Jalapeños, and Chopped Asian Salad.  The Smoked Bacon Jalapeños were large jalapeños hollowed out and stuffed with brisket and spicy cheese then wrapped in bacon.  These were SO DAMN HOT, but really delicious.  I kind of fell in love with their Chopped Asian Salad (what, I eat salads …)–it was incredibly fresh and the many ingredients just worked … even the random smoked almonds.

To cap off the meal, we went for another round of drinks and I opted for their new Mojito Infusion, because new is always better, right?  The orange infused rum paired well with the peach liqueur and citrus and was perfectly offset with the fresh mint.  One more, please …

IVY KITCHEN
www.theivykitchen.com
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5411 Beltline Road (Addison)
214.306.7444