which, in turn, inspect hers to
make sure refrigeration and
product rotation are more
than acceptable.
“We don’t use raw eggs. All
are cooked because they’re
not pasteurized, but when we
say we’re using ‘farm-fresh
eggs,’ we mean they’re farm
fresh,” Hoover says. “During a
nationwide salmonella scare
about two years ago, our sales
of egg-based dishes actually
increased, because people had
remarkable faith in the level of
quality we’re committed to—
that [commitment] creates the
culture of the restaurants.”
Three signature omelettes
($11.25 each) offered at all Café
Patachou locations rank as the
top sellers overall: The Hippie
with a Benz (think Mercedes)
is a combo of spinach, fresh
tomatoes, mushrooms and
imported feta cheese; The
Overachiever features bacon,
cheddar cheese, sour cream,
plus a pop of freshly grated
horseradish; while The Omelette
You Can’t Refuse boasts bacon,
cheddar, sour cream and sautéed
potatoes. Each omelette order is
served with a cup of fresh fruit.
mess of
goodness
There’s also a fried egg sandwich,
as made by Hoover’s mom years
ago. “It was novel here 15 years
ago when we started featuring
it for brunch,” she says. “It takes
buttered toast—all our breads
are made from my recipes by
one bakery we’ve used since
1989, and made exclusively
for me each morning—plus
perfect fried eggs. Then, there’s
a choice of ingredients, perhaps
avocados, phenomenal baked
salmon, Indiana bacon or
cheddar cheese. It’s a fork and
knife sandwich ’cause that yolk is
runny; it becomes a soupy mess
of goodness.”
The Café Patachou brunch
lineup also includes, among
other items, bacon, crispy salads
with made-in-house vinaigrettes,
corned beef hash, freshly baked
gluten-free breads (a recent
addition) and waffles, such as a
ricotta cheese waffle with lemon-
scented crème anglaise. There’s
also an array of French toast
creations, including a unique
Pear French Toast ($8.75)
featuring homemade brioche as
a base. “We poach fresh pears in
vanilla-scented sugar water, then
top the brioche French toast
with warm pears, warm maple
syrup, plus fresh sugared pecans.”
Definitely, light years away from
“flat tires.”
New York-based award-winning
journalist Karen Weisberg has
covered the issues and luminaries
of the food-and-beverage world
for more than 25 years.
brunch
numbers
Industry research
and experts point to
brunch’s profitability:
According to NPD
Group, which
continually tracks
consumer use of
commercial and
noncommercial
foodservice outlets,
brunch amounted
to 924 million visits
out of the 59 billion
visits made to U.S.
restaurants for the year
ending in December
2010. Total restaurant
visits were down
1 percent last year,
as were brunch visits.
Looking at profit
margins, the National
Restaurant Association
(NRA) doesn’t have
specific brunch data.
“It’s tricky to research,
because it’s in between
two dayparts,” notes
NRA spokesperson
Annika Stensson.
“Restaurants typically
have slim profit margins
at 3-5 percent.”
Martha Hoover, owner
of Café Patachou,
Indianapolis, suggests,
“Higher-end restaurants,
such as ours, can
figure on 10-12 precent
profitability from brunch.”
