Millie's Brunch is known to be the best in town, so I obviously had to find out for myself. The online reviews were amazing and tons of people suggested the Devil's Mess as the dish to order--but everything is amazing. My friends and I were en route to the restaurant when I called ahead to see how long the wait was. A lively British man answered the phone and said it would be about a 30-minute wait and said we should come down right away to have the best brunch of our lives.
When I asked if he could put our name on the list so we wouldn't have to wait as long when we got there, he asked where I was from, to which I replied New York. He then said, "Oh, of course you are, you people are always in a hurry. Why don't you just get down here? We will get you a drink and you can sit back and relax with the whole crowd outside while you get ready for the best experience of your life. Sound good?" That sounded great, but I convinced him to put our name on the list anyway. He told me he was breaking all of the rules for me but he would do it anyway. By the time I got off of the phone I was blushing! He made me feel so nervous; I felt like I had just been flirting with a prospective romantic interest.
When we arrived, I finally met this British man who made me blush and he was roughly 60 years old and wearing an outfit from the '70s. He then encouraged my friends and me to order some drinks by telling us that brunch time is drinking time and we'd better get to it! I ordered the Evil Keevil, the restaurant's homemade rum punch, which was absolutely delicious and made with lots of pineapple juice. There were tons of people waiting outside and some people even brought their own lawn chairs to sit and drink while they waited for their table. Everyone outside was chatting and having a good time and there was not a single complaint about the wait because it is expected when you come to Millie's and definitely worth it.
The restaurant has a small, local diner feel and the place is packed. As soon as you walk in, there is a tiny hot kitchen on your right where two buff men are cooking away within inches of all of the customers coming in and out of the restaurant and right next to the bar, which is also full of people merrily eating and drinking. These two men are cranking out all of the food served at the restaurant out of this tiny kitchen that can't be more than three-by-six feet.
As we were waiting for our drinks I started talking to the chefs and asked them what they recommended on the menu. They said everything was good and it just depended what I was in the mood to order. I told them I was thinking of getting the General Lee, which is two poached eggs with sausage gravy served over a homemade cheddar biscuit. One of the chefs told me that they ran out and I must have looked a little disappointed because before I knew it he said, "Well... we have one left. Let me know when you sit down and I will have your waitress bring it over to you." Talk about special treatment! I was so excited to try it!
So we finally sat down and ordered. One of my friends got the eggs benny that was served over a croissant with deliciously salty ham and an excellent hollandaise sauce. Someone else ordered the breakfast burrito served with salsa verde and pico de gallo, another friend ordered pork belly over grits, two people ordered the grilled angus beef loin with two poached eggs and hollandaise and the last person at our table ordered the devil's mess.
The devil's mess was the dish that was raved about in all of the reviews; it is an open-faced omelet of spicy sausage, onions, green peppers, garlic, tomatoes, mild curry, white cheddar and avocado. The Indian curry gave it a very interesting kick--who would think to put an Indian twist on your eggs? Definitely a unique dish, and I can see why everyone loves it. The General Lee was all that I hoped for--amazing. All of the dishes were served with their famous hash browns: potatoes, peppers and onions. The portions weren't too big to finish in one meal but filled you up for the rest of the day.
Was Millie's really the best brunch in town? Probably. But no one can deny that it adds an exceptional experience to traditional brunch. I would go back any day.
Dhall Tip
The tomato mozzarella salad in the salad bar is a great supplement to any meal--you can put it over lettuce to make a salad, eat it with grilled chicken, cut it up and put in on a sandwich in the panini press... the options are endless!
Shout Out
The chili with cheese at Tyler's is perfect for the cold days to come!
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Contact reporter Sarah Stewart at sarah.stewart@richmond.edu
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