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For an above average (but not outstanding) holiday brunch with a great view, we like to do Windows on 50th. It's on the 50th floor of the IDS building. All windows. The quantity of the food is awe inspiring, the quality is (once again) only above average. All in all though, we always have a good time there and use it for our go to place for holiday meals.
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Kinda depends on what your mother likes in brunch. We used to go to Nicollet Island Inn for brunch but although the atmosphere (old-fashioned, up-scale nice view of the river) was to my mother's liking, she did NOT like the modern re-interpretation of the brunch items. If she orders eggs benedict she wants straight up hollandaise sauce, not for it to be infused with saffron (I'm not sure that this is something that actually happened to her, but similar, I just want you to know what I'm talking about). I've thought the food there was solid and good, nothing spectacular. But it does have a nice, special-ly kind of feel to it, upscale and what not.
Then we tried Vincent's (do they do brunch normally??) for Mother's Day brunch and while all of us kids loved it, my mother did not. Go figure. Finally last Mother's Day we did Forepaugh's in St Paul and it was a hit with her. Solid food, nothing bad, pretty standard fare. Again, old-fashioned kind of atmosphere, it's in a lovely house in a lovely part of St Paul.
Personally, recently I've enjoyed the brunch at the Blackbird Cafe, but definitely more modern decor which would not appeal to my mother. But I've seen people of a variety of ages / types in there from young hipsters to families (including mine) to older folks and it's very popular. Nice neighborhood place, lots of natural wood. The crepes/pancakes with Mascarpone I had there on special were rich and yet light -- simply delicious, I thought!
What about St Paul Grill? Definitely more a old-fashioned vibe & I've heard people really like their brunch, especially the giant caramel rolls. I've never had brunch there or down the street at Meritage but the menu always looks good and I adore Meritage so I would trust them enough to give it a try. For the record, my mother also really likes Meritage!
Disclaimer: I realize that I've never been to any of these places for brunch on Easter...we have ham at my mom's house for Easter so I've no idea what they are like on Easter. Good luck!
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Nicollet Island Inn
95 Merriam, Minneapolis, MN 55401St Paul Grill
350 Market Street, St. Paul, MN 55102Meritage
410 Saint Peter St, Saint Paul, MN 55102Forepaugh's Restaurant
276 Exchange St S, Saint Paul, MN 55102 -
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