There's No Place Like Brunch: The Ruby Slipper Cafe

We all know that brunch is the most important meal of the day. But one must appreciate the particular charm about a weekday brunch that goes above and beyond the average drizzle of hollandaise. Really, there’s nothing quite like enjoying the double-down decadence of some Hangover Benedict while the nine-to-fivers are churning away at their Monday.

A good friend and fellow brunch-enthusiast was in town for the day, so we decided to try out the Marigny location of one of the New Orleans breakfast-lunch-and-whatever-in-between staples, The Ruby Slipper. 

It’s a lovely little space, airy with lots of streaming sunlight and colorful art on the walls. All of which I took in peripherally and duly noted as I studied the drink menu.

There are very few things in this world that will induce me to pass on a mimosa during  brunchtime. A good Bellini is one of those things. I can hardly wait to start buying up batches of fresh (and slightly overripe) peaches from farmer’s markets and gleefully blending them into a fine puree to mix with some bubbly and crushed ice in summer-appropriate quantities. In the meantime, the Ruby Slipper’s double Bellini isn’t a bad choice to tide me over, especially at the point in the glass where I’m tipping back shreds of schnapps-soaked peach.

Food-wise, ordering was even simpler. I’ve been on a shredded pork kick of late, so the “house specialty” of Eggs Cochon was an easy green light. My friend ordered the Tex-Mex style Migas scramble, to which I said, “That list has too many ingredients for me to actually read them all now. Go for it.”

Both were a good call. But given my pretty consistent fetish for hardcore comfort food, I was definitely more enamored of my choice. The pork debris had a sweet-smoky savor and was just the right amount of juicy. And really, you can’t go wrong with decent biscuits and the poached eggs/hollandaise combo as a brunch base. I was going to eat just half, but my early afternoon animal instincts kicked in and, well, that was the end of that plate.

The Migas was fun if you prefer your eggs with that Southwestern flair. The tortilla chips at the bottom added a nice crunch that was unexpected. At least to me, who obviously hadn’t read that far in the menu description. Brunch nachos!

I declare this a successful first visit, and it was a great start to the week. Nothing on the menu here looks exceptionally zany, but there are a few dishes I wouldn’t mind at all coming back to try, especially the Bananas Foster Pain Perdu or Eggs Coubion. More and more of these places seem to be popping up that do brunch-style menus every day of the week, but that doesn’t make the weekday experience any less magical for me.

So many poached eggs, so little time.