Generations Birthday Brunch

I love getting my friends together for my birthday and I'm always looking for something different to do. I have had a Brewer's playoff party, Monday Night Football (Packers vs. Vikings) bar party, Badgers Game Party (sensing a sports theme), Brewery tour, bonfire on a frigid night, and sushi dinner to name a few.

27th Birthday at my apartment during the Brewers Playoff games.

28th Birthday at Sporties for the MNF Packers V. Vikings Game

29th Birthday at Milwaukee Brewing Company with the 2 birthday boys!

30th Birthday party at New Berlin Ale House for a Badgers Game

This year I went completely different and with my birthday falling on a Sunday morning, decided on brunch. I hemmed and hawed between a few spots in downtown and decided that Generations at Five Points was going to be the best. So I put in my reservation and sent out the invites.


I started the morning with a walk for the Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation at Carroll University. I ran this last year, but knowing my brunch was after, I decided a walk with some good friends would be a nice way to start the day.

I met Bryon Riesch in my work with the Waukesha County Fair and have come to know more about the great work of the Foundation. He is a great guy that is bringing much needed attention to the necessary research for paralysis. His walk in Waukesha is gaining more runners each year.

So my friend Tiffany and I did the walk and then headed back to her house to get ready before brunch.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, (and here) Generations at Five Points is a tapas restaurant in downtown Waukesha. They have a great wine list, creative martinis and wonderful small plates. I suggest 3 - 4 small plates per two people (These delicious dishes are meant to be shared).

Fairly recently, they added Sunday brunch, but that is not served tapas style. In the past, my friend and I have ordered an "appetizer" to the breakfast and then one plate a piece. Our past experiences left us with very happy bellies.

Eggs Benedict - always a great choice

Banana Bread French Toast with Strawberry Sauce and Whipped Cream

Generations reserved my group an area in the back of the restaurant. They have booth benches along the walls and pushed tables and chairs together to make a nice area for my group. We looked over the menu which has a little bit of everything on it for brunch and waited for drinks.

I was able to see some friends that I don't see as often and even found out my niece will be in the same school with my friend's baby in a few years. They are best friends already!

Checking out an older man already - Avery is such a flirt!

I noticed a slight delay in getting drinks to our table but our server was very courteous and kept checking back on us when she could. The Bloody Mary's come with a mini grilled cheese on it - how unique and fancy. I'm not a bloody mary fan but I do like their mimosas and it was just as good as I remembered from last time.
 
The food did take a bit to come from the kitchen, but when we were served, everyone thought it was very tasty and nicely plated. I'm glad I chose Generations, and I think I may have drummed up some new business for the restaurant.

I'm very excited for their pub to open soon and I'm curious about the food they will be serving there. I already know it's going to be creative and delicious because everything I have had at Generations has been really great.

Generations at 5 Points Brunch

At the very end of 2013, my friend Tiffany and I enjoyed a tapas brunch at Generations at 5 Points. They were doing brunches once a month with seasonal menus and the dates hadn't worked out for us to attend any of the others that had happened. But recently I saw via their Facebook page that they are offering brunch every Sunday.

Tiffany and I set up another breakfast date last weekend and stopped in to catch up, relax and enjoy ourselves. It was a gorgeous day and we walked from the west end of Main Street to Gen Five for brunch. We saw that there is a new store going in where Three Sisters Uniquities was but the name escapes me. Looks like it will have women's accessories and more.

When we arrived at Gen Five, a few other tables were already enjoying the brunch but we grabbed a high top in the bar area and settled in. We treated ourselves to a Bloody Mary and a Mimosa while we looked over the menu.

It was quite different from the menu we saw back in January and I wanted to ask a few questions. That's when we were filled in that this wasn't a tapas brunch but regular size portions. This definitely helped us because we were both looking to order two dishes to share. We would have been so full!

The prices were extremely reasonable with nothing over $9 and quite a variety; Panini sandwiches, omelets, Caesar salad, eggs Benedict, french toast, brie and goat cheese dishes and more.Dishes were also labeled if they were vegetarian and gluten free - a little extra step that goes a long way now with food allergies.

We decided on splitting the baked Brie for a starter and Tiffany ordered the Smokehouse Panini and I stepped way outside my comfort zone and went with the Huevos Rancheros with (of course) a side of sour cream in case it was spicy.

The Brie came out quickly and was gigantic! It was inside puff pastry and came with a warm baguette, roasted peppers, apples, candied pecans, spinach and honey. We cut into the brie and it oozed just as it should but I didn't notice the carmelized onions or peaches in it. I did notice it was seasoned with rosemary and other herbs and that combination with the sweet items or the spicy peppers really paired together fantastically. We almost finished it all but realized we had meals coming so we asked for Emma (our amazing server) to take the rest away.

Emma then filled me in that she had pureed a watermelon if I wanted a mimosa made with that she would pour one up for me. I jumped at that opportunity to try something new and it came over really frothy! It was refreshingly delicious and I want to make these at home sometime for the brunch I always want to have for my friends.

Our entrees came out next and looked spectacular. I snapped shots of them quickly before we dove in. My Huevos Rancheros came with verde and rojo salsa and of course my sour cream. The verde had quite a kick so I used more of the rojo and all my sour cream. It also came with toasted wheat bread but not buttered, thank you for helping me watch my weight Five Gen :)

At first I thought the eggs were dry but then realized that normal people probably put all the salsa on the eggs and then they would have been too runny if not cooked this way. I kept the salsa on the side and just dipped and it was perfect. (I keep my condiments on the side whenever possible - I don't drizzle ketchup or ranch on my fries and prefer it on the side so I can put on how much I want.) The chorizo added great spicy flavor but didn't overpower and the cotijo cheese was almost more like Parmesan but was really delicious.  I would order this again and recommend it!
 

The chef accidentally made the wrong panini for Tiffany and so they boxed it up for her to take home and promptly made her the right one. (I appreciate them not wasting the food and just throwing it away!) The "incorrect one" had hash browns, bacon, egg, cheese and jam on it and while we waited we snacked on the potatoes that were nice and crispy on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside. Tiffany got back to me later in the week after trying the Panini and said the salty sweet of the bacon and jam combo really paired nicely together. I think if I do their brunch again, this might be my option!

The Smokehouse Panini had pulled pork, bacon, pickles on it in addition to gouda cheese and chipotle mayo. She really enjoyed it and was able to take half of this one home as well because the potatoes were so good and we snacked on them a bit much.

A decent flow came in for the brunch and Emma was keeping busy. I wanted to ask how the renovations were going on the addition but I didn't want to slow her down. Generations has taken over the location where RiverMill Foods was located (They moved to Elm Grove to expand). That side is going to be more about beer and pub food from my understanding. I'm curious if the buildings will be two separate entities or will they hole cut in the wall to join them. Either way, I'm excited for it to open and glad to not see an empty spot on the Five Points.

I definitely recommend you come for the brunch on a Sunday morning. Waukesha doesn't have too many brunch options on a Sunday and this is one to definitely take in. 

We left and meandered down Main Street on our walk back. It's great to see so much activity in downtown. Although there are still some vacant spots, there aren't as many as there were.

The only corner on the Five Points that is vacant is Broadway & Grand. That building is currently undergoing some renovations because high-end apartments and a skywalk are planned for the adjoined parking structure and will hopefully we open by June 2015. I think that building will have a resident soon because of the new apartments coming. The rest of the locations on the Five Points are currently occupied and I heard a rumor that Sloppy Joes is expanding into the former Riverview Mart. 

I also saw that a Vapor Bar with E-Cigarettes and E-Juices (?) is opening on Main Street between and People's Park - curious about that. And waaaaay down on the West End is a nail studio. We peaked in the windows and it looks really nice.

I do wish more places were open on a Sunday - even just a 10 am - 2 pm. I get that this is one day that many places want to close to have a day with their family (or just a day off as they deserve), but friends of mine commented on just how many restaurants and shops weren't open yet by noon on a Sunday or at all on that day. And it actually caused them to leave downtown and go find somewhere else to go.

Fuzzy's for Brunch

I have heard so many great things about Fuzzy's breakfast and I love that they update their Facebook page the day before with the specials for the next day. I asked my friend Tiffany to come with me to brunch one Sunday morning a few weeks back and we are so glad we went.

As I figured, the parking lot was crowded and so was the inside. There was a waiting list for a table, but some nice folks already waiting informed us about two seats at the bar if we didn't mind eating there.

We took them up on the offer and took the seats. We were instantly greeted by a happy bartender and offered menus. I couldn't decide what I wanted to drink because it was 11 am. Beer didn't sound right and I'm not a Bloody Mary person. I didn't think a mimosa was an option, so I started running down a list of breakfast-y drinks - grapefruit vodka grapefruit juice, citrus vodka with OJ, X-Rated and Sprite, and I decided on the latter. X-Rated is fruity enough that I figured it would work and I am allergic to Vitamin C so the rest I couldn't enjoy until I had my meal.

Tiffany got a Bloody Mary and it came stuff with stuff and as you can see from the picture, it was pretty good. I had a sip, but I am not a big fan of them. It seemed to have enough kick and good flavor, but I just can't drink a whole one. That seemed to the be the popular drink of the morning as the bartenders were mixing them up left and right. I forgot to consider a Baileys and coffee but I wasn't really in the mood for something warm.

Fuzzy's serves breakfast until 3 pm and has a multitude of options. I decided on the Pecan French Toast and Tiffany went for the Eggs Benedict.

We had some time to chat and saw other food come out of the kitchen which all looked really good. People kept coming in and tables were turning over pretty quickly. Olympic ski jumping was on the TV so we were entertained by that while we waited. Some other folks asked me about my drink and I gladly shared with them what I was having and that it was a nice and fruity!

And then the food came!!! My Pecan French Toast was on cinnamon bread - even more amazing that I thought it would be and Tiffany's Eggs Benedict looked rich and delicious. They weren't shy on the pecans and I could only eat two of the four pieces. Of course I ate all the sausage. There is just something about a sausage link that I either love or hate. These were the love kind - not too fatty and good flavor. The French Toast was spectacular and spurred my creation of stuffed mini French Toast. It really doesn't get much better than this!

We swapped bites so we could try each others. The 'famous' cheese sauce was excellent, the eggs weren't too runny and the English muffin was crispy like it was toasted on the griddle. It was definitely indulgent, but I know why Tiffany went for it!

Tiffany and I have eaten sandwiches at Fuzzy's before, but I definitely have to keep this place in mind more often. The food is really great. Sitting at the bar did give us a front row seat for some bartender gossip that, for some patrons, could be a bit much. But as someone that has served, there are just times where you have to say what you have to say and get it done with. It definitely wasn't anything that would keep me away from the place.

They have specials every day of the week, so I think I'll be back to check out the tacos or pizza soon. Also, they have a sister bar, Lucky Rabbit, on the corner of Madison and St. Paul that I have been meaning to check out. The table top menus are facing out when I walk by on my lunch (smart planning!) and I see they make pizzas so I will definitely have to see if they can top Magellans, my favorite in Waukesha.