All About Brunch

drinks at the bar

Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week. - Guy Beringer

Morning tea. Second breakfast. Elevenses. Brunch. You can call your late morning (or early afternoon) meal whatever you want, but since April is National Brunch Month, we're going with that. You probably already know that we serve the best brunch in town, but have you ever wondered where brunch came from? Read on to learn more about America’s favorite meal.

It’s (probably) an English import.

There isn’t consensus on when people first started eating brunch; however, many historians believe that the trend may have arisen from the traditional English hunt breakfast, a social meal that involved several courses, both sweet and savory, meant to sustain hunters until they returned. Others claim brunch comes from the Catholic tradition of eating a large meal after Sunday Mass.

Even though the meal’s origins are murky, we do know that the term first appeared in print in an 1895 Hunter’s Weekly essay by British writer Guy Beringer, entitled “Brunch: A Plea.” In the piece, Beringer makes a case for brunch as a Sunday standard. Central to his argument is the fact that pushing your morning meal back a few hours lets you stay up later (and party harder) on Saturday night: “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers.” 

We caught on late.

Despite Beringer’s compelling case, brunch didn’t become popular in the United States until the 1930s, when Hollywood stars would indulge in late morning meals in Chicago during transcontinental train trips. By the 1950s, as women became more established in the workforce, many restaurants and diners began to offer brunch specials on weekends, which provided a break from cooking. This trend continued to grow, and by the 1980s, brunch had become a staple meal for many Americans.

Booze has always been a key component.

Many of us like a cocktail (or two, or three) with brunch, and as it turns out, we’re just doing our part to uphold tradition! English hunt breakfasts were often served with port or sherry, and Beringer’s essay includes a postscript that “Beer and whiskey are admitted as substitutes for tea and coffee.” Today, the drink selection for brunch has widened significantly, and the most popular brunch cocktail is the Mimosa, followed by the Bloody Mary. 

It’s here to stay.

Even though it took nearly a century for brunch to firmly establish itself in American culture, it’s not going anywhere–55% of Americans say they would order breakfast foods at any time of day. If you count yourself among them, stop by and see us! Our brunch menu is available Tuesday through Sunday.

The Leaf, located in downtown Wooster, offers a vast menu, making breakfast through dinner a delightful experience! Open Tuesday through Sunday, our culinary team creates amazing dishes that are sure to delight. Bring a friend or dine solo for a relaxing meal away from home.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest specials and new menu items. Make your reservations at OpenTable or by calling 330-804-0126. Interested in holding your next event at The Leaf? We are happy to accommodate larger parties or planned gatherings.

Sources:

https://horse-canada.com/horses-and-history/history-of-the-hunt-breakfast/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-birth-of-brunch-where-did-this-meal-come-from-anyway-164187758/

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Brunch:_a_plea

Jason Stine