Who doesn’t like breakfast - especially when you don’t have to get up early to eat it? Brunch is the perfect solution for holiday season entertaining. Even if you and your best friends from out of town closed the bars on Saturday night, you’ll be ready for civilized conversation by the time Sunday brunch rolls around. And if the extended family is in town, both buffet and a la carte brunches offer something for the heartiest and the pickiest eaters alike. Here’s a sampler of brunches around New England, most of them in places where you can make a day of it. Reservations are recommended and often essential.
Grazing with the brunch bunch
Wherever you roam, one of these 9 hot spots will be cooking up a breakfast worth getting up (late) for
House of Blues Mealtime doesn’t get more rousing than the Southern-style buffet of the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, even if you do have to set down your fork periodically to answer “Amen!’’ to the choir. Indulge the inner good-old-boy with fried chicken, cheddar grits, biscuits with country gravy, and white chocolate banana bread pudding. Besides the Southern grub, you can relish roast beef with horseradish or just fill your plate with peel-and-eat shrimp. 15 Lansdowne St., Boston, 888-693-2583, www.houseofblues.com. Brunch Sunday 10 a.m. $45, seniors $38, ages 4-12 $25, under 4 free.
Red Rock Bistro & Bar This North Shore joint also jumps at Sunday brunch, thanks to the rotating roster of jazz and R&B artists who take the stage at noon. The a la carte menu offers breakfast lovers the likes of challah French toast or simple omelets, while hungry folks can tuck into steak and eggs with pancakes and hollandaise sauce or the burger “fixer-upper’’ with a shot of tequila on the side. There is an extensive menu of margaritas and martinis. 141 Humphrey St., Swampscott, 781-595-1414, www.redrockbistro.com. Brunch Sunday 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m., music noon-3. Entrees $8.50-$27.
Chase’s Daily “Local’’ certainly defines the food at Chase’s; a lot of it is raised on the Chase family farm west of town. The a la carte brunch is essentially a mash-up of the breakfast and lunch menus at this popular counterculture cafe in the former Odd Fellows Hall. You’ll be so enraptured by the vegetables, farm-fresh eggs, homemade granola with homemade yogurt, and blueberries bursting in fluffy pancakes that you’ll have probably cleaned your plate before you notice that there’s no bacon or sausage. Chase’s Daily is vegetarian. 96 MainSt., Belfast, Maine, 207-338-0555. Brunch Sunday 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Entrees $4-$9.
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