Phipps Feeding Fiasco

The experience

Obviously, this was Mina’s weekend.  There are three places that Mina ever wants to go to for breakfast: the “Pancake House” (Original Pancake House), the “waffle place” (Waffle House), and the “Guava Cheese Bread place” (that’s where we went today: La Duni).  It was easy enough enough since we’d be spending the day at the Arboretum.

When we arrived, there was a short wait -she said 15-20 minutes, but we only waited about 10 before being sat down.  Mina told us that she wanted me to sit beside her and when Ogre started to put Benji’s chair beside her she said, “No, I want Mommy to sit there.”  Ogre got a little huffy, but moved Benji’s chair and I told him to chill out and sat by Mina.  We sat Benji in his chair and Mina pulled out her markers and picture that she brought to color.  Unfortunately, Benji did not have anything to entertain himself, so he just started fussing, especially since he wanted Mina’s markers and we wouldn’t give it to him.  Luckily, almost as soon as we sat down, we ordered our drinks and four Guava and Cheese Glorias. 

The Guava and Cheese Glorias (or guava cheese bread as we like to call them) came out pretty quickly, but the waiter apologized because we were eating the last two.  He did give us two other breads and told us he’d try to find a couple more.  It was good enough to appease Benji though.  He said “Goo!” (Good!).  The waiter came back with another guava cheese bread as well.  Mina very happily took a break from her coloring to gobble hers down. 

Next came Ogre and my coffees.  A little bit of heaven in a glass.  Benji was still happily eating his breads and Mina had finished her and moved back to coloring.  Ogre offered Mina his last half of the guava cheese bread to which she emphatically accepted.  That girl loves that stuff!

 

Our brunch came out and looked great.  We requested some ketchup for the kids and dug in to the tastiness.  Benji really liked the bacon here asking for “mo mo yeah” (more!).  Things were going along smoothly until I started to discuss how we would work out tomorrow morning as Mina and Benji have their check ups with the doctor in the morning.  I look over to see this:

 

After a little bit, Mina calmed down and requested a bathroom break so off we went.  There aren’t any true changing stations, but there are two padded barstools put together that would work fine (I actually used them to change Benji’s diaper when we first came in and were waiting). 

When we came back, we finished up breakfast and Mina finished up her picture.  Ogre went to the restroom, and the waiter to clear the plates.  After Benji had declared earlier that he was done (indicated by handing us his plates), I suppose he change his mind.  I found a couple pieces of the bread from earlier when he handed Ogre his plate and I decided to save it just in case he really wasn’t done. (Apparently, that was good forethought on my part).  But it wasn’t enough, Benji started angrily screaming at the top of his lungs, “MO MO YEAH!!“  I had to explain that there was no more and it was all gone.  He kept yelling it: “MO MO YEAH!!“  Luckily, Ogre came back and he forgot and we were able to get going.  Sheesh.

Mina had just enough time to finish her picture:

 

The food

Luscious.  First off, you have to try the Guava and Cheese Glorias.  It’s ridiculously good.  It’s a flaky, lightly glazed pastry filled with a sweet and cream-cheesy guava filling.  We’ve tried the other breads and pastries and they are all excellent, but seriously, this one surpasses excellence.  Yummm!!!

 

I always order the Huevos Finos.  I believe it is the best poached egg anywhere.  In fact, I don’t even really like poached eggs (there is always something wrong -either the egg is done wrong or the Hollandaise sauce is off).  This doesn’t happen here.  Nope, the yolk is always just the right color and consistency and the Hollaindaise sauce is smooth and creamy.  The poached eggs sit atop a “pop-over” which is kind of like a not so flaky croissant.  It’s all, well, perfect. Ogre tried a bite today to compare it to the one he had at Bread Winners last weekend and said this one was clearly superior.

 

Ogre ordered the Huevos Rancheros.  I did notice that his plate was pretty much licked clean when he finished.  Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get his commentary.  After some prodding (he initially just said, “It was as tasty as always.”), he said that the eggs tasted great and the the red sauce is hotter than the green sauce.  He always gets both since you can get either one or both.  He gave all of his black beans to Benji.

 

The kids just had bacon and eggs.  I did not try the eggs (I just thought of a funny story I have to put at the end!) but the bacon was really good.  It was thinly sliced and crisp.  Benji loved it. Mina was more into the eggs, so the order balanced out nicely for the two of them to share.

Oh! And the coffee!!  Ogre and I always order the Cafe de Chinita.  It’s espresso in one kettle and hot steamed milk (a waiter once told me it’s actually “caramel milk”) in a second kettle and you tell the waiter as he pours it how much of each you want. Ogre and I are complete opposites.  I like a little bit of espresso and a lot of milk and he likes a lot of espresso and a little bit of milk.  I’ve never had a better glass of coffee.

 

There is no kids menu here.  The breads and pastries may suffice, we just always request bacon and eggs for them also. 

 

The service

The service here is overall pretty good, but it has been hit or miss in the past.  Today, our service was very good.  We ordered 4 guava cheese bread and he only brought 2 out saying that’s all they had, but brought out 2 other breads and told us he tried to drum up 2 more.  He did find 1 more for us, which was nice.  He was attentive and brought out an extra plate for the kids to share their bacon and eggs.

 

The kids

This place is more kid accommodating than kid friendly, but it’s well worth it if your kids are older or can entertain themselves pretty well. There’s no kids menus or kids crayons or activities.  That doesn’t stop families from coming though.  There were at least two other tables with kids under the age of 4 dining this morning.  We ordered bacon and eggs, which isn’t on the menu for the kids to eat (after the guava cheese bread, which is great for any age!) and they made it, but they charged us a pretty penny for it -3.95 for the eggs and 3 bucks for the bacon.

The restaurant is a little cramped, but the acoustics also make it so that screaming children don’t stand out too loudly.  So, bring your kids, but bring your own activities.

The food is so good here though, if you can swing it with the family, you gotta try this place!

They have a few locations: I know there’s the one on Oak Lawn, which we go to.  There is one in Highland Park.  I thought the one on McKinney closed, but it’s still on the website, so maybe I’m wrong about that.  And I thought that there was one in Terminal D at DFW Airport, but they don’t mention that one on the website, so again, I might be wrong.

Also, their sister restaurant is Alo, which is also good.

The total: 56.84

What did Guidelive say? They have it as a Best Brunch spot.

 

Rants, Raves, and Ramblings

So, I’m sort of like a tough mom.  I tend to be very clear about things and I try to teach Mina by letting her learn from experience.  Sometimes, though, I’m the one that gets schooled…

One of the times we came to eat breakfast, Mina wanted eggs.  I asked her how many eggs she wanted and she said, “Five.” 

“Five eggs? You want five eggs?” I asked her.

She nodded and I said, “No.  How about two eggs?”

She started to cry, “No…five eggs!” 

I tried to explain, ”Mina, five eggs is a lot of eggs, if he comes and I order five eggs, you better eat five eggs.  That’s a lot of eggs to order and you will be wasting all the food left on your plate.  You don’t need five eggs.”

Being the stubborn, hard-headed Phipps she is, she said, “I want five eggs.” 

I failed to mention she was three years old when this happened.

So the waiter came and I looked at her and she indicated five eggs, so we ordered FIVE EGGS.

And her FIVE EGGS came out.

And, would you believe that little girl ATE ALL FIVE EGGS?!

She did learn her lesson though, she told us she will never order five eggs ever again!

And one more thing… 

 Benji wasat brunch with us this morning. I know we took some pictures of him, I guess none of his pictures were cute enough.  I’m at work and Ogre’s at home, so he chose the pictures to go on Flickr, which is where I can choose pictures for the post.  None were of my sweet Benji!  Hmmph.  I’ll have to have a talk with Papa!

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