Yes, I said “Drunch” instead of brunch. This usage of combining the words “drunk” and “brunch” may sound a little kitschy and if so I will apologize in advance to anyone I may offend. The reason I am choosing to combine the words in jest is that as the 2019 FIFA ladies battled it out for the World Cup it was only 11:00 AM in the United States. Our event kicked off at D’s Bottle Shop at 10:30 AM EST. On this most international of all days in women’s soccer, Darrell and Susan decided to open the shop early and invite our most foodie-of-friends in for brunch. So yes, there was lots of food and beer being poured early on a Sunday morning. For all those who missed church to attend, let’s say a little prayer for forgiveness and move on.
So yes, there was lots of food and beer being poured early on a Sunday morning.
Watching the game was exciting even from the television monitors, I could not imagine what it was like to be there. These incredibly talented women of football battled it out for the title in Lyon, France. My long-time friend Catherine was in attendance in her hometown along with her family. According to FIFA “ Lyon is widely recognized as a gastronomic paradise, forging an enviable reputation thanks to its renowned ‘bouchons’ – little restaurants serving local delicacies – and the large number of leading chefs who hail from the city.” I am quite sure she enjoyed some wonderful food while she was there. She would have also loved the spread of flavors we had back in the states.
I wanted to write about this event to mainly tell you about all the amazing food since you already know the outcome of the game. Yes, The United States won over the Netherlands which added even more joviality to the event. We had many people attend, some who knew each other, some who had not seen each other in a while and some who just drifted in. We had families and friends alike, most all toted amazing dishes of food along with them.
Yes, The United States won over the Netherlands which added even more joviality to the event.
Our taste buds were tantalized with a variety of sweet and savory dishes like homemade buttermilk biscuits accompanied by homemade strawberry jam and smoked burnt ends. The creamiest and dreamiest shrimp and grits I have ever tasted. A French mushroom, spinach and brie frittata, an Italian sausage-pepper -onion frittata, and cheese blintzes. We had sweets too, such as an amazing homemade carrot cake and puff pastry tarts!
There was so much to taste and enjoy like the spicy sausage balls, a huge pan of lovely fried bacon, a bright fruit salad with kiwi, berries, and pineapple. Every kind of bagel and cream cheese offering you can think of and donuts that I enjoyed even the next day. The best hotels in town do not even put out a brunch spread as ample as ours was!
Dishes of wonderful food kept being added to the table all morning, even beyond what I had accounted for.
Dishes of wonderful food kept being added to the table all morning, even beyond what I had accounted for. If I missed mentioning your dish please know it was not intentional, it was that I was deep in a food coma and a couple of beers in, all while trying to take photos, entertain and watch the game. In full disclosure, I am not a morning person, I would have preferred to hold this event at 2:00 PM in the afternoon, however, I do not suppose the Fédération Internationale de Football Association would move the time to accommodate my biorhythm.
I also wanted to write this post to acknowledge all the people who shopped, cooked, enjoyed, toted, tasted, cleaned up and worked to make this another fun food event!
Give yourselves a pat on the back for good sportsmanship or since I am making up words in this post, Sportswomanship!