Juicy Wine Company's Weekend Brunch A Winner For Your Pocketbook

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jun 3, 2008 3:43PM

The seeds for a recent visit to Juicy Wine Company for brunch started with a spirited discussion over where to find a good bloody mary. Every item on Juicy's brunch menu, served Saturday and Sunday - is $5 and we wondered if we would be served a quality bloody mary for the price.

Thankfully, we were, although it was served in a Collins glass, not the standard pint to which we're accustomed. The can of beer that came with the bloody had more in volume. Still, there was a lot to love about this brunch.

Start with the chicken and waffles pictured above. The folks at Juicy have the chicken made by Harold's Chicken Shack. You can't go wrong there. A whole wheat bagel came with a plate full of salmon and salmon roe, capers, cream cheese, and fresh vegetables to make it meal enough for two. Omelettes are made to order, while a tray of sweets — three bite-sized sticky buns served with sliced strawberries and mint — was a perfect compliment to some piping hot Intelligentsia coffee.

The space is inviting but slightly close-quartered, with lots of sunlight trickling through. But it's the cost of the brunch that is the main selling point; owner Rodney Alex has applied the same concept of "price transparency" to the food as he has to his wine inventory. Risky? Probably. But when money's too tight to mention, we won't complain.

Juicy Wine Company is located at 694 N. Milwaukee. The weekend brunch runs from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.