It’s always pleasing to find a good brunch served on both Saturday and Sunday. It’s even better when it’s a menu that goes beyond the expected. I understand there are folks out there whose constitutions are so delicate – or strong-willed – that they do not take morning food beyond the well-beaten paths of American tradition. (I once knew a woman who would not eat anything red for breakfast.) Polite Society takes care of both those points and throws in large south-facing windows for the sunlight so desirable this time of the year. There are some tables further back for those who perhaps have overindulged the previous evening, but mostly this is a sunny pair of dining rooms. As to the traditionalists, there are options for them, too, of course. I just prefer the adventure of the new.
Things are busy here – we lucked into a table when we called after having earlier plans fall through, and managed to get seated but that was just luck, tables emptying and filling pretty much constantly. So reservations are, as usual, a good idea.
The coffee is strong and good, and the cocktail menu particularly inviting, although self-restraint reared its ugly head. However, any place that offers three colors of bloody Marys deserves some sort of credit. There are, certainly yellow tomatoes as well as red ones, and the green – well, maybe tomatillos, maybe those green zebra tomatoes. Or both. Input from readers gratefully accepted on the quality of those and the other intriguing cocktails on offer.
The great pork osso bucco that shines on Polite Society’s dinner menu is also used for their hash, with potatoes, peppers, onions, and a dribble of port wine glaze. A couple of poached eggs rode atop the mound, the whole thing rich and full-flavored from the pork and its long, slow cooking.
Biscuits and gravy show off a very serious gravy, sparklingly seasoned with plenty of sausage and black pepper, maybe a little sage in there as well. The biscuit seemed stale. It was sadly dry and required a fair amount of gravy to lessen the problem – the server willingly brought more when we asked for it, though. The gravy also served well as a dip for the breakfast potatoes, deep-fried wedges, skin-on and sprinkled with a little hard cheese.
Polite Society describes their pancakes as a double stack. That works out to two large pancakes, fatter than average in their thickness. The texture is almost cake-like, and in early bites, I got a hit of vanilla. Topped with a scoop of a berry compote and served with whipped butter and syrup, they missed excellence only because one side of one pancake was overcooked to serious toughness, necessitating a knife to separate bites. Link sausages are made with chicken, which made them firmer than their porky cousins would have been, but the loss of a few calories in exchange for a carefully seasoned grind was worthwhile.
Good service, as noted earlier. They seem to keep their menu online updated pretty well, and that reminds me, if you'd like to see a closeup of creme brulee being brulee-d, try this.
Polite Society
1293 Park Ave
314-325-2553
https://www.politesocietystl.com
Dinner nightly, Brunch Sat. – Sun. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Difficult
Smoking: No
Entrees: $15-$36
Saturday and Sunday 10-2