In honor of my trip to Austin for Thanksgiving (starting tonight!), here’s a real neighborhood gem: Chez Zee.
If you’re not from Austin, changes are that you probably haven’t heard of this Northwest Hills restaurant. Located right off of Mopac, on Balcones Drive, Chez Zee is one of my favorite places to go for a very relaxed (read: Austin casual, which, in case you don’t know, is a whole other level of casual) brunch. When I was in Austin a few weeks ago, my friend Lauren and I dashed to Chez Zee for a fun morning of brunchin’, munchin’, and [lots of] chattin’.
Chez Zee‘s brunchtime specialty is their freshly-baked croissants. To say these babies are puffy would be an understatement.
Served with a light, whipped strawberry butter, the croissants are perfectly flaky, perfectly puffy, and perfectly tasty. Definitely make sure to say yes when the server offers to bring them over!
To continue my recent trend of being obsessed with eggs benedict, I ordered Chez Zee’s “Southern” Crab Cakes Benedict – poached eggs atop oven-baked roasted corn crab cakes. Béarnaise sauce on the side because the yellow-ness totally freaks me out.
First thought: the poached eggs kind of look like Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Second thought: yum. (Though it definitely took me some time to get over that first thought!) This dish was delicious, and definitely much more food than I originally expected!
Lauren always orders right. Seriously, always.
She [quite intelligently] ordered the Challah French Toast. It was so good. I’m quite partial to French toast as a general food group… covered in powdered sugar and with a heaping side of berries only seals the deal! Also it definitely reminded me of one of my favorite recipes – my make-it-at-home Challah French Toast!
Chez Zee is open every day. Lunch is served Monday through Friday, 11:00AM till 5:00PM, and dinner is served Sunday through Thursday, 5:00PM till 10:00PM, and Friday and Saturday, 5:00PM till midnight. Chez Zee also serves brunch (definitely recommended!) on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00AM till 3:00PM (with the special grille menu in effect between 3:00PM and 5:00PM on weekends). Chez Zee is a great place to take a big group or even kiddos – stop by next time you find yourself in North Austin!