Brunch Bites: Parson's Chicken & Fish and The Dawson

In this week's batch of brunch bites, Parson's Chicken & Fish makes brunch a daily option and The Dawson pours out a mean (and meaty) Bloody Mary. 

(The Smokehouse Bloody Mary at The Dawson. Photo: Nicole Ess)
 

The sad news: patio season is over for Parson's Chicken & Fish, that golden bastion of picnic tables and ping pong and boozy slush. But the good news: the barstaurant is bringing back brunch in a big way. Not only is brunch back in action, but it's available seven days a week, which helps everyone feel a lot better about the fact that it's getting colder and darker and more depressing outside. Available from 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. every day of the week, Parson's brunch menu includes chicken biscuits with fried chicken thigh, buttermilk biscuit, sunny side egg, aioli, orange honey, and pea shoot salad; house made Tessa with fried green tomato, Cajun hollandaise, and onion challah "BLT"; huevos rancheros with crispy tortillas, charred salsa, drunken pintos, sunny side egg, and Chihuahua cheese; and shrimp and grits with bacon-tomato sauce and poached egg. 

In case all that wasn't an ample dose of cold-weather comfort, head to The Dawson for a burly Bloody. One of the city's most impressive brunch libations, the Smokehouse Bloody Mary at The Dawson is a thing of beauty, poised and ready to thwart any and all hangovers and seasonal woes. Far beyond the typical Bloody Mary fixins, this one is infused with liquid smoke made from smoked meat drippings, which are combined with vodka and The Dawson's house Bloody Mary mix. It's all capped off with house-smoked brisket, cheddar, pickled onion, and jalapeno. Altogether, it tastes like a weekend trip to Austin, Texas, and that's a very good thing.

- Matt Kirouac