I often look forward to Sundays solely because of brunch. Late afternoon breakfast accompanied with socially acceptable mimosas and bloody marys? Yes please! This past Sunday I was in the mood to try out a new place, and found myself at 300 East. It wasn't until I was seated at a table on their cute outside area that I realized I had indeed eaten brunch there before! I immediately became excited as I remembered how great their shrimp and grits were. I browsed over the menu anyways and found myself in conflict over a variety of other brunch items such as crab cake benedict, a personal favorite, and french toast. One thing was for certain; I needed a bloody mary. Drink in hand I made up my mind and went with my original order: cajun shrimp over cheesy beer grits with fried eggs (pictured above). As I waited for my food I noticed that my bloody mary was not particularly good. It was a bit watery, pretty bland, and lacking any sort of spice. Bloody mary aside, 300 East is a great place to sit outside when the weather is nice, and I enjoyed relaxing in the shade while listening to Bob Dylan over their speakers. The service was good, but a little on the slow side which was understandable considering how busy they were. When the food arrived I was a little disappointed. While it was good, it wasn't as great as I remembered. The shrimp had a nice cajun flavor, but were definitely overdone. The eggs were verging on perfection and the grits were amazing, more cheesy then beer-y, and anything but plain which made the dish overall okay. My girlfriend had ordered the crab cake benedict and reported that the eggs were nicely cooked, but the dish needed more sauce. My overall brunch experience was great, however the food and beverages were lacking in areas. I gave 300 East's brunch an 81... I won't be racing back next week, but I'll definitely go again.
