We started with drinks: the Michelada and the Stiff Java. Both were excellent and surprisingly large. The Michelada was spicier than I expected, but definitely not unbearable especially with the tang of the pickle to distract your taste buds. It was served with the rest of the beer so that you could keep refilling and the heat and vinegar flavors stayed strong until the end. The Stiff Java was like drinking the best coffee dessert you could ever have - dark and rich, but still sweetly refreshing. The intensity of both drinks was a nice change for a daytime brunch cocktail - instead of feeling light and dainty, these were bold wake-up calls and helped break through the richness of the meals.
The dish that first caught my attention and that I was most excited to try was the steak tartare club. For some reason, I'd actually been craving streak tartare for a few weeks and then the thought of it in sandwich form with bacon? There was no way I was missing out.
Served in traditional triple-decker form with lettuce, bacon, scallions, and yuzu mayonnaise, this is definitely a unique presentation of steak tartare, but an excellent one and there is nothing in the ingredient list I don't love. The beef was tender but not mushy and the flavors blended together very well. I was surprised by little bites of something peppery and spicy that I'm still not sure what it was. I wondered if it was perhaps some rub on the excellently-cooked bacon but I don't think so....whatever it was, it was a great addition. Between that, the citrus of the yuzu mayo, and the scallions, there was so much flavor in what could otherwise be a very boring sandwich. The delicacy of the beef did get a bit lost at times, but then with a different bite, I would taste it all over again and I loved that no bite was the exact same.
The tongue parm was another sandwich that had really piqued my curiosity. I would not call myself a tongue lover but I also wouldn't say I've had a ton of opportunities to eat it. When I first saw pictures of the sandwich online, I assumed that the meat must have been sliced very thin and then cooked to help create the right texture and consistency, but upon actually trying it, I'm pretty sure it was just one solid piece of tongue. One solid piece that was cooked to absolute perfection. I couldn't believe how tender and almost buttery it was. It was like eating an excellent eggplant parm....except not eggplant. I was honestly shocked at how wonderful it was. The tomato sauce wasn't a sweet tomato sauce, but rather, leaned towards the acidic as an excellent complement to the meat and the creamy richness of the mozzarella. Both of those components were good and definitely served their purpose, but the real star of the show was the meat. If you don't think you like tongue, you should try this and let your mind be changed. We also tried the grits. Made with cauliflower, chili shrimp sauce, scallions, and eggs, I knew it would be good but I still managed to be impressed by how good. The grits were excellent - buttery, slightly salty, slightly sweet and the comforting base they're meant to be. Everything was well-cooked, well-seasoned and the chili sauce added as much flavor as heat, cutting down on the richness of the grits and helping the cauliflower to stand out. There was a distinctive shrimp flavor but it certainly wasn't overwhelming; instead, it helped round out the dish.
The potato salad was a nice side to the sandwiches, made with more of tangy mustard dressing which I vastly prefer to overly heavy mayo. Truthfully though, the portions on the sandwiches were large enough (especially the tongue parm!) that the potato salad wasn't really necessary - though I'm not complaining it was there.
All in All
I'm pretty sure no one needs me to confirm that Thirty Acres is a great restaurant (if you do - just know that it is), but I really appreciate that even knowing that and knowing how much I like it, I still manage to go and be thoroughly impressed by the quality of food every time. This brunch in particular was fantastic. I like that there's always something new to try that motivates me to go, like the steak tartare sandwich did, and I highly encourage you to do the same while these items are here. I also love that their brunch menu isn't a traditional eggs/french toast menu (not that those things don't have their place) but has unique dishes right along with the classic ones and I feel confident in saying that anyone can go and find something they will like. Price-wise, it's certainly not cheap, but I don't consider it overly extravagant either. Drinks are all $10 or under and the most expensive menu items are $15. It does get full fast so try to make a reservation or go early.
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