The Brunch Abolitionist

Celeste Voss

Celeste ran a wildly successful brunch restaurant and came away convinced that brunch is a queue wearing hollandaise. She now campaigns for breakfast at home and lunch at lunchtime: crisp eggs, strong coffee, proper sandwiches and zero reservations. She will teach you a perfect poached egg, but she refuses to stack it on a tower or charge it rent. Her recipes recover the pleasure of breakfast from the performance of brunch.

BreakfastEuropeanCafe

Voice · dry, elegant, anti-hype, exacting, wickedly funny

Signature Dishes

The essential curation of Celeste's favorites.

35 MIN

Crisp Potato and Egg Bites with Cheddar and Mustard

Grated potato formed into crisp cups, filled with a runny-centered egg and finished with melted cheddar and a sharp mustard glaze. Breakfast, not brunch, served immediately.

30 MIN

Smoky Pinto Bean Dip with Soft-Poached Egg and Sharp Mustard

A velvety smoked pinto bean dip crowned with a properly soft-poached egg and a sharp mustard finish. No reservations required.

45 MIN

Seared Scallop with Radish and Herb Butter

Pan-seared scallops with a bright herb butter and crisp radish rounds. This is not brunch. It is lunch done properly, or a dinner that knows what it wants.

40 MIN

Roasted Butternut Squash and Mushroom Toasts with Mustard Butter

Crisp toasts piled with caramelized roasted squash and mushrooms, finished with a sharp mustard butter that cuts through the earthiness. Breakfast without the velvet rope.

18 MIN

Sharp Mustard and Parmesan Toasts

Crisp toast crowned with a sharp mustard and Parmesan butter that melts into golden, savory deliciousness. Breakfast, not brunch. Served immediately.

40 MIN

Mushroom and Manchego Bruffins

Savory quick breads baked in a muffin tin with earthy sautéed mushrooms and sharp Manchego — breakfast that refuses to wait in line or wear hollandaise.

15 MIN

Chia Seed Honey Pudding

A silky chia pudding sweetened with honey and vanilla, set overnight for a no-fuss breakfast that doesn't require a reservation or a queue.

50 MIN

Buckwheat Honey Roasted Pears

Pear halves roasted with a earthy buckwheat and honey glaze, finished with a bright squeeze of lemon. No velvet ropes required.

20 MIN

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato and Basil

Soft, buttery scrambled eggs folded with ripe tomato and torn fresh basil. No theater, just a proper savory plate before noon.

25 MIN

Garlic Butter Mushroom Toast

Crisp toasted bread crowned with golden sautéed mushrooms in fragrant garlic butter. Simple, honest, and entirely free of velvet ropes.

45 MIN

Cheesy Potato and Bacon Hash

Crispy-edged potatoes and smoky bacon bound together with melted cheddar. No queues, no hollandaise, no performance. Just a proper savory plate before noon.

18 MIN

Spinach and Cheddar Stuffed Omelet

A proper stuffed omelet with wilted spinach and sharp cheddar folded into a buttery, just-set egg. Served immediately, as eggs should be.

20 MIN

Soft-Poached Egg with Mustard Cream

Two silken eggs on a modest plate, draped in a sharp mustard cream that cuts through the richness. No towers, no velvet ropes. Just breakfast.

35 MIN

Buttery Tomato and Egg Skillet

Soft-set eggs nested in a glossy, buttery tomato sauce — breakfast that doesn't require a reservation or a velvet rope.

20 MIN

Rustic Bread with Tomato and Basil

Toast rubbed with garlic and piled with ripe tomato and torn basil. No towers, no reservations, just good bread doing honest work.

45 MIN

Mustard-Glazed Egg and Spinach Bake

A proper breakfast bake that earns its place on the table without fanfare. Eggs and spinach bound together with a sharp mustard cream, finished with a golden cheese crust. No queues required.

75 MIN

Golden Potato and Cheddar Gratin

A proper gratin: thin potatoes layered with sharp cheddar and a proper cream sauce. No pretense, no towers. Just golden, bubbling comfort on a plate.

25 MIN

Mushroom and Feta Open Toast

Crisp toast piled high with golden sautéed mushrooms, sharp feta, and a squeeze of lemon. This is breakfast without the performance.

22 MIN

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato and Chives

Soft curds of gently scrambled eggs folded with bright, slow-cooked tomato and a shower of fresh chives. Breakfast, not a performance.

40 MIN

Poached Egg with Mustard Butter and Crushed Potato

A proper breakfast plate: a perfectly poached egg with a runny yolk draped over rough-crushed potatoes, finished with sharp mustard butter that pools into the crevices. No towers. No queues. Just breakfast.

30 MIN

Open-faced Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Mushroom, and Cheddar

A proper open-faced egg sandwich: toasted bread crowned with wilted spinach and savory mushrooms, topped with a fried egg and melted cheddar. Served immediately, because breakfast is not a performance.

45 MIN

Coffee-Stout Glazed Mushroom Toast

Crisp toast crowned with buttery sautéed mushrooms and a deeply caramelized onion glaze that channels the bitter intensity of coffee and stout without the queue.

17 MIN

Plain and Perfect Butter-Basted Egg

The butter-basted egg is the quiet alternative to poached and infinitely more forgiving than any hollandaise. A runny yolk, touched by nutty brown butter, served on toast without ceremony or a thirty-minute wait.

40 MIN

Salty Cheese and Potato Rosti

Golden-crusted Swiss-style potato pancakes loaded with sharp cheddar. No queues, no towers, just a proper savory cake with a molten center and a crackling crust. Serve immediately or accept that it will never be as good reheated.

35 MIN

Buttered Toast with Sharp Tomato Jam

Toast slathered with butter and crowned with a fiercely flavored tomato jam that cuts through the richness like a well-placed insult. No velvet ropes required.

11 MIN

Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg with Crisp Soldiers

Two jammy-yolked eggs in their cups, accompanied by golden fingers of buttered toast. No towers. No rent. Just breakfast.

20 MIN

Spinach and Mustard Breakfast Greens

Wilted spinach finished with a sharp mustard butter, crowned with a fried egg. The acid cuts through the egg and butter like it should — no towers, no rent.

22 MIN

No-Wait Mushroom and Cheese Omelet

A no-nonsense omelet with savory sautéed mushrooms and melted cheese, built for eating, not photographing. Crisp edges, runny center, zero velvet ropes required.

45 MIN

Savory Tomato and Egg Bake

A bubbling, golden-brown bake of jammy tomatoes and gently set eggs beneath a blanket of melted cheddar. No reservations required.

35 MIN

Crispy Skillet Potatoes with Spinach

Golden, crisp potato cubes cooked in a single pan until properly caramelized, then wilted with fresh spinach and finished with a touch of butter. No towers, no reservations, just a savory plate that earns your attention.

From the Pantry

Signature staples

eggpotatobreadmustardbuttermushroom

Favorite tools

FryingPanSpatulaSaucepanTimer

Reaches for

eggpotatobreadmustardcheesetomatomushroombutterspinach

Steers clear of

pancake-mixmaple-flavored-syrupedible-flowersoversized-brioche

Flavor Profile

The Loves

runny yolkscrisp potatoesbitter coffeesharp mustardsalty cheese

The Defaults

breakfast served immediatelyacid cutting through egg and butterone excellent pan instead of a tablescapea savory plate before noon

The Avoids

thirty-minute queuestowered foodsyrup on everythingbottomless-anything marketing