Across the country, everyone can agree that breakfast remains the most important meal of the day. However, getting up at 8 am to meet friends and family for a lovely Sunday breakfast can prove too tiring and start the day off on the wrong foot. While lunch starts later and can be equally as filling, sometimes you’re craving a stack of pancakes just around noon. That’s where the birth of brunch revolutionized the restaurant industry.
Brunch restaurants have caught on in recent years and have offered patrons the combination of a filling morning meal with the creativity of lunch specials to create a unique entity. Sunday brunch in Yardley, PA, has become a staple of holidays like Mother’s Day, weekly meet-ups with friends, and a way for people to come together. But how did this new restaurant staple begin, and how did it become one of the world’s favorite meals?
The Early History of Brunch
Before brunch spots and menus could be found on the corner of every major city in the country, this breakfast and lunch hybrid has a history dating back to Catholic and English traditions. The first time the word “brunch” was officially used was in an 1895 issue of “Hunter’s Weekly” by Guy Beringer.
After people participated in early morning hunts in England, they wanted a feast that would celebrate their bounty. Since they would often make it back around lunchtime, cooks would provide breakfast and lunch options for the returning hunters.
Catholic churches would also offer parishioners with food after Sunday services. These meals would be held on the premises after they had fasted in the morning before Mass. Depending on the time of the service, both breakfast and lunch options were provided to people.
Gaining Popularity in America
By the 1930s, brunch started to gain speed and traction through the popular actors of the time and their transcontinental train trips. Traveling from California to New York City and back, these publicity tours would take the actors through Chicago on the way. The timing would work where they would arrive around midday, sleep later, and still get a hearty meal before continuing their travels.
However, brunch became the staple of American cuisine with the rise of women joining the workforce. Instead of spending all of their time either at work or in the dining room preparing dinner for the family, they would push for going out to eat with the entire family on a day where they could all be together — Sunday.
Modern Brunch Staples
Brunch’s popularity has rarely fallen since World War II — with restaurants across the country from the Upper West Side of NYC to Yardley, PA, modern brunch has taken on various forms. With restaurants offering bottomless brunch, a dizzying array of menu options, and other new and innovative options, brunch has become a culinary staple for many people.
Modern brunches usually feature a wide variety of breakfast and lunch options that represent both meals equally. However, some places have begun finding creative ways to incorporate both meals into one dish, combining the best of both worlds. Utilizing their culinary expertise and creativity to bring inventive new dishes to the brunch table.
With a range of breakfast burritos, egg sandwiches, burgers, and omelettes combining the best of both meals, brunch-goers can find the perfect meal for their Sunday trips out with friends and family at Mil-Lee’s Yardley Diner. Stop by and see how our brunch menu has remained a Yardley staple for years!
