Brunch Cafes: The Ultimate Local Experience

Brunch Cafe's: The Ultimate Local Experience

When you’re traveling, some of the best experiences don’t come from big attractions… they come from where you choose to eat.

In this episode, we talk about why supporting locally owned businesses matters and how it directly impacts the communities we visit. From funding local events to keeping small towns thriving, where you spend your money really does make a difference.

We share why local brunch cafés have become our go-to “sweet spot” on the road. They bring together great food, local flavor, and that sense of community you just can’t get from a chain. Most of them are one-of-a-kind spots, open early, closing around 2 PM, and serving up breakfast favorites with a local twist.

We also dive into what makes these places special. Fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Regional flavors you won’t find anywhere else. Bulletin boards filled with local events. Shelves with handmade goods. And those small, real conversations that give you a glimpse into what life is actually like there.

Of course, we know chains have their place when you need something quick or familiar. But if you really want to experience a destination, we believe brunch cafés are where it starts.

This episode is for those who want to travel deeper, connect more, and eat really good food along the way.

Transcript

We are the Essary family and we're exploring America one destination at a time. Today on TravelEssary, we are going to discuss ultimate local experience when traveling. Let's chat. Welcome and thank you for joining us on this episode as we talk about the ultimate local experience, the experience that is unlike any other experience. Oh man, no matter where you go, this is the experience that you want to experience. So we are always big pushers when it comes to eat local, travel local, shop local as much as possible. And today we're gonna talk about. Our newfound favorite of ours? I don't wanna say it's newfound. I believe it's something that we've always tried to do. We've always tried to do, but like we realize now, like just how important it is. . We used to go really wide. We used to go any mom and pop place. Mm-hmm. Was the place that you wanted to go. And now we've kind of narrowed it down to like the. Ultimate local experience. Yeah. And, okay, so before we get into this, real quick, I wanna talk about why it's so important to shop local, travel local, eat local. And we have mentioned this a few times, but in case you have not heard that, let's talk about it. Whenever you support. You're locally owned businesses, then you are supporting that community. You're supporting the people who live, eat, and breathe there. You're not just supporting big giant corporations, you're supporting the everyday person that are just trying to survive in this life. Just like you and me, you're also supporting all of the events and festivities that go on in that community who pays for all of the things that you're attending that community, someone in that community, whether it's the city or a company or a person. It is being sponsored by the people locally 90% of the time. So whenever you're supporting them and they're supporting the community, and then you get the benefits of reaping, you know, a beautiful environment we just went through. A place a few days ago, and it was absolutely gorgeous. And we were talking about how it's so gorgeous because it's a big like touristy retirement community and all these tourists go through and pay all this stuff and it enables this city and the community to make it even more beautiful. It's a grow even more. And so that's the thing though, is we kinda wanna be very specific because we're not talking about the manufacturers that are in that community. We're not talking about the, the. You know, especially where we come from, there's 3M and Kohler, the big manufacturers, and they do sponsor a lot that's going on, but it's the mom and pops. It's the local people that are sponsoring. So you don't get sponsored by Chili's or, yeah. , Those box name brands. Mm-hmm. A bales or something like that. It's always like the, the privately owned hardware store or the cafe or the floor shop. Yes. Those are the ones that you get sponsored by. And these are entrepreneurs that either at a young age or an old age or their dream is to own X, Y, and Z, and they do everything that they can for that community because the community is the one that supports them. But we as travelers, we as people that are going into their community, can help support their community and keep the money local. That's the biggest thing, keeping the money local because if you go to a box brand, a, you know, a nationwide chain, that money is gonna go to corporate. Wherever the corporate office is, that's where it's going. And so that's why we're so big about shopping local and eating locals because then that money turns around and goes back into the community and allows them to not only continue their lifestyle, but also continue supporting all the different events because, you know, who knows, two or three extra thousand people that come through to support that may support a new event that happens, that will bring in even more people. Yes. And if you want the ultimate local experience, then we think in our humblest opinion that you need to go to a local brunch cafe. Guys, we cannot emphasize that enough. And we're gonna tell you what a, a true brunch cafe is. Yeah. What qualifies. But man, as a local brunch cafe, it is the place to go. And we're gonna tell you why. So what is a local brunch cafe? So from what we have gathered through our travels and our experiences, there are three things that all of our favorite local brunch cafes. Three rules, they all follow. One, they all close by. Two. Yes. If it says they close at two, you're almost guaranteed it's gonna be an amazing place to eat. Okay. They close at two in the afternoon. , Two, they serve some type of breakfast. And they usually serve it until closing. Like it's usually an all day breakfast if you breakfast, so choose B all the time, and they close by 2:00 PM and three, it is the only one. In existence. , Not not just in that city or area or region. I'm talking about the only one in existence. Yes. And I'm gonna go with number four. It needs to open by like five or six o'clock in the morning. It's gotta, it's gotta open early. The one we went to last time opened at seven, so, so it may not quite fit in because it's gotta get the local coffee drinkers. Yeah. It's gotta be somewhere that opens early enough for a breakfast. And the coffee drinkers four work. Yes. So that's what we consider a local brunch cafe if it follows those three main rules. . There are some other ones we could add in, but some of them follow and some of them don't. But those seem to be the three that are across the board from all the places that we have visited. And why should you visit them? Because it's the sweet spot between food and culture and the local experience. It's so much better than going to like Denny's or IHOP or Waffle House, like I can't even begin. To explain the difference in the food and the experience. Don't get me wrong, we at one time were like IHOP people, and mostly because our young people forced us to be IHOP people, and it was tradition and we just kept it going. But whenever we started experiencing more and more of these local brunch cafes outside of our own local community, I think we became accustomed to what was offered in our community. And so we didn't really. Put as much emphasis into them, I guess. But then as we began traveling and experiencing more and more of them, we realized like how amazing and precious these spots are. So number one, you're going to get local flavors and ingredients. And we can speak from experience because we try to carry on some type of conversation with , the waiting staff or anyone , that's serving us or even trying our best to get, , the owners to have a conversation with us. 'cause , we just wanna know more about it. Mm-hmm. Because we love them that much and we believe that you will too. But they bring in as much local ingredients. Yes. There's one that we visited, and all of their produce came from a local farmer's market. All of their produce came from that. And I think that's also, and because they're supporting locals as a well in that, and so it just creates a chain of support. Well, and they're getting that freshness. Mm-hmm. And so it's not something that's store bought or something that had to come from somewhere else. I know. , Our own local, , brunch spot that, that everyone goes to, they get true, , eggs, true eggs, true farm eggs. Okay. Like it's not, they're not all like pale white. They all come in different colors. Like they just got 'em right off the farm. Yeah. And. If you know, you know, but there's a difference in the yolk color Yes. And how they taste coming from people who have raised chickens. And it makes it, it makes the ingredients and makes what , you're eating just so much better. Yeah. We've been to places where they have told us and advertised that all of their beef was, , bought locally. Local. Local butcher. Yes. Source the locally. And I think that's so great because. W for multiple reasons. Again, you're creating this chain of support in that community, which I think is fantastic. And two, it gives you the traveler an opportunity to really taste local flavors. Yeah, the local cuisine, and it could have been fishermen last night, bring their catches in early in the morning and you're having like fresh fish that, , were just caught. Mm-hmm. Or shrimp or something of that nature. Or you're having like the fresh vegetables that got picked that morning. The ingredients. I promise you the ingredients will change the experience in so many good ways. Yes. So, um, let's talk about Alabama for a minute. We went to one there, we went to a brunch cafe. Yes. And it was very like your grandma's kitchen. Yeah. It was very much like you were sitting in your grandma's kitchen, the environment, which we'll get to that in a minute. But the food tasted like your grandma made it. And whether your grandma's a good cook, I don't know. But , that's what it felt like. It felt like you were eating grandma's breakfast. , And I don't say this in a bad way. Well, I guess I kind of do, but the way that they prepare their food is totally different from a chain that prepares their food. Yes. And it tastes so much better. It's made with love. It's made with love. It's kindness. It's made with time. Yeah. And. It. It's something that, you know, they're not just pulling outta the freezer, throwing in the microwave mm-hmm. And trying to serve it to you. It's something that is cooked fresh and. The ingredients make the difference. Yeah. So in Texas, , you're gonna get a lot of locally sourced beef and you're gonna get a lot of, , those Texas beef cattle that we raised there, which, or fresh fruit. As we traveled, we have started noticing that cows outside of Texas are small. Like we have big beefy cows in Texas. Now granted we've only been to two places that really have cows. A lot of cows, , but they're like half the size of our cows and , they're pretty small. I don't know if, just 'cause we feed them. Corn or whatever else that they get. But yeah, they're bigger in Texas. I guess our cows are bigger, but right now we're here in Florida and everything is citrusy. Yes. Everything is they have some sort of citrus, something like, we went to this place called Twisted Biscuits and , , our waitress was telling us the biscuits of the day, so they have. Four main biscuits. And then, and I found this out because whenever I tagged them in one of our social media posts, the owner actually commented on it or whoever manages their social media. And they told me that they have 30 plus flavors that they rotate. So they have their foreign main biscuits that they serve every day, and then they have 30 other flavors that they. We'll rotate and do, and on that list is a citrus like orange, raspberry biscuit, which sounds amazing to me, which sounds so good to me. But it's, it's really unique whenever you're eating locally like this and you go to different regions, different states, or. Wherever it is, then you're getting that flavors, things that are grown and bred right there locally, and , it's a really good way to experience those flavors, which is, it's crazy to say because,, you go to your local grocery store and , you purchase, say orange juice and. You drink it and you're like, oh, this is the best thing ever. But then you go to one of these brunch places, mainly here in Florida because they have a plethora of fresh oranges mm-hmm. That don't have to go through all the factories and everything else that goes on. And then you get a fresh hand squeezed orange juice and it tastes so much better, so much better. It's, yes, it's crazy. And I'm not saying they're doing anything weird or anything to the food that goes into the grocery stores. I don't know, maybe they are, but there's a difference between it all. And I can't wait to go up north, especially more on the East coast and get a little bit more seafood. That's actually, well, even outside the, you know, in the sea. Yeah. Even here in Florida. , We have access to way more seafood than we do at home in Texas. , Yes. , There was a stuffed crab biscuit uhhuh. You're not getting stuffed crab biscuits at a brunch cafe in Texas. You're just not getting that stuff. Not anything fresh, I'll tell you that. So I thought that was fun and unique. But another thing that , is a good experience, I guess, is this one's my favorite. It reflects the local community. Okay. That one's not my favorite. Okay. What? It's my next one. The one after this one. This is my next, this is my favorite. So when you go to a local brunch cafe, you're going to be a part of a local community, and this is in, . Several different ways. One way, and Jeremy and I were just talking about this, is we went into one, , last week when you walked in there was a bulletin board and it had flyers of yard cells and local events and things going on at the schools. And it was just full of local, small town community things that if you wanted to go be a part of, you could be a part of. But , it was a great way to. Get knowledge, , to get information of what was going on in that community. Get a local feel of what's happening. , In our own personal experiences, we eat a lot. We used to eat a lot of chilies., Cotton patches, any of , those box stores, you go in there, there's no poster boards for any advertisement of anything? No. Besides them, because a lot of times when things are ran by big corporations, they're not allowed to advertise or promote or sponsor,, small town things. They're just not a, whenever you get those mom and pops. They love letting people know what's going on because they know that is gonna turn around and benefit them as well. Yeah. So, yes, and the great thing , is even if you have a wait, how many times have you been bored, , or jumping on your phone because you have a 30 minute wait and there's nothing to do, but you can go into a mom and pop. And have a 15, 20 minute wait and read. I've never even had to wait that long , and read all this different stuff that's on the billboard about what's going on and be, and then you can plan your day out by just the things that are on the bulletin. That you didn't even think about? I don't think we've ever waited very long at one of these brunch cafes ever. , They're usually pretty quick. There has been a few that we've had to wait like five, 10 minutes at the most. Mm-hmm. In order , to get in , and see, because we had a larger group with us, but, and there's several of them that we have been in. And they are like, when you go to checkout in the front or something like that, they will have a counter full of stuff of local products. Like one went to and it had like, um, crocheted stuffies that someone had made and was selling there and it had key change that someone had created and was selling there. And it allowed people in that community to sell different things there in that cafe. So you're getting like local art. Local things like that. Yeah. Also, it's the best way to find local gossip. Okay. So yeah, this, this one is my favorite. Then with like all the old men, oh man, are there before sunrise and it's, you'll walk in at a certain time in the morning and it is nothing but older gentlemen drinking coffee and just chatting away. , It's one of those awesome things that if you can do it and be conspicuous about doing it, . Don't be very blatant, but going in and sitting in a booth or even a table that's surrounded or in the general area of all the old men that have come in that just have coffee in front of 'em. Mm-hmm. They're not really eating anything and then just eavesdrop on 'em. Well, you don't even have to do that because I promise you they want conversations. Yeah. That's why they're there. Most of 'em are very loud. I used to go with my grandfather to these, so before my grandfather passed away when I was younger, I would go every morning with him to our local cafe and he would buy me a little biscuit and some milk and he would just have his coffee. But he went just for that conversation with the other gentleman in our community, and I don't know if y'all know this or not, but there used to be an old show called Cheers. Oh my gosh. Where everyone knows your name. And stop. You're gonna get us like copyrighted or something. Whenever some of these guys walk in, like three or four other guys, they'll be like, Hey Jim, how's it going? You know, and they all know each other. They're all talking about what's going on in the community or what's going on in their lives, , whether it be national news or whether it be a local election or , the football game coming up on Friday. Yeah, I promise you, if you wanna go in and talk about the local community or you have questions about it, they're probably going to give you way more information than your local visitor center stories history. And it may not even be correct, but it's gonna be interesting. It's gonna be, you know, it's gonna be about , the fish that they caught at the local lake that's probably grown five times the size that it normally did, it can be very fun and enjoyable. Yeah. If, I'm assuming they do this up north too. I don't know. We've only been in the southern states so far, and everyone we've been to, they have these brunch cafes. I'm assuming this is nationwide. , You definitely find them in the smaller communities. Mm-hmm. Because they're more community intertwined than a lot of your larger places. But now they got to Yeah. I feel like it's gotta be nationwide. We're definitely gonna find some. But they're definitely there. Another thing about these local brunch cafes is that they are family friendly without the gimmicky commercial vibe, like a, A Denny's or a ihop or McDonald's or something like that. , I can't say all of them. Most of them are gonna be very friendly. Oh no. We've been in some very unfriendly ones. They still have excellent food, but the staff was not friendly. Well, they're very friendly to the children as far as like , the older guys and stuff like that, that Oh, yeah. They're trying to be kind , and nice. , They know that you are a visitor. Mm-hmm. Or that you're someone new to their community, their little area. And, , they try to do their best they can to. Make you feel a part of it as well. , , but yeah, , you get away from all , the gimmicky stuff. Yeah. Which is really nice. Some diners are kinda gimmicky, as in like they have themes, like the diners have 50 themes or, yeah. We're not really talking about that though. Yeah. More like it feels very impersonal. Yes, very impersonal. Like the waiting stuff is nice. They're like, Hey, here's your seat and they bring you your food and the drinks and everything, but they don't say anything beyond that. . Yeah. One of my favorite things about visiting this, which we talked about, , like local flavors, ingredients, but dishes, I didn't even know existed. , The other day we went and had tomato gravy. I'd never heard of tomato gravy. I haven't either before, haven't Jeremy did not like it. Nope. I loved it. It was so good. So I love being introduced to new dishes whenever it comes to mm-hmm. These local brunch cafes. I love, I'm always researching what is the local dish of this state or this region, or something like that. Yeah. But I feel like , if you're doing that at a local brunch cafe, then. You're getting the true version of that dish. Oh yeah. Because they're cooking that dish like fresh and taking the time and how they've been making it for years. Years. They've been making it years for years. You know, we went to one place and they're like, oh yeah, this is my great grandma's recipe. And we're like, what? It's like, oh yeah, we've been cooking the same recipe for 120 years. , Oh my goodness. That's why it tastes so good. , And on top of that, I wanna add. A local brunch cafe doesn't mean you're only gonna get heavy, , fat filled portions. No. No, because we have one that just opened up in our local community last year, and they actually serve more of the healthy versions of breakfast. It's still , a fantastic brunch cafe, but , they do healthier versions of your normal breakfast. Right? And it's delicious. Not all of 'em are gonna be heavy on the grease. , There's gonna be those that are gonna serve , a little bit more of what you would consider a true brunch. Yeah. We went to one in Waxahatchee in Texas, and it. , I ended up getting some sort of salad at the brunch place, but it was so good. Like a strawberry salad or something. Yeah. And it was fresh. It was so good. So, yeah, it doesn't mean you're, it's only like sausage and gravy and biscuits and all. We do love those, don't get me wrong. Yeah. Which , you really can't beat for breakfast, but you will also have plenty of healthy options. A again, it just depends on what community you're in, but I think no matter what community you're in, you should embrace. Those local flavors and customs and ingredients and community , and I just, I truly, truly believe this is one of the best ways to do that. I totally agree. , , it's making me hungry right now. It really is. By going to one of those, one of a kind. Local brunch places where you know, the locals go mm-hmm. And support it. And , that's always like , the key factor in our decision making. On most occasions, whenever we're looking for a place. How many local cars are there. Mm-hmm. If we pull into the parking lot, you know, say we're in Florida, , we pull into the parking lot and there's nothing but New York and Minnesota people there. That's probably not the place we want to go. No. We're gonna be looking for more Florida plates than any other plates. Mm-hmm. Because we know that it's gonna be good local food at that point in time. Yeah. And it's not that we don't. Think these other places are good. You know, we like a good chain restaurant just as much as the next person. Oh yeah. But we really want to experience the community and , immerse ourselves in the food and the culture. Because to me, if you're traveling just to go do the same things you're already used to and you already know, like why are you even traveling? Well, if you're just traveling, just the. Do something like why are you even there and not to experience something. Yes. That's the difference between doing something and experiencing something. Then it's almost like you needing a vacation. After a vacation. You're doing something wrong. Yeah., You should go do something. And experience the localness as well. The localness, because , it's too easy to do. , The easiest way is always food. And there's always gonna be a local mom and pop store somewhere. Yes. Always. Yes. And so experiencing that, which are almost always the best foods. When I go, we can't say always though. I said almost, but , they're almost always the best foods because lately when I've been going to chain restaurants, I've been so. Disappointed. And I think it's because we have been eating so much locally, like all of these local restaurants as we travel, that when I do go to a chain restaurant, I'm just like, man, it's not the same. It's not the same. It's just not. Sometimes it's the only options we have. Yeah. When we're on travel days especially, are you looking for a really quick stop? Yeah. And , you go on Google and you're like, Hey, pull up restaurants, fast food, it's gonna be fast. Something big enough to pull the RV into. Yeah. Then you know they're gonna be pulling up. You're your normal a Hello Cracker Barrel. Yeah. Which we, I mean, cracker Barrel is, we love Cracker Barrel. If you order the right things, you gotta get the right things. I mean, but same thing with, you know, going to, it's not really a brunch at this point in time, but you start getting a little bit more lunch stuff like the hamburgers and stuff like that. Mm-hmm. And like even the hamburgers just taste different Yes. Than going to McDonald's or Burger King or, or one of those other burger places. It. It's just different and it's usually a whole lot better because of their ingredients. The environment, and the community is all wrapped in wine. Yeah, and real quick, just a little side thing. Doesn't really have anything to do with brunch cafes, but it does have to do with food and eating locally. So we have learned that, , all fast food chains do not exist everywhere. And one fun thing for us is trying new fast food chains. I'm gonna be honest, we're still disappointed like 75% of the time, but every now and then we find this fast food chain that we're like. That was amazing. That was so good. So when we pass another one, we know, hey, we might wanna stop there. But I feel like for the most part, fast food change, all taste the same. , so it's really cool going and experiencing , and that's one of our rules in case anyone needs more rules for vacation. You don't need anything that is in your city. Yeah. That you have at home. You have to try something new, which isn't hard for us 'cause we live in a small community. Yeah. , And we prefer the mom and pop stores anyway. Yeah. Really. We only eat chains if there's just not a lot of options. Or if it's near us or we're too tired to do any kinda research and we're like, Hey, let's just get this quick. We got a cranky hungry 2-year-old. Yeah. It's And we gotta eat now. Yeah. Then , we're driving through. We're gonna grab something and we're gonna move on., I know that some of y'all know this, but for those that don't get out outside , their little bubble, even like the local places. Matter of fact, I'll talk about where we come from. There are three sonics and all three sonics taste totally different from each other. 📍 You all have different experiences, so just because. One restaurant is bad in one city. Doesn't mean that it's absolutely horrible in the other city, but that doesn't also mean that if it's good in your city, it's gonna be good somewhere else. So try the local mom and pop. Majority of the time, you will not be disappointed.