Chatterbox Pub, Highland Park
After a morning spent helping my good friend, David Wakely move into a cute little place in Highland Park, David treated all his helpers to brunch at the Chatterbox. I have frequented the establishment located on 35th Street East and 23rd Avenue South in Minneapolis but hadn’t yet made it to the St. Paul location.
The Chatterbox Benedict included a meat option of top sirloin, smoked peppered turkey or smoked ham. I chose the smoked ham because I wanted to get as close to the Classic Benny as possible before branching out to new and exciting meat choices. Instead of an english muffin they served the poached eggs and smoked ham atop toasted focaccia bread. The menu said it is drizzled with a smoked paprika Hollandaise and accompanied by green onion hashbrowns.
From bottom to top:
I liked the toasted focaccia bread as a substitute for the classic english muffin. It has a difference in flavor from the sometimes bland muffin and remained crispy under the weight of the rest of the Benny ingredients.
The ham was so-so. The flavor was average and since it was thin, they had to compensate by layering. Me? Not a big fan of layering. I like my meat thick.
The eggs were great! They did a wonderful job with the poaching. Poaching Pro’s!
The Hollandaise was good but it was neither smokey nor could I taste the paprika. Now I know most people say that paprika is just for color, but I disagree and my palate knows the difference. They either forgot to add the smokiness and paprika this day or the menu is wrong. Nevertheless, it really didn’t need anything additional since the Hollandaise was good without adding anything.
All in all, I enjoyed the Benny from the Chatterbox Pub. When I go back, I plan to ask about the Smokey Paprika Hollandaise and hopefully get to try that. Maybe I’ll even get the peppered turkey! That sounds like a party!
