The Ultimate Brunch Guide: Must-Try Spots in the US

Weekends, and Sundays in particular, have become synonymous with brunch, a meal that became popular with many people, especially those who preferred sleeping in. It is a time when we get together between the hours of 11 am and 3 pm to enjoy a leisurely meal with friends and family, and perhaps a pitcher of bottomless mimosas or Bloody Marys.

The origins of the meal are debatable, but the word was coined by British writer Guy Beringer in 1895 in a Hunter's Weekly article titled, "Brunch: A Plea." The concept of brunch arrived in the U.S. the following year, but it didn't quite catch on until the 1930s. It had previously been a meal enjoyed by the wealthy until it was adopted by the middle class and eventually expanded to the masses.

Brunch has become such a popular occasion that many restaurants not known for serving weekday lunch will fire up their ovens on Sunday (and sometimes also Saturday) mid-morning. But not all brunches are created equal and every establishment has its own take on it. Some restaurants offer more breakfast-centric fare heavy on eggs, pancakes, waffles, and French toast. Others widened the selections, ranging from omelets, eggs Benedict, and quiche to burgers, pasta, and even steak. (If brunch isn't for you, maybe you should check out the best deli in every state.)

While these may not be the only excellent places to grab brunch around the country – there are probably hundreds that deserve to be hailed – they all undeniably deserve a place of honor on 24/7 Tempo's ultimate brunch guide: must-try spots in every state.

Here are the top brunch destinations in the U.S.

• Location: New York, New York
• Specialty dishes: Brioche French toast with smoked bacon and eggs Benedict

This convincing replica of — and homage to — a classic Parisian brasserie has been around for more than 20 years and is noted for its solid cooking and its famous house-baked bread and pastries. Conventional brunch fare is offered but for a more serious, more Parisian, experience, there are also things like oysters, escargots, and steak frites.

• Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Specialty dishes: biscuits and gravy with smoked pork and a sunny-side egg

This friendly tavern-style restaurant advertises "Meat & Whiskey," but offers much more. For brunch, the menu offers a wide range of hearty specialties, including a B.B.E.L.T. sandwich of applewood-smoked bacon, bacon pâté, fried egg, and lettuce and tomato on sourdough bread, and a skillet-baked strawberry rhubarb Dutch pancake with whipped strawberry cream cheese.

The full restaurant menu is also available, if you'd prefer to start your day with butter-roasted salmon, bacon-wrapped meatloaf, or something similarly un-brunchy.

• Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
• Specialty dishes: Turtle soup with a splash of sherry, eggs Benedict made with 16-hour barbecued pork shoulder and buttermilk biscuits

Simply one of the best restaurants in America and a longtime New Orleans favorite, Commander's traces its origins to 1893, and has been in the Brennan family — Crescent City restaurant royalty — since 1974. Its spectacular brunch, accompanied by live jazz, might include such specialties like crispy oyster Sardou salad, wild Louisiana white shrimp with roasted mushrooms and tomatoes, followed by a Creole bread pudding soufflé or pecan pie à la mode for dessert.

• Location: Seattle, Washington
• Specialty dishes: Green garlic, asparagus, and cheddar omelet with a buttermilk biscuit and parmesan potatoes; vegan herb falafel and cashew-yogurt tzatziki with black lentils, cucumber, and orange

The flagship of Seattle celebrity chef-restaurateur Tom Douglas's culinary empire, Dahlia Lounge, opened in 1989, is one of the city's essential restaurants for any meal. The brunch menu is divided into both breakfast and lunch selections.

The former includes the Dahlia Workshop granola with honey yogurt, avocado, fresh berries, and mint, while the latter includes Dungeness crab cake with asparagus, shiitakes, toasted almonds, and pea vines.

• Location: Mystic, Connecticut
• Specialty dishes: Benedict with slow-smoked barbecue, local farm eggs, and cornbread; smoked chipotle barbecue pork ribs with creamy Southern slaw and potato salad

Forget Mystic Pizza. This is Mystic bourbon, craft beer, burgers, and brunch, in a former marine engine factory. Like Dahlia Lounge, Engine Room — under the same ownership as the nearby Oyster Club, considered one of Connecticut's best restaurants — divides its brunch menu into breakfast and lunch sides. There's a dish of Stonington scallops with grits and a six-minute egg, or for lunch, consider a Cobb salad or a fried fish sandwich.

• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Specialty dishes: Lobster or smoked salmon Benedict

The combination breakfast and brunch at this bustling restaurant and lounge begins at 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings, perfect if you like to get an early start (or are getting home really late). Besides the usual pancake and egg dishes, there is avocado toast with poached eggs, and steak and eggs with hollandaise sauce, among other things.

• Location: Austin, Texas
• Specialty dishes: Long-cooked pork called cochinita pibil; chilaquiles

Considered one of the best Mexican restaurants in the country, this colorful "interior Mexican" establishment (a phrase Texans use to differentiate the cuisine from Tex-Mex) serves brunch employing an extensive buffet. Ceviche, tamales, huevos rancheros, mole, and many other Mexican specialties are offered, and the dessert selection is more than ample.

• Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
• Specialty dishes: Avocado toast that adds bacon jam, braised pork, crispy leeks, green chili hollandaise, and fried eggs

A "creative a.m. eatery," Hash Kitchen advertises "Arizona's largest Bloody Mary bar" and a "crazy brunch menu." The usual brunch dishes are available, but so is a memorable carnitas hash (Coke-braised pork with potatoes, corn, avocado, cotija cheese, green chili sauce, and corn tortillas).

• Location: Shelburne, Vermont
• Specialty dishes: Frittata is filled with butternut squash, roasted cauliflower, caramelized onion, heirloom tomato, and Shelburne Farms Tractor Cheddar and served with home fries and toast

Shelburne Farms is a non-profit working farm plus an inn and restaurant. The brunch menu is short, with only nine selections. Food raised or made on the property is featured, though, including the farm's own cheeses and beef, and the fare is substantial.

Possibilities include house-churned-buttermilk pancakes with plum coulis and mascarpone and steel-cut oat risotto with ham, cherry tomatoes, roasted onion, spinach, and Shelburne's own six-month cheddar, plus toast and a poached egg.

• Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Specialty dishes: Fried green tomato Benedict; hot chicken biscuit with sunny-side-up egg

The 1923 vintage brick-and-limestone building now occupied by this handsome bakery and cafe was once the headquarters of the now long-defunct Braniff Airlines. Everything served is "handcrafted each day starting at 4 a.m.," according to the restaurant's website.

The extensive brunch menu has a lot to offer, from entree salads, and sandwiches, to fried chicken pot pie, and "untraditional sides" including sweet potatoes with bacon, goat cheese, and burnt honey.

• Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Specialty dishes: Extravagant brunch buffet, boasting everything from made-to-order omelets to a filet mignon station

Named by Open Table as one of the 100 best restaurants in America for a celebratory dinner, this elegant establishment does a great job with brunch, too. Each table gets a roasted seafood tower to begin, followed by ricotta-truffle agnolotti pasta.

• Location: Miami, Florida
• Specialty dishes: Eggs with truffle potato foam, jamón ibérico, and black truffles

Niu means "nest" in Catalan, and the name seems appropriate for this cozy restaurant full of rustic wood — said by its website to be located "in the heart of downtown Miami. Or somewhere between Dalí's moustache and Gaudí's Sagrada Familia." There's an undeniable Mediterranean flavor to the brunch offerings, which include a codfish and green onion omelet, and Catalan-style rice with seafood.

• Location: Mobile, Alabama
• Specialty dishes: Sausage balls with bread and butter pickles; pickled shrimp with saltine crackers

You know you're in the South when the brunch menu includes cornmeal pancakes with cucumber cream cheese and trout roe, and a fried oyster Benedict with smoked ham and hot sauce. The narrow, high-ceilinged dining room is flooded with light at brunchtime.

• Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
• Specialty dishes: Blackened ribeye with crawfish coleslaw and cheese grits; smoked gouda mac and cheese with portobellos

Capital Hotel chef Joël Antunes was known for his own highly regarded restaurants in Atlanta, London, and other cities before coming to Little Rock. He changes his menus, including the one for brunch, frequently. Right now, in addition to things like pancakes, a frittata, and eggs Benedict, he offers such items as shrimp and grits and a "Capital Soul Plate" including mixed greens simmered with thick-cut bacon, orange soda, and hot sauce; and truffled chicken tenders.

• Location: New York, New York
• Specialty dishes: deviled eggs with black-eyed pea mayo, fried capers, and onion jam; Yep! Chicken & Waffle combining a fried chicken leg and a butterscotch waffle with hot maple-chili sauce and pickles

Stylish chef Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised chef-restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson lives near this Harlem hotspot and has been an animating presence in the community. His menus are mainly Southern, with a personal twist. For brunch, he offers such fare as C & C Salad with shaved cauliflower, corn, watermelon, bacon, peanuts, and berbere (Ethiopian spice mix) vinaigrette; and Mama's Breakfast Pie with Korean bbq oxtail, creamy potatoes, and baked eggs.

• Location: Los Angeles, California
• Specialty dishes: Brioche French toast with Vermont maple syrup; breakfast sandwich of pork belly sausage, American cheese, and fried egg

The brunch menu at this handsome, popular restaurant is a study in international breakfast and lunch fare: Belgian waffle, Austrian pancakes, French omelet (with goat cheese), shakshouka (from Israel), pupusas (from El Salvador), kimchi fried rice with beef short rib, Mexican chilaquiles or chorizo sopes. There are also things like granola with farmer's market fruit.

• Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
• Specialty dishes: "Death by Gumbo," a gumbo with roasted quail, andouille sausage, and oysters; beer-battered crab beignets

This plush, opulent dining room at the Royal Sonesta Hotel serves modern Cajun and Creole cuisine as imagined by well-known chefs John Folse and Rick Tramonto. Brunch, accompanied by live jazz, features things like shrimp and egg crêpe with tomatoes, fontina, and grilled corn chow-chow; and a Breakfast R'evolution, combining a foie gras and corn muffin, sugar-cured ham, poached eggs, and black truffle hollandaise.

• Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Specialty dishes: Smoked beet tartare with cumin yogurt and goat gouda; roasted turkey sandwich with bacon, lettuce, and sundried tomato aïoli

Part of Chicago's popular Boka Restaurant Group, and occupying a dazzling dining room on the site of the 1920s-era Cedar Hotel, Somerset checks a lot of boxes with its extensive brunch menu – gooey butter coffee cake, passion fruit pop tart, everything bagel with lox, ham, and cheddar omelet, and fried chicken with French toast and sriracha honey.

• Location: Atlanta, Georgia
• Specialty dishes: Pan-fried chicken livers with country ham, pimento cheese with pickles and benne seed crackers, she-crab soup

This warmly lit two-level restaurant is Southern all the way. Fried green tomatoes, fried chicken with collard greens (or with a malted buttermilk waffle), smoked brisket Benedict with Creole mustard hollandaise and pickled jalapeños, Charleston gold rice porridge with stewed okra, turnips, spinach, and poached eggs. This is weekend morning comfort food at its best.

• Location: Oxon Hill, Maryland
• Specialty dishes: Pimento cheeseburger with slab bacon jam; pecan sticky buns, bourbon-pickled jalapeños

Top Chef contestant Ed Lee, who came to prominence cooking in Louisville, now has two branches of a Southern-style restaurant dubbed Succotash, one in Washington, D.C., and this one in the multi-part National Harbor complex, just down the Potomac from the nation's capital.

Succotash's brunch was voted as one of the 100 best in America by Open Table. The menu includes peel'n'eat shrimp, shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, and side dishes include watermelon with fried peanuts, and succotash curry.

• Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
• Specialty dishes: SP Eggs Benedict with grilled taro English muffins, kalua pork, and poached eggs with two hollandaise sauces (truffle and guava); macadamia-nut-crusted fried chicken with a chocolate-chip-and-applewood-bacon crispy waffle with coconut glaze

Brunch Hawaiian style, with a focus on pork (as the restaurant's name might suggest), and other dishes like an omelet with smoked gouda, applewood-smoked bacon, and caramelized bourbon onions; and a flatbread pizza with 12-hour slow-roasted pork, garlic oil, bourbon onions, braised mushrooms, Fresno chiles, and mozzarella, jack, and parmesan cheese.