Famously known as the stomping grounds of Jake on Republic of Doyle, and more importantly, somewhere I spent many days during graduate school, the Duke of Duckworth isn't all beer, and fish and chips, they actually have a pretty tasty brunch menu on Saturday and Sunday's. A friend and I headed down for brunch on a beautiful Sunday morning and literally waited for The Duke to open at 11:00 am to have brunch. For those who have never been to The Duke, it's a small, English style pub, that is often frequented by locals to eat, drink beer, and watch sports. The atmosphere is fantastic, and the decorations even better - who wouldn't want to drink at a bar with a Jester lamp?
After picking a seat perfectly situated to watch the soccer match, the waiter/bartender wasted no time giving us our menus and had a cup of coffee placed in front of us. I was quickly enticed to order a Caesar after I spotted one being delivered to a nearby table, which was definitely a very good decision for Sunday brunch at a bar. We both ordered eggs benny, and after placing the order, I really hoped the eggs were poached soft, as the waiter didn't ask our preference.
The order did not take long, and immediately I could tell the hollandaise was homemade, it wasn't as creamy as I would have liked (and there wasn't enough for my liking either), but you could taste the black pepper and it was good. I hoped that my soft poached egg would add some richness to the sauce - it didn't, because the eggs were poached medium. Sad. The English muffin was very lightly toasted, and instead of a ham steak, there was about 4 pieces of thinly sliced deli ham. The ham had been been fried and had been seasoned with pepper. I must say, I did enjoy the flavor. The hashbrowns were superb! They were pan fried with pieces of onion and I would suspect some bacon fat. If I were to guess further, they may have been pan fried in a cast iron skillet, as it just had delicious flavour that only cast iron can create. Definitely not your typical deep fried hashbrowns, but I have come to the conclusion that deep fried hashbrowns does not necessarily mean good - it can just mean greasy! So, I did enjoy the hashbrowns, as is, with no ketchup, or extra hollandaise.
Overall, how does the Duke of Duckworth rank in eggs Benedict? Not bad, I must say. I did enjoy the meal, it was full of flavor. The English muffin could have been toasted a bit more, and I wish the waiter asked if I preferred a soft poached egg, as that would have added to the richness of the hollandaise. I definitely give props to the homemade hollandaise, however there needed to be more of it! For $12.99, it was a pretty good price for a pretty good meal, and the Caesar, well, who can mess that up?
The Duke of Duckworth, I give you a 3/5. Not bad for a bar!
