Fat Man Reviews K.
Yelp
The Fat Man's wife loves brunch. So, we found a neat little café around the corner from our hotel. 1886 Café and Bakery serves baked goods plus daytime American fare in a Victorian tearoom-style setting in the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas.
My wife tried the Austin American Breakfast. This came with two eggs in any style (ordered scrambled), a choice of bacon, sausage, ham (bacon ordered), country potatoes, and multigrain toast. Her eggs were fluffy but lacked seasoning. The yellow and purple potatoes were seasoned well but could use a crunch from the grill, as they were exceptionally soft. The sweet potato, though, was lovely and cooked well. The bacon was thin but crunchy and had a good flavor. The toast had a good amount of butter, crunch, and chew.
I had the Croque Madame made with shaved ham, gruyère cheese, sourdough bread, sunny-side egg, pepper jack mornay, crispy fingerling potatoes, and jalapeño chimichurri. The potatoes were cooked and seasoned perfectly, and the chimichurri was fresh and had a good heat level. The egg was overcooked, but it had a creaminess to it. The bread was lightly toasted and offered a good chew, while the ham was sliced thin with a nice saltiness. The cheese melted perfectly and gave a nice gooey texture to the bite. The pepper jack mornay was good but lacked a heat punch that the dish needed.
I also tried Breakfast in a Cup with Jameson, orange Juice, butterscotch syrup, and spicy maple bacon. The bacon has an excellent spicy flavor; it was crunchy and good to chew, but it lacked sweetness. The orange juice was refreshing, and the butterscotch came through on a sweet note at the end. It had some Tajin on the rim.
1886 offers a good-sized menu of sandwiches, signature entrees, and brunch items. They also have a full bar. The Fat Man says that 1886 Café and Bakery is Fat Man Approved with 1 chin.