Best. Brunch. Ever.

My mom took me to La Croix at the Rittenhouse in Philadelphia. I was super excited. This place had been named by Philadelphia Magazine as the best brunch in Philly. Man oh man. They weren't lying. SO GOOD!

This...http://www.lacroixrestaurant.com/menu_and_wine_cellar/documents/BrunchNov-Dec2010.pdf. This is the beautiful, delicious, amazing, incredible spread we got to devour. We ate for two hours. TWO HOURS! My mom was so full by the end that she felt sick.

I'm just going to give the "oh wow!" super highlights, because almost everything was fantastic. First prize went to the gnocchi with sunchoke and kale, which was unbelievably good. The dish was creamy and savory, and the gnocchi had the perfect consistency. A surprisingly delish dish was the coddled egg, which was maple glazed and topped with fried onions. The texture looked creepy and squishy, but it actually wasn't weird when you ate it, and was surprisingly sweet with a little salty from the onions. The best of the numerous perfectly sized starters was the foie gras mousse with grapefruit. It was the perfect little bite. Savory and smokey from the foie gras, with a tart finish at the end. And my favorite dessert, by far, was the goat cheese panna cotta with sour cherry compote and mini vanilla wafers. The dessert had just enough sweet, but wasn't overpowering. And paired with the crunchy wafer and the tart cherries, it just really came together perfectly. And it, too, came in the perfect size.

I haven't even done justice to this fabulous brunch. Everything was wonderful. The presentation of the food and the layout were pretty spectacular. They served all the hot dishes in the kitchen, so you got to see the work space and the kitchen staff! The service was excellent, attentive, and kept our coffee cups full and hot! And the ambiance of this restaurant was extremely upscale. They gave us a wonderful table for two, which allowed us to look out on the Rittenhouse Square and people watch.

One little warning. This place may give you major sticker shock. Brunch for two, with cocktails, ran us $150 before tip. But I promise it will be the most mind blowing brunch you've ever had.