I recently attended a wedding in Buffalo, NY. The reception and ceremony itself were held at Asbury Hall on a Saturday night, where we enjoyed a lovely reception with ... gasp, actual tasty food by Exquisite Catering. No, seriously, the swordfish was mind-blowingly good, I would have been happy with it at a restaurant, let alone a catered event. The next morning, the bride and groom hosted a brunch at the hotel where they had a hotel block, the Hyatt Regency.
Ojan and I stayed at the hotel for 2 nights. It was a basic Hyatt Regency. Rooms were large, but the carpet was stained, the bathroom cramped, the AC didn't really work, and it smelt pretty bad. That is about all I have to say about the hotel.
I didn't exactly have high expectations for their catered breakfast - a large conference hotel wasn't really going to have anything good, right? I was wrong. I expected to nibble my way through the buffet, and go out to lunch right after. Instead, I basically needed to be rolled out of there. I ate ... uh, way too much. And it was good.
I believe my hosts opted for the "Hyatt Signature Continental" package, with fruit, cereal, and baked goods, for $18.95 per guest. It also included coffee, tea, and juices. They upgraded with a hot food package, the "Country Breakfast", for an additional $9.95 per person.
We had a dedicated room in the Grand Ballroom, with formal set tables (cloth tablecloths and napkins, ice water on the tables, etc). The setup was a buffet, replenished very frequently by the busy staff. Coffee was done as a table service, which was a bit confusing, since everything else, including juices, were part of the buffet. And the staff didn't really do a great job of offering coffee. I spent a lot of time tracking them down for more (not that I should have, the coffee, decaf at least, was really not good). It would have been easier to just have a coffee station, and I'm not sure why they went for table service for that part. The staff also were quick to whisk away your plate and cutlery, the moment you put your fork down. A bit annoying if you were like me and planning return visits to the buffet. I was constantly seeking out fresh silverware.
But, complaints about the actual setup and staffing aside, it really was a successful brunch, and, as I said, I ate way, way too much. Major shout out to the incredible scrambled eggs (yes, really) and the danishes!
Continental Breakfast
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| Local and Seasonally Inspired Fruit Platter. |
The hot selections came next in line, but I'll finish reviewing the continental selections first.
Yes, photographer fail. Who thought I'd be reviewing this anyway?
The buffet concluded with a selection of Kellogg/s cereals, like many hotel breakfasts. There was also rather randomly a dried fruit selection (raisins, cranberries, pineapple, banana). I guess they were to add to cereal? Individual pints of milk (skim, 2%, whole) completed the lineup.
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| Cereal, dried fruit, milk. |
The buffet concluded with a selection of Kellogg/s cereals, like many hotel breakfasts. There was also rather randomly a dried fruit selection (raisins, cranberries, pineapple, banana). I guess they were to add to cereal? Individual pints of milk (skim, 2%, whole) completed the lineup.
I would never normally opt for cereal, but, I was really uninspired by the previous items in the buffet (before tasting the food, that is, I was judging based on looks alone), so I grabbed one as backup. I really wish I hadn't, as it turned out some of the other food was delicious, and I should have never wasted precious stomach space on generic cereal that I could get anywhere.
I opted for the Cinnamon Chex. It was, well, Cinnamon Chex. A mix of cinnamon flavored and regular Chex. The plain ones were really boring, but the cinnamon ones at least had a bit of flavor. I didn't care for the cereal itself, but it did leave my milk a lovely cinnamon flavor. I drank the sweet cinnamon milk, and it reminded me a little bit of horchata. I also added some of the sweet cinnamon milk to my otherwise nasty coffee, and it definitely helped there as well.
The bits of dried fruit were fine, but just fruit, and I'm not sure what you were supposed to do with them. There was no hot cereal, yogurt, or granola to add them on to, and just eating bits of dried fruit chopped into cubes with your fingers didn't quite make sense. Were you supposed to top the Lucky Charms with these?
The final continental selection was sad looking baked goods. My heart rather sank when I saw these. I was expecting to indulge in baked goods, as I love them. Where were the scones? Muffins? Danishes? Filled croissants? Boo. This lineup, along with the lackluster looking hot items, is why I opted to pick up a cereal.
On my first visit to the buffet, I went right past the croissants. They didn't look very good, and why ever pick a plain croissant? They didn't have any filled ones.
I never really want a sweet loaf cake, so I rolled right past those too. So, a cinnamon roll it was. The cinnamon roll at least looked decent.
It wasn't. The cinnamon roll was really dried out. It did have a lot of cinnamon between the layers, a sweet crumble topping, and lots of sweet icing, all good things. This should have been decent, but really it was just way too dry and the dough was flavorless. I picked at it, eating the crumble top, trying so hard to like it, but it just wasn't good ... at all. Even the center was no good, not moist in any way. Usually the center of a cinnamon roll can be its saving grace, with a bit of moisture in there. It was the worst baked good I tried.
So I went back for the loaf cakes, again, not something I ever want, but, I was pretty sad at this point. There was only one kind left when I returned, orange cranberry. I never want loaf cake, and if I were to pick a loaf cake, it would never be this kind, as I don't like cranberry nor orange flavors in my sweets. I regretted not grabbing a different slice earlier. That said, it was decent, really moist, quite flavorful. If I liked orange flavor, I would have really liked it, but given the flavor, it was my second to least favorite item, although certainly not bad.
When I returned to the buffet bit later (I know, I know, who goes back this many times? ME!), there were slices of blueberry cake in addition to the orange cranberry. Inspired by the moisture of the orange cranberry, and the beautiful streusel topping on the blueberry loaf, I went for it. It was quite good, again, really moist, and with a great streusel topping. Basically, like a muffin. I quickly pointed Ojan at it, and he enjoyed a slice too. My third favorite item.
Things were looking up, so I circled back (yes really) to try a croissant, really just wanting some final satisfaction. The croissant didn't look like anything special, unlike the cinnamon roll, which had at least *looked* promising. I was shocked at how good the croissant was. The exterior was crispy, flaky. It was very moist inside. The dough was buttery and slightly sweet. It needed nothing added to it, which I would never normally say about a plain croissant. There were assorted jams and butter available if you wanted. I thought I'd share the croissant with Ojan, but I didn't give him a single bite. I polished it off in seconds, literally. That said, it was my second favorite overall. The best was yet to come.
At this point, I was overly full. I had a fair amount of hot savory food (more on that soon), perhaps half that lackluster cinnamon roll, a full slice of bluberry loaf cake (and half a slice of orange cranberry), some cinnamon Chex, a little fruit, plus the full croissant, a large size. I was more than satisfied, and content to be done with brunch.
And then one of my tablemates returned with a danish. A danish! Where did that come from? I couldn't resist. I didn't need more food. I didn't get a photo of the new selections, I was too excited.
Yes, the awful cinnamon rolls had finally been replaced, this time with assorted danishes. None were labelled, and they were all large, and, unlike everything else, looked great. I thought that if that plain croissant was any indication of how well they'd make danishes, I was in luck. Caution to the wind, I selected two, fairly randomly, since I wasn't sure what varieties they were.
I thought I'd share with Ojan. Clearly, I didn't need 2 more danishes. I thought that perhaps I'd be a horrible hoarder, and take them back with me to enjoy on my flight in a few hours (don't judge!). Spoiler: I begrudgingly let Ojan try a few bites, at his insistence. They most certainly did not last more than a few minutes longer. Whoops.
Starting with the first one. It looked like a cream cheese danish, always a favorite. Who can resist cream cheese? Even the cream cheese danish from Starbucks can satisfy me sometimes, and they aren't exactly fresh, quality items.
It turned out to be lemon cream cheese. Just like orange (I guess I don't like citrus?) I don't really like lemon flavors in my pastries or desserts, so this was a downer. But the pastry was flaky, and the filling so creamy, and there was plenty of it, no skimping here. It was good, but not the right variety for me, and I wouldn't have picked it if I knew about the lemon. My forth pick.
But my other selection ... now it was mind blowing. Realize for a moment how full I was at this point. Realize how actually satisfied I was. I didn't need anything, for hunger or emotional reasons! Again, I thought I'd try it, share it, perhaps take it with me. But ... it was way, way too tasty to not devour on the spot. I gave Ojan a single bite, out of kindness, because I thought he'd love it too.
So what was it? I call it, a "pecan pie danish". It was, basically, everything delicious inside a pecan pie, just inside a croissant dough instead. It was a very large size danish, bar shaped with lattice work on top. Drizzled with a bit of glaze and topped with chopped pecans. OMG. Like both the croissant and other danish, the pastry dough was quite good, really flaky, crispy exterior, moist inside, buttery. The perfect foundation. But it was the filling that blew my mind. Sweet, gooey, pecan pie filling. So gooey. So sweet. So, so delicious. Clearly, my top selection of the brunch. If I had known these were coming, and how good they were, I clearly would have made other choices throughout my meal. Alas, I did not, but you my dear reader, now have this knowledge. Plan accordingly. Stuff your pockets.
The first item? Scrambled eggs. I walked right past on my first survey of the buffet. Buffet eggs? Yeah right. I don't generally even like fresh scrambled eggs, so, why would I want these? On my second pass, I took a tiny portion, mostly out of curiosity, because they looked so creamy, and the rest of the options really didn't look good. I needed to eat ... something.
Everyone at my table absolutely adored these eggs, and we all went back for seconds (and some, thirds). My favorite of the savory items, and the only savory really worth eating.
Every good brunch has a potato option, and here we had cubes of "skillet breakfast potatoes". They looked kinda shriveled and lackluster, so I didn't bother, although I snagged some of the caramelized onions. They were tasty enough, soft, fairly flavorful.
The final hot items were breakfast meats, sausage and bacon. I didn't try the bacon, as it didn't look great. Kudos to the serving dish though, it had a metal mesh on the bottom, so the bacon wasn't sitting on a solid surface getting soggy, so it stayed fairly crisp.
The sausage wasn't bad, classic links. It was pretty overcooked, a bit dry, and really charred, but I liked the char. I really wanted maple syrup to dip it in, but only ketchup and hot sauce were provided alongside, which makes sense, as we had no pancake or waffle option, and I guess most people aren't like me and want syrup with their sausage or bacon.
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| Baked Goods: Assorted Sweet Loafs, Cinnamon Rolls, Croissants. |
On my first visit to the buffet, I went right past the croissants. They didn't look very good, and why ever pick a plain croissant? They didn't have any filled ones.
I never really want a sweet loaf cake, so I rolled right past those too. So, a cinnamon roll it was. The cinnamon roll at least looked decent.
It wasn't. The cinnamon roll was really dried out. It did have a lot of cinnamon between the layers, a sweet crumble topping, and lots of sweet icing, all good things. This should have been decent, but really it was just way too dry and the dough was flavorless. I picked at it, eating the crumble top, trying so hard to like it, but it just wasn't good ... at all. Even the center was no good, not moist in any way. Usually the center of a cinnamon roll can be its saving grace, with a bit of moisture in there. It was the worst baked good I tried.
So I went back for the loaf cakes, again, not something I ever want, but, I was pretty sad at this point. There was only one kind left when I returned, orange cranberry. I never want loaf cake, and if I were to pick a loaf cake, it would never be this kind, as I don't like cranberry nor orange flavors in my sweets. I regretted not grabbing a different slice earlier. That said, it was decent, really moist, quite flavorful. If I liked orange flavor, I would have really liked it, but given the flavor, it was my second to least favorite item, although certainly not bad.
When I returned to the buffet bit later (I know, I know, who goes back this many times? ME!), there were slices of blueberry cake in addition to the orange cranberry. Inspired by the moisture of the orange cranberry, and the beautiful streusel topping on the blueberry loaf, I went for it. It was quite good, again, really moist, and with a great streusel topping. Basically, like a muffin. I quickly pointed Ojan at it, and he enjoyed a slice too. My third favorite item.
Things were looking up, so I circled back (yes really) to try a croissant, really just wanting some final satisfaction. The croissant didn't look like anything special, unlike the cinnamon roll, which had at least *looked* promising. I was shocked at how good the croissant was. The exterior was crispy, flaky. It was very moist inside. The dough was buttery and slightly sweet. It needed nothing added to it, which I would never normally say about a plain croissant. There were assorted jams and butter available if you wanted. I thought I'd share the croissant with Ojan, but I didn't give him a single bite. I polished it off in seconds, literally. That said, it was my second favorite overall. The best was yet to come.
At this point, I was overly full. I had a fair amount of hot savory food (more on that soon), perhaps half that lackluster cinnamon roll, a full slice of bluberry loaf cake (and half a slice of orange cranberry), some cinnamon Chex, a little fruit, plus the full croissant, a large size. I was more than satisfied, and content to be done with brunch.
And then one of my tablemates returned with a danish. A danish! Where did that come from? I couldn't resist. I didn't need more food. I didn't get a photo of the new selections, I was too excited.
Yes, the awful cinnamon rolls had finally been replaced, this time with assorted danishes. None were labelled, and they were all large, and, unlike everything else, looked great. I thought that if that plain croissant was any indication of how well they'd make danishes, I was in luck. Caution to the wind, I selected two, fairly randomly, since I wasn't sure what varieties they were.
I thought I'd share with Ojan. Clearly, I didn't need 2 more danishes. I thought that perhaps I'd be a horrible hoarder, and take them back with me to enjoy on my flight in a few hours (don't judge!). Spoiler: I begrudgingly let Ojan try a few bites, at his insistence. They most certainly did not last more than a few minutes longer. Whoops.
Starting with the first one. It looked like a cream cheese danish, always a favorite. Who can resist cream cheese? Even the cream cheese danish from Starbucks can satisfy me sometimes, and they aren't exactly fresh, quality items.
It turned out to be lemon cream cheese. Just like orange (I guess I don't like citrus?) I don't really like lemon flavors in my pastries or desserts, so this was a downer. But the pastry was flaky, and the filling so creamy, and there was plenty of it, no skimping here. It was good, but not the right variety for me, and I wouldn't have picked it if I knew about the lemon. My forth pick.
But my other selection ... now it was mind blowing. Realize for a moment how full I was at this point. Realize how actually satisfied I was. I didn't need anything, for hunger or emotional reasons! Again, I thought I'd try it, share it, perhaps take it with me. But ... it was way, way too tasty to not devour on the spot. I gave Ojan a single bite, out of kindness, because I thought he'd love it too.
So what was it? I call it, a "pecan pie danish". It was, basically, everything delicious inside a pecan pie, just inside a croissant dough instead. It was a very large size danish, bar shaped with lattice work on top. Drizzled with a bit of glaze and topped with chopped pecans. OMG. Like both the croissant and other danish, the pastry dough was quite good, really flaky, crispy exterior, moist inside, buttery. The perfect foundation. But it was the filling that blew my mind. Sweet, gooey, pecan pie filling. So gooey. So sweet. So, so delicious. Clearly, my top selection of the brunch. If I had known these were coming, and how good they were, I clearly would have made other choices throughout my meal. Alas, I did not, but you my dear reader, now have this knowledge. Plan accordingly. Stuff your pockets.
Hot Breakfast
The hot selections were in chafing dishes, constantly refilled. The staff did a great job of bringing out fresh batches pretty rapidly, which was good because no one was shutting them, and I didn't think they retained heat very well.
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| Cage Free Scrambled Eggs. |
I was shocked by how good they turned out. Seriously. Hot and seemingly fresh tasting. And oh so creamy. I can't even describe the consistency of these. Amazing.
Another person at my table commented, "I wonder what kind of cheese they used in these cheesy eggs?". I laughed, because I knew there was no cheese. That was all cream and butter. Mmm, mmm, good!
When I returned to the buffet for another round, I loaded up on these eggs. I stuffed some inside the croissant to make an egg sandwich, and it was really quite enjoyable. Sure, the croissant was actually perfectly good on its own, as were the eggs, but they combined quite nicely as well.
Everyone at my table absolutely adored these eggs, and we all went back for seconds (and some, thirds). My favorite of the savory items, and the only savory really worth eating.
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| Skillet Breakfast Potatoes tossed with Caramelized Onions. |
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| Crisp All Natural Bacon and Maple Sausage Links. |
The sausage wasn't bad, classic links. It was pretty overcooked, a bit dry, and really charred, but I liked the char. I really wanted maple syrup to dip it in, but only ketchup and hot sauce were provided alongside, which makes sense, as we had no pancake or waffle option, and I guess most people aren't like me and want syrup with their sausage or bacon.
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