Have you had brunch at Chalk yet? If you haven’t, you are missing out on a mouth-hole party o’ epic proportions. I’d been meaning to pop in there to see what all the fuss was about for a while now, but it wasn’t until last Sunday that a group o’ friends and I actually meandered down there.
Chalk is situated on Greenup Street in Covington, across from Keystone (another fine brunchin’ establishment). Gerald Shell has recently started DJing brunch there and that was actually my impetus to finally check it out.
Even before we made it to the door, I ran into people I knew sitting and standing outside. Before we made it to our booth, I quickly discovered this was going to be a friend reunion o’ garnormous proportions. Be prepared: Everyone you just saw the night before or haven’t seen in two months will be there. This could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how much of a drunken ass you were the night prior.
Sweet tuneage beckoned us in and the walls were painted an invigorating, yet soothing pistachio green. All of the artwork was comprised of chalk renderings and it really is a sweet little setup. The wait staff is an adorable bevy o’ girls with personality and tats to boot. The menu is concise, but full of anomalous options, featuring tasty morning libations on one side and unique food tantalizers on the back. I started with a Wake up you’re at Chalk concoction consisting of espresso, vanilla vodka and Irish cream and moved on to their Rough Times Mimosas, which are only $2.50 a pop. Seriously, if that’s not a reason alone to frequent this joint after a night out, I don’t know what is.
Our waitress, Tess, was amazing, and you wouldn’t kick her out o’ bed for eating crackers, either. Think a much hotter version o’ the nerdy, do-gooder, Jesus freak chick from Freaks and Geeks. She even had similar mannerisms. I kept telling my best guys who came with that they needed to bravado up and make a move, of course to no avail. If I ever switch to the vag side, I may go hit her up.
I ordered the sticky bun sandwich, because I’d been ogling Gerald’s since I’d come in and it was THE. BEST. THING. EVER! Mouth-hole party extraordinaire! It consisted of yummy pulled pork, an over easy egg and bacon, all sammiched in-between a cinnamon sticky bun. Seriously brunchgasmic! Mikey B. ordered the Bulls Eye, which was the traditional eggs cooked into a hole in toast with a side of goetta, and it was also uber scrumptious. Yusef partook of the Banana French toast, which also looked delish, if ya swing that way.
Our food did take an exceptionally long time to get to us, but at some point a guy came out and explained that the hold-up was due to eggs getting spilled all over the printer, therefore backing up all of the orders because tickets weren’t getting printed. Upon the hilarity of the explanation and the fact that they graciously did not charge us for any of our drinks to make up for the delay, forgiveness was instant and sincere on our part. Whilst waiting, we discovered the fun bounceability of the booth seating and started rhythmically bouncing to Gerald’s dancy beats and noticing the other aesthetic wonders of our surroundings, such as the bacon band-aid on the big fake pig head on the wall and the fact that there is a huge taco painted on the ceiling of the men’s restroom (insta-bonus points!). It is worth a trip into the little boy’s room to view. Not to mention the fact that both restrooms are painted top to bottom with chalkboard paint so you can graffiti to your hearts content, or until someone else has to pee. Another bathroom perk = those jet engine hand dryers!
All in all, this is a newfangled favorite in Brunchland for me and I’m kinda a self-proclaimed connoisseur o’ all things brunch. The food was fabulous, the atmosphere was upbeat and revitalizing, the staff was darling and efficient, and the mimosas kept flowing. I would highly recommend it as a perfect way to start the day and coax yourself out of a hungover slug state. There is some really nice outdoor seating on the patio out back as well.
Weekend TO DO list:
Friday Night: Hit up the Southgate House for a bazillion bands playing for the Chick Pimp, Coke Dealer At A Bar CD Release with Wonky Tonk, Rumpke Mountain Boys, The Harlequins, The Lions Rampant, Stick Figures, The Sundresses, Losanti, The Flux Capacitors, Matthew Shelton and more. The StarDevils are at the Comet, Pris Dance Party is going down at C&D and Grammer’s is having a Moustache Party.
Saturday: The Creation Museum and State Song are at Northside Tavern
Sunday: Gerald is playing Motown at Chalk for Mother’s Day. I heard from an in-the-know source that there are already a ridiculously large number of reservations for this Sunday, so you may wanna call first to suss out the situation there and/or make reservations.
