A Brunch worthy of running 13.1 miles - Grille 54

Happy Tax Day.....

While I did not run 13.1 miles at Iron Girl like many of my fellow Tampa running pals did yesterday, I did eat a feast worthy of the calories they burned. Grille 54 in Tampa's Westchase was the second stop of our Tampa Brunch Tour. I was joined by friends, Lauren, Katie and Rachel and were promptly greeted with mimosas. For $25.95, Grille 54 offers an amazing brunch accompanied with unlimited bloody mary, mimosa, latte, cappuccino or espresso along with a bountiful raw bar, sushi, omelet station, pasta bar, carving station and multiple  brunch courses. It was more food than I could have ever imagined and it far exceeded my expectations.

As our table was facing the sushi station and raw bar, it only made sense to start our morning off in an unconventional way. The first course I ate at our brunch was ceviche, oysters and sushi. This is a first for a Sunday brunch but well appreciated.

Oysters at 11am were not my thing - while I am an oyster lover and couldn't resist the size of these bad boys, I am not a morning oyster person. In hindsight, I should've saved them for the end of the meal. Yet, the oysters were delicious and I am seriously craving them right now. The Ceviche was out of this world and the sushi was a great way to start off brunch.

I then ventured onto the other side of the building where I found everything from eggs benedict, waffles, chorizo hash, fruit, granola and fruit bar, rueben sandwiches, pasta and omelets made to order and so much more. I ordered a perfectly fluffy spinach, mushroom, garlic and cheese omelet, feasted on other breakfast items and was pleasantly happy.

After putting back a few poinsettia's (champagne and cranberry), I found it was now time for lunch. Chef Luciano made certain we tried the pasta and focaccia pizza. This talented Italian Chef with an accent to match his skills proudly presented us with a custom pasta, the Chef Luciano special, which was out of this world and I am looking forward to a return visit to experience Grille 54's Italian night. I was very impressed with the focaccia pizza as well, although I could only eat one bite as I was starting to feel very full.

Oh we aren't nearly close to the finish yet - Lauren brings over a plate of crab legs. No matter how full I am, I can continue to eat crab legs. I am not a good person to have at an all you can eat Crab feast. I will say this - I normally do not eat crab legs at brunch buffets. They are generally over cooked, out too long or not good quality. Not the case at Grille 54. These were perfect and I was having fun showing the girls how to properly crack crab legs. I even went back for seconds.

And if this wasn't enough - it was time for dessert. Chef Luciano makes all of his dessert master pieces in house and oh my lord......words cannot express the dessert feast ahead of us. My favorite of my selection - a tie between the almond macaroon and the creme brule apple pie torte. Seriously out of control and when you go to Grille 54 for brunch, make sure you leave room to experience his dessert creations.

If this isn't enough to encourage you to head over to Grille 54 for Sunday Brunch, they also have live music. We enjoyed live music by the Ben Bryan Band and it made for the perfect setting.

We were at brunch for 3 hours and not once did I become impatient. I truly enjoyed my Sunday out with good friends while eating great food and listening to music. I am a huge fan of Grille 54's new ladies night concept, where the last Wednesday of the month, they give away a purse valued up to $500 to one lucky lady. This month, a gorgeous Michael Kors handbag will be given away. Not to mention, ladies enjoy FREE Grey Goose Specialty Cocktails every Wednesday from 6-7pm. Make sure  you follow Grille 54 on Facebook to keep up with their events and specials!


Disclosure: I received a free meal from Grille 54 in exchange for this review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.