Brunching On Top of the World

What’s better than a plate of crispy pecan-smoked bacon with fresh-baked bread and jam, brioche french toast, and honey-kissed fried chicken on a Sunday morning? Three plates. Plus shrimp cocktail, goat cheese quiche, chocolate cake, and a panoramic view of the Philadelphia cityscape.

Skybrunch at Top of the Tower is serving up all of that and more at its Sunday service. Situated on the 50th and 51st floors of the former Bell Atlantic Building, Skybrunch offers seven buffet stations, each named after different aspects of the restaurant’s amazing view.

We were seated in the room housing The Sunny Side, The View, and The Panorama stations, which offered made-to-order omelets, yukon home fries, pecan-smoked bacon, homemade sausage, muffins, and yogurt parfaits. Our favorite was the mini goat cheese quiche. Rich and perfectly salty, at least one of these made it on each of our following plates. We would have been more than satisfied if these were the first and only stations, but there were four left to explore.

A trip to The Landscape followed. The medium rare prime rib was perfectly cooked, but was overshadowed by the spicy richness of the bacon and sausage at The View station. If there weren’t more stations to visit, I could easily have had another plateful of the cheesy tortellini.

Next came The Outlook: honey-stung fried chicken and creme brulee brioche french toast. Chicken and waffles may be a more classic brunch pairing, but the almost spicy sweetness of the fried chicken worked equally well with the french toast.

The Seascape featured cocktail shrimp, smoked salmon, and sushi. The sushi was an unexpected but welcome addition to brunch, but the crab leg shooters in chilled avocado sauce were the real seafood standout. After the richness of the first few stations, the light coolness of the seafood provided a much-needed palate cleanse.

The Sugar High station featured a happily overwhelming variety of desserts, each miniature-sized and perfect for sampling. Although the white chocolate cheesecake and pecan pie made formidable competition, the fruit tart proved to be the station’s star. Equal parts tart and sweet, it was the perfect end to an impressive (and slightly overwhelming) brunch.

-Bethany Christy

PC: Leah Sprague