11/12/26 Husaina Poonawala #Dining

Midterm season has a way of making every day feel the same: early alarms, late nights, a coffee going cold next to your laptop. By the time the weekend arrives, you don't need a plan. You need a table by the window, a cold drink and something warm on a plate.

That's exactly what you'll find at Cultivate. Tucked inside Elm Hall on West Campus, Cultivate is trying something new this quarter: a pilot Sunday brunch, served 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on select dates. We pulled up a few chairs at the first brunch seating to see what the menu had to offer. We started the way every good brunch should: with fresh orange juice and an iced latte, both cold, crisp and exactly the reset a long week calls for.

Then came the food. Three dishes, three kinds of mornings. Here's your guide to eating, praying and brunching your way through the weekend.

EAT: Steak & Eggs ($35)

For when you came ravenous and you're not apologizing for it.

This is the plate that turns heads when it lands on the table. A seared center cut sirloin topped with sumac butter, scrambled egg, and thick cut sourdough toast, finished with fresh parsley. You can order it pink or no pink, so it comes out just how you like it.

It's a hearty, knife-and-fork kind of steak with a little more chew than you might expect, which makes it a meal that keeps you full well into the afternoon. Save this one for the mornings when a pastry just won't cut it.

PRAY: Big Cinnamon Roll ($9)

For the morning after midterms, when you need a little mercy.

Some mornings call for a full meal. Others call for something soft, warm, and generously covered in cream cheese frosting. The Big Cinnamon Roll was the perfect sweet treat, the kind of bite that makes a rough week feel a little lighter.

At $9, it's also the easiest yes on the menu. Grab one for yourself, or tear it in half for the friend who stayed up studying with you until 2 a.m.

LOVE: Smoked Steelhead Trout Benny ($22)

For brunch with your people, or a morning that's all about you.

If there's one dish you leave Cultivate thinking about, it's this one. Smoked steelhead trout on thick cut sourdough, topped with poached eggs and a brown butter hollandaise, then finished with parsley, chives, and a bright hit of lemon zest. Every Eggs Benedict comes with your choice of a simple green side salad, potatoes, or fruit.

It was, simply put, amazing. This is the plate you order when you want a regular weekend to feel like an occasion, so bring a roommate, a friend visiting from out of town, or just bring yourself.

Who would you share it with?

Before we left, we asked everyone at the table two questions: what was your favorite dish, and who would you share it with?

For Abir, a junior: it was the Steak & Eggs, and the answer to the second question came easily: his mom. Growing up, she was the one who made him delicious eggs, and a plate like this one brought him right back to her kitchen table.

Sriya, also a junior, picked the Big Cinnamon Roll, and she'd share it with her childhood best friend. Back home, the two of them made a ritual out of trying new foods together and ranking them. A warm cinnamon roll on a slow weekend morning is exactly the kind of thing she'd love to add to their list.

That's the thing about brunch: the food is the reason you show up, but the people are the reason you remember it.

Your weekend, sorted

Whether you need to eat, pray or love your way through the week, Cultivate has a plate waiting for you. But don't wait too long. Brunch is only back two more times this quarter: Sunday, Nov. 15 and Sunday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cultivate in Elm Hall. It's open to the whole UW community, and you can pay with your Dining Account, Husky Card Account, or most credit and debit cards.

Still not sure what to order? Find out which Cultivate brunch you are on our Instagram, then come see if we got it right!