Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ is a table service restaurant at Disney Springs. This location is known for their southern charm, comfort food, and moonshine. Originally opening in 2016, the menu held a lot of promises. Unfortunately it took the kitchen several months to get their groove going and churn out really spectacular dishes, the first few months were really rocky with quality. Since then the restaurant has evened out and has had a steady stream of patrons for lunch and dinner. This past weekend Homecomin’ started a new chapter: Sunday brunch. Served 10am through 2pm only on Sunday, brunch brings along a slew of original cocktails and breakfast creations. We went over on the first day to get our shine on.
Southern Mary – $15.00
Yup, that’s a fried green tomato on top. This Bloody Mary is made with tomato vodka, giving a unique and interesting flavor, especially for the Bloody Mary lover.
Whiskey Mary – $16.00
This twist on the classic is made with mango habanero whiskey, giving a spiced fruity flavor to the overall cocktail. This was our favorite of the three, but it still got pretty gross after sitting at the table for a bit.
Bloody Maria – $16.00
Tequila in a Bloody Mary? Yup, and a little bit of whiskey too. Oh and that celery is stuffed with pimiento cheese. That being said, the flavor profile wasn’t very unique from the Southern Mary.
Blueberry Mimosa – $10.00
This mimosa not only has blueberries in it but there’s blueberry purée as well, giving a well rounded balance to the morning cocktail. The best of the alcoholic options available only at brunch.
Princess Mimosa – $12.00
Not exactly the most beautiful presentation, but you get a lot more for your money over the blueberry mimosa.
Florida Crush – $12.00
This is one of the newest cocktails at Homecomin. It’s light and refreshing, but had little to no Vodka actually in it.
White Peach Sangria – $12.00
Moonshine, moscato, muddled with fresh fruit. It’s refreshinf and one of the better values on the cocktail menu.
Biscuits & Jam – Two cheddar cheese drop biscuits served with blackberry-fig jam and hot honey butter – $6.00
Let’s go ahead and rant about the biscuits now because they appear in nearly every dish. Homecomin doesn’t understand biscuits. Or maybe they do, but they think biscuit is Latin for dry, crumbly mess. Either way, the biscuits aren’t good and rather unfortunate.
Bacon & Pecan Doughnuts – Mini iced doughnuts piled with pecan, bacon and drizzled with house-made caramel – $8.00
These donuts aren’t only beautiful, but they taste the part and they’re the best thing on the brunch menu. The donuts are soft and topped with a great caramel sauce that compliments the candied bacon-like flavors. Everything worked well and these are everything they should be, absolutely pick yourself up an order.
Fried Green, Eggs and Ham – Open-faced big biscuit topped with griddled country ham, fried green tomatoes, fried eggs, shaved country ham and rémoulade sauce. Choice of side item – 18.00
Here’s the first biscuit incarnation, this one presented open-face with ham, eggs, and fried green tomatoes. We appreciate the fun name this dish has, and it looks tasty at least. Unfortunately we don’t know why all of these great ingredients and stellar presentation create one bland, one note, and boring dish. The remoulade tried to save this one but it was a lost cause. Sad, really, as this appears to be the case with numerous of the entrees for brunch.
Grand-daddy Plate – Two eggs any-style, pecan-smoked bacon, griddled country ham and choice of two sides – $18.00
The potato gratin mash is in the little crucible and is absolutely fantastic, which is even further unfortunate for the bacon and ham. Both were texturally unappealing and had the same exact lack of any real flavor. If you’re going to order this, just find a diner in Orlando.
Country Benedict – Open-faced big biscuit, two poached eggs, griddled country ham and house-made hollandaise. Choice of side item – $18.00
Again, another biscuit from the Sahara. A dry, crumbly, and tasteless biscuit lies below the flavorless grilled ham. There’s really good hollandaise sauce on top but that also couldn’t save this dish from the return of the biscuits. On a better note the grits are pretty good. As aligned with Homecomin’s original opening: the sides are better than the entrees.
Hallelujah Biscuit – Open-faced big biscuit topped with Chef Art’s famous fried chicken, two fried eggs, pimento cheese, pecan-smoked bacon and smothered in sawmill gravy. Choice of side item – $22.00
Hallelujah, we finally found something good! This was the best entree we had. There’s a large amount of sawmill gravy on top that’s literal perfection, below that is a gigantic portion of spicy pimiento cheese. The chicken is fried well and works with the really crispy bacon. Surprisingly enough they figured out crispy bacon for this dish.
Short Rib Hash – Two sunny-side up eggs over our short rib hash with Brussels sprouts, potatoes, onions and red peppers. Served with a cheddar cheese drop biscuit and choice of one side – $22.00
Look ma, no biscuit! Unfortunately, that doesn’t help. Replacing the biscuit this time is a distinct lack of the short rib. For a dish labeled ‘short rib hash’ you expect, you know… short rib. Instead we received a mountain of well seasoned potatoes below the eggs. There’s such potential here it hurts that the dish is so forgettable.
Sunrise Burger – Two chargrilled patties topped with pecan-smoked bacon, a fried egg, white cheddar and tomato-bacon jam on a brioche bun. Choice of side item or chips – $20.00
Yeah that’s $20 worth right there. It looks like it came out of a tin foil wrapper and was bought at a gas station. It tastes like it too. An unimaginably thin burger with the same bland ingredients on top. We couldn’t figure out how they fried an egg so dry without burning it, but here we are. Don’t do this to yourself.
French Toast – Two slices of French toast served with choice of side item – $8.00
It’s difficult to imagine dry, virtually inedible French toast. This is a kids menu item too. We can’t imagine kids enjoying this, maybe with a strip of bacon and a lot less burn on the toast. Maybe also try a plate that has a number of compartments that matches the items you are serving?
OVERALL
Homecomin brunch has huge potential, but falls flat on almost every regard. Besides the rabid fan base for this restaurant we don’t feel compelled to return often (especially since the lunch sandwiches are a much better reason to go). Their quality isn’t consistent for food, but the cocktails are usually tasty. It’s a give and take and we recommend giving your money to another cheaper breakfast option on property until Homecomin’ gets their act together.
SaveSave