Making the transition from last call and late night diners to midday cocktails and fancy plates; here are a couple awesome spots to tryout in Albany.

What started out as my mission to find the best hangover food that served the hair of the dog has recently become my main sort of weekend social interaction. Partly because of winter, work, and so many week night shows that I just kind of want to lie low on the weekends when I can.

Brunch, however, has recently been fulfilling my need to not only nourish my body, but also for a little social interaction that involves some adult libations. It seems that there are quite a few new brunch spots popping up all over the Capital Region so I have decided to attempt to try as many as a can starting in Albany and working my way outwards.

This weekend, I actually made it to two different brunch spots which isn't always possible but the planets aligned this weekend and was absolutely glorious. I started on Saturday at an Albany staple, Cafe Madison at Madison and Western, which is always good for a nice mix of traditional and modern eats and some crafty cocktails.

I love that this spot has a static menu and a constantly changing weekend menu. I always start to go for some of the staples then end up with one of the meals that you "may never be able to have again".

Since this spot has been an area go to for quite some time it is almost guaranteed be packed on arrival. They do have an app you can download to put your name on the list ahead of time or if you would like to have some pre meal cocktails you can totally show up and hang out at the Madison Pour House until your table is ready.

Then, on Sunday, I had plans to meet up with some friends to try out the new Cuckoo's Nest on Western Ave. in Albany (it's in the same spot that used to be The Ginger Man) and even though we went late there was still a good 20-45 minute wait when we arrived.

I don't know if it was because we were all starving, because we had a couple of cocktails or because the menu was that good but it definitely took us a good 20 minutes after being seated to decide what we wanted to eat. One thing that we all kept coming back to (especially after seeing the waiters and waitresses walking past us with plates and towers) was the chicken and waffles so we decided to get order a plate for the table. Boy am I glad we did because although every meal we got was delicious the chicken and waffles were definitely the stand out meal.

I will definitely be making repeat visits to both these establishments and can't wait to try out some new spots next weekend. Where are some of your favorite spots to brunch in the Capital Region?

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