UYE: Brunch Bunch @ Stella Sola

Link to photos:
Anthony N. and Warren A. had their birthdays on Sunday, and, being pretty low-​key guys, would’ve kicked my butt had I tried to do a Drink Houston UYE on Saturday (it would’ve been hilariously awesome… missed opportunities, guys). They show up regularly to UYEs, especially Wine Down Wednesdays (as do Maria H. and Karen S.), give our UYEs a little extra flair, and, all in all, I’m really glad to have joined Unilocal and count them as my friends. Those of you who haven’t made it out to a Wine Down, you’re missing out on getting to know these great guys. In any case, I wanted to do a brunch that coincided with their birthdays.
It was somewhat last minute, as Anthony N. gave me the okay to do a brunch on our Wine Down Wednesday, but the reservationist was incredibly accommodating. I’d changed my reservation four times (from 12 to 18 to 21 to 23; the last change was after Kim H. let me know she and Warren would show up, who had grumbled, and pretended he wouldn’t show up, but I knew he would – he’s so predictable *runs away*). When I’d made the reservation, the reservationist had said we’d have to do separate tables outside, which was fine, so I was pleasantly surprised to find they had set up one large table outside which was apart from the other tables. I’m fairly certain they’d done that setup especially for us.
Our server Kelly was great. I’d jokingly asked how local the local farm eggs were (local, as in… a mile? within city limits). He said he didn’t know, but would find out for me. I didn’t make him run back to the kitchen to ask, but that exemplified his attitude: friendly without being fake and calm in the face of our wild Unilocaliness. He even split our checks and didn’t put a gratuity on our monstrous party, though he definitely got more than 20% from me.
The food was fab. My burger was made extra awesome with the addition of the local egg (how local?) and pretzel bun, even if I had some technical difficulties with the cutting of the pretzel bun. Being the sort of person who has to try every food item (now that I’ve given everyone fair warning, you know what to expect next time if you’re sitting next to me), I basically made Stephen R., who’s always a good sport, get the wild boar ragu, and Farrah A., our always lovely CM, get the grillades and grits. Fortunately, Farrah liked her grillades (as did I – I swear, if she wasn’t on the other end of the table…) and, though I’m not sure if Stephen liked his dish, I know Eva K. was tearing it up.
All that would’ve been nothing without the wonderful company, which was a mix of regulars, new folks, and old-​time Unilocalers I rarely see. Oh, and the four random people at one end of the table who had, I think, two to three degrees of separation from a Unilocaler. I was really happy to see Daniel L. make it out with his +1, Kristen, even after I’d teased him about his attire at the Flora & Muse event; Alice T. and Mike L. (both of whom somehow weren’t scared away by my excitement at seeing them at the Flora & Muse event – my parents are friends with Mike L.‘s parents); Joey J., who finally made it out to an event and did an awesome job of taking photos (as did Stephen R. – see link above); Nigel M. «mildly» encroaching on Cindy P.‘s Unilocal space; Karen N., who I didn’t have to threaten into showing up; Kathleen Y., who was a shared +1 between Camille P. and Joey J. (and who I may have scared with a compliment… haha); Meredith N. overcome her transportational issues to arrive with Ricki H.; and… well, this is getting really, really long, but everyone else who always shows up to Unilocal events (or sometimes – ahem, Eren M. and Eva K.) and stealthily (or not so stealthily) signed Warren’s and Anthony’s cards. You know who you are. You guys made this brunch, so thank you.
I have some ideas to mix things up for the next brunch I host, though I’m a little apprehensive that things won’t be as fabulous, what with the wonderful food and service, great outdoor setup, and fun Unilocalers (and randoms). I have my fingers crossed!

Waking up at 11am to get ready for a brunch is A LOT of work! But it was totally worth it this past Sunday.
I knew I was meeting up with some fabulous folks and some fun food!
I was the first nerd to arrive at Stella Sola around 12:10ish and was seated at the gorgeous bar. The bartender looked a little new and took forever to open up my chardonnay. Oh well. whatevs…
People started rolling in and we all hung out at the bar before we were all seated for the 20+ table that was set up outside.
The hostess, manager, bartender and bar backs were amazing. I felt spoiled!
After everyone arrived, our complimentary «bread» was brought out. It composed of a rich and silky frittata that was accompanied by some clean cherry tomatoes and roasted nuts (pine, cashew and pistachio).
I think we killed those plates!
We all ordered a number of different things, tons of brunch drinks like the $ 3 mimosas, proseccos and bloody mary’s…mmmmmmmmm
Our server, Mr. Kelly, was a sweetheart. He looked calm the whole time, took care of everyone, and was able to separate all of our checks… damn. homeboy was good! Extra tip for Kelly!
On with the dessert. I didn’t order any because Ms. Anna «Zoinks» hooked it up with bacon cookies, bacon cake and i think bacon caramel… Either way. I totally devoured everything the next day when I was sober (bc I wanted to taste everything).
I am so glad I made it out to meet up with my fellow Unilocalers along with some newbies too… can’t wait for the next one.

Anna W is officially Unilocal’s Sweetheart.
Not only did she plan this slammin’ brunch UYE — which more than 20 Unilocalers attended — but she slaved over the stove this weekend to gift everyone with BACON baked goods.
Aside from that, the staff at Stella Stola couldn’t have been more prepared. Drinks were non-​stop ($ 3 bloody marys!), they provide complimentary starters (egg frittata squares, seasoned cherry tomatoes, and roasted nuts) and our entrees came out pipin’ hot and all within a moment’s time. No one was left staring at their neighbor’s plate wondering where there food was.
I ordered the short ribs with local polenta and topped with an egg. The short ribs melted like buttah. Do order this!
Check out the pics of all the fun and excitement here
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and hopefully you’ll be tempted to make it out to a UYE.