The 1896 supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary cites Punch magazine, which wrote that the term was coined in Britain in 1895 to describe a Sunday meal for "Saturday-night carousers" in the writer Guy Beringer's article "Brunch: A Plea" in Hunter's Weekly. It is sometimes credited to reporter Frank Ward O'Malley, who wrote for the New York newspaper The Sun from 1906 until 1919, allegedly based on the typical mid-day eating habits of a newspaper reporter.
At colleges and hotels
Some colleges and hotels serve brunch. Such brunches are often serve-yourself buffets, but menu-ordered meals may be available instead of, or with, the buffet. The meal usually involves standard breakfast foods such as eggs, sausages, bacon, ham, fruits, pastries, pancakes, waffles, scones, and the like.
Military
The United States, Canada and United Kingdom militaries often serves weekend brunch in the dining facilities. They offer both breakfast and lunch options and are open from about 09:00-13:00.
The dim sum brunch is popular in Chinese restaurants worldwide. It consists of a variety of stuffed buns, dumplings, and other savory or sweet food items that have been steamed, deep-fried, or baked. Customers pick small portions from passing carts, as the kitchen continuously produces and sends out more freshly prepared dishes. Dim sum is usually eaten at a mid-morning, midday, and/or mid-afternoon teatime.
The Office québécois de la langue française accepts "brunch" as a valid word but also provides a synonym déjeuner-buffet. Note that, however, in Quebec, déjeuner alone means "breakfast". In Quebec, the word—when francized—is pronounced.
Chinese
The Chinese word “早午饭” is defined as brunch; “早饭” means breakfast and “午饭” means lunch in Chinese. The combination of “早饭” and “午饭” is “早午饭”, as known as brunch.
Other places
Canada
In many regions of Canada, in particular in Southern Ontario, brunch is popular on Sundays when families will often host relatives or friends in their dining room. The typical brunch can last a few hours and go late into the afternoon. Montreal-style bagels may be served alongside egg dishes, waffles or crepes, smoked meat or fish, fruit, salads, cheese, and dessert. Many restaurants offer brunch service as well, and is where the idea of Buffets took on mass appeal. In the mid 1980s, with the price of food going down, some restaurants within Toronto started serving all you can eat buffet-style Brunch. Original restaurants in the south west area of Scarborough within Toronto alone included Town and Country Restaurant, Boy on a Dolphin, and Mother Tuckers, which much later on became a small franchise, and later on with the opening of Hot House Cafe, whose Sunday Buffet branch, became well known. Going out for Brunch became even more popular with the gentrification of the inner areas of Toronto by the mid 2000s, when smaller trendy restaurants started offering Brunch, such as restaurants in the area now known as Leslieville neighbourhood which is sometimes called the brunch capital of Toronto as many renowned establishments serve brunch in that neighbourhood. In Canada, brunch is served in private homes using homemade foods and in restaurants. In both cases, brunch typically consists of the same dishes as would be standard in an American brunch, namely coffee, tea, fruit juices, breakfast foods including pancakes, waffles, and french toast; meats such as ham, bacon and sausages; egg dishes such as scrambled eggs, omelettes and Eggs Benedict; bread products such as toast, bagels or croissants; pastries or cakes such as cinnamon rolls or coffee cake; and fresh, cut fruit pieces or fruit salad. Brunches may also include foods not typically associated with breakfast, such as roasted meats, quiche, soup, smoked salmon, sandwiches, and salads such as Cobb salad.
Despite what Keith Kennedy says, brunch may be served in a private home. When served in a private home or a restaurant, a brunch may be served buffet style, in which trays of foods and beverages are available and guests can serve themselves and select the items they want, often in an "all-you-can-eat" fashion. Restaurant brunches may also be served from a menu, in which guests select specific items which are served to them by waitstaff. Restaurant brunch meals range from relatively inexpensive brunches available at diners and family restaurants to expensive brunches served at high-end restaurants and bistros.
