When Does Breakfast Turn Into Brunch?

Brunch may be the best thing about the weekend (or the worst meal of the week, if you ask the naysayers). There is something magically wonderful about waking up late, ordering heavy food, and indulging in bottomless mimosas—which, surprisingly, are actually a good deal. I'm not the only one who feels this way, in fact, brunch is arguably the most popular meal in America. But while most of us can unite behind the idea of this in-between meal, we're all still divided over one important question: When does it start?

If you go by restaurant guidelines, brunch could be between 8am and 4pm. However, any reasonable person would tell you that that's absolute madness. Now, I may not have a scientific base to prove this, but 8am is breakfast. It just is. The same goes for 9am. Ten is where things begin to get murky. It feels a bit too early, yet 11 feels a bit too late for the start of brunch. Therefore, my totally biased, completely personal, absolutely correct verdict is that brunch starts at 10:30.

This is also the perfect hour to begin because by the time you're done looking over the menu and ordering, it'll already be past 11, so you won't feel any guilt about ordering booze or a heavy savory item like a burger. For some reason, 10am feels too early, too close to breakfast to order these. As Goldilocks would say, the middle ground is juuuust right.

Unless you're a morning runner, you probably don't want to wake up early on weekends. This is your time to sleep in. Or at least to lay in bed while reading or doomscrolling instead of getting up and being productive right away. Making brunch too early is should be a crime. If your friend suggests brunching at 8am, question how much this person is actually bringing into your life. On the other hand, many people don't want to waste the entire day either. If you do brunch at 1 or 2pm (which, honestly, is just lunch), you're cutting into the middle of the day for those who have plans later on. However, start at 10:30, and you'll keep both those who want to sleep until late and those who want to take advantage of the day happy.

This is also the ideal time for friend groups that include parents. Morning will be devoted to getting kids ready for the day and the afternoon will likely involve the park or someplace fun. This sandwich time allows people to do both. The best part is that those who don't have kids and want to stay enjoying the bottomless mimosas can stay put and keep throwing glasses back. If they do, they'll get home early enough to sleep off the booze before the day is over. No next-day-hangover involved.

Simply put, 10:30am is the perfect time to start your brunch. Convince me otherwise.