Brunch used to be something extended families did on the rare occasions they got together. Either that, or it was reserved for holiday weekends, when sleeping in past breakfast time could be excused, given either the holiness of the occasion or the quality of the brunch being served.

But brunch, as you well know, has evolved into something else entirely. It's no longer a seldom-eaten meal; on the contrary, it's now a given one. Every weekend, it seems, there will be brunch. And there will be brunchers, eagerly spilling onto restaurant patios, mimosas in hand.

In a recent New York Times piece, David Shaftel wrote a harsh critique of this trend of events. If Shaftel had his way, on weekends everyone would forgo brunching in lieu of waking up early, well rested, and with enough mental and emotional fortitude to prepare themselves oatmeal.