01.02.11
Posted in Alphabet City, brunch, East Village, Italian, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 14:35 by Dominique
156 East 2nd St. near Ave. A, 212-477-7600
Great for: brunch (so far)
The Australian Astrophysicist lives near Tompkins Square Park and consequently I have been trying places east of 1st Avenue. This place is worth the walk.
The garlicky white beans that come with the bread basket are delicious, and I’m not even a fan of beans. We were soon distracted by terrific poached eggs. Mine were on a large block of tasty grilled polenta with prosciutto di Parma, shaved Parmesan, abundant fennel and aged balsamico. It was so much deliciousness I actually could not finish it. His eggs Benedict came with great hollandaise sauce, pancetta, potatoes and mixed greens.
The place is cute inside with a surprising number of tables. Rather twee, but I like it. It’s fun to see the cooks in the open kitchen. Despite watching the entire time, I still have no idea how they poach eggs so efficiently and wonderfully. You should go and see if you can figure it out.
Rating: 8.5 / 10 pending dinner review
Our cost: $40 (2 mains, 2 coffees)
Noise level: not noisy
Chance of walking in: it’s probably packed and they only take reservations for 8 or more. There are two private rooms downstairs though.
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11.26.10
Posted in brunch, East Village, French, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 18:45 by Dominique
84 E. 4th St. & 2nd Ave., 212-979-2034
Great for: pani frattau
My friend Lovely Blonde and I tried to play tennis one Saturday morning but it started to drizzle just as she picked me up on her Vespa. That was all the excuse we needed to skip exercise and go for early brunch. Stupid Prune had a half hour wait at 10am so Belcourt it was. (I do really want to try Prune, I just hate waiting more than I could possibly love the food. I only wait if I am paid handsomely or it’s less than 15 minutes.)
After falling in love with half the things on the menu, I finally settled on salt cod hash with poached eggs, harissa, potatoes, peppers, scallions and flat bread. What little there was of the fish was tasty, and I quite liked the combination of things. The bread was not good.
LB’s waiter-recommended pani frattau was terrific. It consists of music-paper bread lasagna with house-made ricotta, crème fraîche, tomatoes, Parmesan and poached eggs. The whole thing was soft and yummy and almost inspired me to make lasagna at home again. (It is a bit too much trouble and I have too many leftovers when it’s just me.) And of course, how could I, a singer and violinist, not love music-paper bread?
Service was nice, décor too, and I plan to visit again to see if they make anything else well.
Rating: 7 / 10 (pending dinner review)
Our cost: $30 (2 brunch entrées + $5 pot of tea)
Noise level: noisy
Chance of walking in: decent, there are a lot of tables.
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09.30.10
Posted in American, brunch, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5, SoHo at 01:27 by Dominique
54 Prince St. & Lafayette, 212-226-0211
Great for: tuna tartare, Tilly cocktails, brunching and people-watching
SoHo, despite its reputation as a hub of nightlife, is oddly short of places to eat late. Or at least the eastern bit is. Towards Broadway there’s more stuff open. Delicatessen helps somewhat by being open until 12 on weekdays and 1 on weekends. I’ve been here before for drinks in their subterranean party space, so I was glad to finally try the food.
The tuna tartare with wasabi tobiko, crème fraiche and taro chips is wonderful. One of the best I’ve ever had, it’s a huge disc with lovely taste and texture. I even liked the taro chips, the wasabi really flavored the tobiko, and the tuna was great quality. On the other hand, the La Frieda short rib blend sliders with bacon, Swiss and minced pickles were just fine. They weren’t as rich as you’d expect. Some of the meat was a bit burned, though overall the combination was pretty good.
They can’t do chicken properly here. We tried the chicken caesar salad and the enormous paillard over arugula, fennel, parmesan and balsamic, and the chicken was all weirdly done. The salads were delicious minus the meat. The paillard was just grilled, no breading or flour, and the edges were overcooked while the center was juicy and tasty. There is no excuse for a restaurant that has trouble with chicken.
The place redeemed itself somewhat with the Tilly cocktail, which was so good I asked the bartender for the recipe. 1.5 ounces Ketel One, 3/4 ounce triple sec, the juice of half a lime, 4 small strawberries and a splash of pomegranate juice all blended are heaven. There you go, a foolproof way to to make people’s eyes light up at your next party. When I made it at home, my friend and I couldn’t stop saying “Mmmm” for quite a while.
Our waitress was as pretty as she was nice. The cooking was also impressively fast, though it was very late and they weren’t packed. It’s a large restaurant with abundant sidewalk space, and somehow usually filled despite the mostly so-so food. I am proud of myself for not stopping here for the tuna tartare when I leave the Equinox up the block every day or so. It is good enough that I might consider working out an extra hour to have it! And maybe a Tilly. Just one.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $90
Noise level: noisy all the time
Chance of walking in: not great. With such a big restaurant, though, it raises your chances.
Their MacBar next door is not very good. I tried the small “lobsta’” mac and cheese and it was a disappointing waste of $9. It was my treat for the day, so I finished it, but there’s not a lot of flavoring, just expensive ingredients they overcharge for. I personally have not tried Delicatessen brunch. However, the place is always slammed during that time, and the patrons are pretty, so it’s probably worth stopping by.
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01.03.09
Posted in brunch, Chelsea, Italian, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 11:47 by Dominique
191 7th Ave. & 21st/22nd Sts., 212-675-5980
Great for: minimuffins, alcoholic brunch, reliable food
My dear friend C was visiting from London and planned brunch with me and our other friend K. I was bored of not drinking – I went three months and lost about 1.5 inches in circumference! Although my mother has been force-feeding me over the holidays and I think I will need to stay on the wagon a while longer – and wanted to celebrate her brief return, so I got the $15 unlimited champagne too. It turned into a very not-sober, fun day.
First off they have cute little minimuffins with what looked like strawberry jam. They seem very popular with everyone (no bready things for me). My eggs Benedict with one crab cake was quite good. The eggs could have been a shade less cooked, though. And both could have been larger. C’s rigatoni with eggplant was tasty but also small. She ordered it expecting it to be enormous since she was really hungry; it was funny to find the one Italian restaurant in the city without huge pasta portions. K’s burger with bacon, on the other hand, was very large. She enjoyed it a lot.
I liked the pretty plating. We had mainly leisurely service except when our waiter was making sure we had enough champagne in our giant glasses. He even refilled me after we paid the check (it never hurts to smile sweetly). C, who used to live in the neighborhood, said she has always seen it totally packed and was surprised she could even get a reservation for brunch. I definitely want to try their dinner.
Rating: 7 / 10 (just brunch, pending dinner visit)
Our cost: $110 (3 brunches with $15 unlimited drinks)
Noise level: boisterous
Chance of walking in: not good, definitely reserve.
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01.02.09
Posted in American, brunch, Lower East Side, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 05:35 by Dominique
4 Clinton St. & Houston/Stanton Sts., 646-602-6263
Great for: brunch if you have errands or want to shop in the area, interesting milkshakes
I’ve lived near this place for a year and tried to go twice. I suppose I could walk over and put my name down and then come back again at my best guess of the right time, but it’s a little far from me for that. Plus the Ex-Boyfriend didn’t like to shop so we had nothing to do around there. New Boyfriend, on the other hand, sometimes has weekdays off, obviating the need to deal with any waiting.
I got spicy shrimp and cheese grits in creamy Creole sauce with hash browns instead of fried green tomatoes. Not actually that spicy, it was delicious though the shrimp could have been less cooked. I loved the potatoes and the grits were a creamy delight. Hungry Boyfriend got the special app of crispy potato pancakes with house applesauce and sour cream. He found it tasty with some interesting spices, especially when he ate all three things together. I hate applesauce and adding it to things - I believe my exact words were, “Ewww, sweet and savory together! I like my food segregated. Brown v. Board of Education has not happened in my mouth yet” – but I agreed the sour cream and latkes were a good combo.
His buttermilk biscuit sandwich with scrambled eggs, melted cheddar, homemade tomato jam and bacon accompanied by hash browns was also yummy. I liked the nice solid bacon despite it not being that crispy. I had the satisfying toffee-coffee milkshake with coffee ice cream, espresso and Kahlua for dessert. It’s not very sweet or thick and packs quite a punch of caffeine.
This place is almost impossible to walk right into. We happened to come at about 3 pm on a very cold Tuesday and accepted the tiny counter right by the door, or we would have had to wait a while. I can see why people make such a fuss over it though. It’s cheery, bright and homey, if your mom was Southern and really tidy. I liked the low-key bluegrass and ’50s swing music which was not too loud for once. Our service was quite slow, but the place was totally full. And they more than made up for it with their friendliness.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $65 (coffee & milkshake)
Noise level: not much
Chance of walking in: for brunch put your name down and come back in about 2 hours. There’s lots of great shopping down Clinton.
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05.18.08
Posted in American, brunch, East Village, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 4 to 5.5 at 16:01 by Dominique
55 3rd Ave. & 11th St., 212-420-9800
Great for: not waiting for brunch, fast service
I hate waiting. It drives me crazy and I won’t do it for more than 10 minutes. This is why I have not yet been to Clinton Street Baking, despite living pretty close by. So I was well pleased to discover The Smith from the New York Magazine Best of 2008 article. They take reservations for brunch! And the space is huge.
My country breakfast of fluffy cheddar grits, ham steak, biscuit and gravy was decent. There were too many green peppers, though, and the meal was too heavy to finish. The Boyfriend, on the other hand, hated his eggs Benedict with home fries and applewood bacon. The eggs themselves were ok but the bread/muffin was a rock-hard brick, the bacon was far too fatty, the sauce was just all right, and B said the potatoes tasted sweet and reheated “six times.” After reluctantly tasting them, I had to agree. It was so bad he actually got pissed off eating it. This is a guy who loves to eat and is usually only cranky when he’s hungry.
On the plus side, we both got a free bellini with our brunch items. The food came out lightning quick and our waitress was hot and friendly, but that paled in comparison with the infernal din of stupid people and the abysmal food. For such a big room to have all tiled walls is just a terribly dumb idea – it aggravated the noise problem. I didn’t like the bizarre selection of old nude photos that made a mosaic on the upper part of the back wall either. I’m really puzzled as to why Adam Platt loves this place. I don’t care if they do take reservations, I’m never eating here again.
Rating: 4 / 10
Our cost: $36
Noise level: everyone shouting to be (mis)heard
Chance of walking in: medium, but they take brunch reservations.
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