Public, New York, NY

This weekend we went to New York, for what it will probably be our second to last trip to the Big Apple before moving to the West coast. In a fit of melancholia typical of a porteño, Diego decided this was the time to do everything we either love doing or all those things we always say we would do while in NYC. Going to Barney Greengrass fit in the first category, while having brunch at Public fell in the second.

Public is probably one of the coolest, hippest restaurants in Manhattan. It won a James Beard award for best design and graphics in 2004 and the vintage/post-industrial concept has not lost its originality. Brunch is served in the sky-lit lounge, an open spaced, cement and brick-walled room with ultra modern fixtures, wooden bar and a beautiful plant growing underneath one of the skylights.

As with every NYC brunch hotspot we knew there would be a significant wait time. So, we were pleasantly surprised when they told us we should wait just for half an hour. We were happy to walk around Nolita for a while. However, when we came back, 25 minutes later, the wait time was still the same. Part of the problem of Public's beautiful design is that, apparently, one doesn't want to leave! Finally, after a little over an hour we sat. We got a table by the huge glass window and started browsing the menu.

The brunch menu has an eclectic personality. Sweet tahini yogurt, Turkish eggs, coconut pancakes, whipped foie gras butter or tea-smoked salmon with yuzu hollandaise are some of the things we didn't try but made us look twice. We did try the Grilled venison burger on a miso bun with tomato chili jam and cassava chips (Vicky), the salad of herby lentils, green beans, avocado, toasted pecans and baby gem with pomegranate molasses and avocado oil vinaigrette (Ani), and the Fry-up: two eggs (poached, scrambled or fried) on sourdough toast with slow roast tomatoes and buttered mushrooms (Pablo and Diego). Every bruncher was overly happy with its choice and would not have changed it for any of the others (Vicky even said that she didn't find most of the flavor combinations supper appealing, but loved the burger). Happily, each personality found its match.

We did, however, all agree that the way to start was with a freshly baked scone or muffin with preserves. Diego and I shared a caramel-ginger muffin, Pablo had a cinnamon roll with a creamy glaze and Vicky had the cheddar-jalapeno scone with sugar on top. If you think this is an odd combination, think twice. It was awesome. The preserves were apple and raspberry-mint. Delicious.

To gulp all this down, Diego ordered a Bloody Mary, decorated with olive and pickle. I had freshly squeezed orange juice, but I spent the entire brunch salivating after the cocktails that passed by.

To be honest, I have been wanting to have brunch at Public since I first laid eyes on its menu and its ambiance. I had very high expectations and they were one hundred percent fulfilled. So, how can I say this was not the perfect brunch??? Well, as you may know I like outdoor seating... so maybe next time we are on NYC, if it's summer, there is a reasonable wait and we get one of the (three or four) terrace tables, maybe I will have found the perfect brunch.