Foundry on Elm, Somerville, MA

Let me start this blog already with its punchline: "This is the perfect brunch in a non-brunch spot" [Diego's dixit]. The non-brunch spot in that quote is Foundry on Elm, Somerville's newest addition to Davis Square long list of bars. It is gastropub with cool decor, great food, an inventive cocktails and drinks menu and -as featured in their page- nine huge TVs, including one in each bathroom.

We went very late on a Sunday, so we were seated immediately and we could even choose between a couple of tables. I do not know how long one might have to wait during "regular brunch hours", but the space is very large and seating does not seem to be a problem. In particular, large parties seem to be accommodated with relative easiness.

For a long time we tried to find the quintessential brunch cocktails -Bloddy Mary and mimosa-listed under their really long drinks menu, to no avail. But when Diego asked if they had Bloody Marys, our server nodded as it if it had always been obvious that they did. She brought a particularly tasteful and well-spiced large BM. I had orange juice which tasted better than any other non-freshly squeezed OJ I've ever had. Almost like Tropicana with sugar added. Right after ordering the drinks, a pastry basket was brought to the table.It came with five medium-sized raisin scones that were absolutely delicious; sprinkled with a little bit of sugar and with pieces of orange peel inside, we had to brace ourselves not to eat them all.

As with any new place, Diego ordered eggs Benedict.

They didn't look great, but he said they tasted really good. I had the Croque Madame sandwich, a plate-sized fried toast of ham, cheese and egg deliciousness. Both Diego and I agreed that the Neuske ham was crazy good. It was thickly cut, and had a hint of smokiness. We also agreed that the homefries were quite good, although they could have used more salt and better seasoning.

One doubt we could never address was whether the coffee had free refills or not. Initially it came in a very pretty white cup, and we took that to be a sign of no refills. In addition, we never saw any server carrying coffee pots. And, when Diego ordered a second cup it never came. At that point we decided we would leave the mystery open and give us a good excuse to come back to have a perfect brunch in a non-brunch spot.

The Neighborhood Restaurant, Somerville, MA

The Neighborhood Restaurant, in Union Square is probably the best brunch setting in the Boston Area for the summer months. It has a grapevine-covered patio that allows subtle rays of sun to warm you while keeping the heat away. The waiting line reflects this. On a hot July day I waited for an hour an a half to get a table and then an additional 45 minutes for the food to arrive. Of course, this is not all about the patio. The food is excellent, the portions very generous and the prices unbeatable. This is the reason why on a cold January Sunday we also had to wait -outside- for a table (I think there were about 4 parties ahead of us, but some of them left before being called, so we "jumped the queue" a little bit). In order to make the wait more tolerable, regardless of the season they take out a coffee dispenser and a tray with freshly baked muffin pieces.

Once inside -or in the patio- one is presented with a fairly long menu in which all the possible combination of eggs (any style), bacon, french toast, toast, bagels, Belgian waffles, Portuguese sausage (it is owned by a family of Portuguese origin, in a Portugues/Brazilian neighborhood), omelets (all types), ham, homefries and pancakes are available. All the plates come with a small glass of orange juice, unlimited coffee, some pastry and an option between fresh fruit or cream of wheat. Because of the weather, this time they were offering baked apples instead of fruit salad. The three of us (we were with Sepu, Diego's best friend) went with the apple -which was as good as the ones Diego bakes!- but the cream of wheat always seems to be very popular amongst other tables. From the moment we stepped in I had my eyes on the chocolate brownie, but instead, we got a cranberry muffin as baked good. Don't get me wrong; all the pastries are amazing. And they are baked on-site, so we were happy to get a fresh batch of muffins instead of waiting who knows how long until more brownies were ready.

In any case, the plates are so big that most likely you will eat the pastry just because it's a pity to leave something so yummy and fresh on the table, not out of hunger... So, what did we order? I had #2: three eggs (over easy for me, but you can have them anyway you like), toasts and homefries. There are few things I love more than breaking the yolk with a crispy piece of bread, and this is what I did thee times! The toasts had too much butter on them so it was not as perfect as it could have been, but still really good -and rich and heavy-. The homefries were also great; sauteed with onions and green peppers they were crispy where they touch the pan but soft for the most part. Diego and I have been to the Neighborhood Restaurant several times and we both agreed this time the homefries where particularly tasty.

Diego's dish came in two (huge) plates. One very similar to mine: two eggs over easy, homefries and a thick piece of ham. I don't know if he was talking about this particular one, but it certainly reminded him of something good when he said "the U.S. is where I've had the best cooked hams in the world". Quite a compliment, right? The second part of Diego's dish was a ridiculously large Belgian waffle (about 8in) topped with strawberries, kiwis, bananas and whipped cream. It also came with a side of butter, in case all this was not enough! He did not use the butter, but he did pour a substantial amount of syrup...

Sepu said you could only have this much food in two occasions: when it's very cold and your body actually needs all those calories or if you are planning on skipping lunch and working out during the day. So, brave the weather and go to the Neighborhood Restaurant! You won't be disappointed. And during the summer... just go early before starting a day of sightseeing with out-of-towners, or have one of their healthier options (egg whites omelets, veggie scrambles), or simply share (for $3) one of the regular plates.

Is this the perfect brunch? If they start serving lox and bagel, they very well might be...

Empire garden, Boston MA

This weekend we went for dim-sum to Empire Garden (no webpage). Is dim-sum the Chinese response to brunch? Well, Diego has been promising to write a theoretical post about this for a while.... In my opinion , dim sum fulfills the same social function that brunch does. It is an activity you do with family or friends (it's almost impossible to eat a variety of plates by oneself), usually on a Sunday noon, and the meal in both cases is greasy enough to cure any hangover. Granted, dim sum is not known for its cocktails, or its eggs (although some dishes have them) or its relaxed atmosphere. But if you want a different experience with the same "social" connotations, head to your closer Chinatown and enjoy.

Diego and I are lucky to live near Boston's Chinatown, really well known by its dim-sum joints. As most dim sum places, Empire Garden's is set in a huge hall (say for a 500-person reception) crowded with tables and crazy carts carrying dumplings, sticky rice, buns, and many types of mystery meats in mystery doughs. The carts (maneuvered mostly by non-English speaking women) approach the tables and one is supposed to a) guess what is being offered; b) try to communicate to the cart "driver" any questions you may have and c) finally decide whether you want it or not.

Unlike most dim sum places, Empire Garden's decor is that of an old theatre/opera house, with grand arches, golden dragons and frescoes-like paintings staring at you from the ceiling. It's quite an interesting atmosphere. In addition, the carts are privately owned. In most other places, carts come from a single kitchen -the restaurant's-, but here the arrangement is more that of a centrally-managed food court. This means that the cart drivers are very aggressive. We hadn't finished settling on our table, when a woman rushed to us carrying short ribs in one hand and something that looked like fried calamari or octopus. We went with the ribs.

So, let me tell you about the food. We are not very adventurous -bah, Diego is, I'm not- so we usually end up ordering stuff we already know about, or have previously tried, or we can easily recognize. After the ribs I plunged over some pork buns, my all-time Asian delight favorite. Barbecued shredded pork in a sticky white dough, I ate two of the three that came in the bamboo steamer and would have kept eating just those if Diego hadn't been eager to have more variety. Thus, we moved to shumai -pork dumplings- that tasted better than they looked. We decided to have one more item: noodles. No matter how desperate we looked, we couldn't get any noodle carts to approach our table. We even took matters into our hands and walked around the hall asking the different carts what they were carrying. No sign of the noodles -which we had seen on some tables-. Finally, we had a revelation. Was it possible that, besides the carts, food could be ordered "a la carte"? Empire Garden has no carte, but more sophisticated dishes can be ordered from an invisible menu. We had the chicken crispy noodles, which came with a terribly bland sauce I had a hard time swallowing. I ate the dry crispy sides while Diego ate the rest. He finally agreed that, although he was happy with the food it was blander than some other dim sums we've tried.

So, Empire Garden may not have the tastier food in the neighborhood, but the ambiance is unbeatable. And, while dim sum is definitely not the perfect brunch, it is great to go for it at least every once in a while if any, to change your weekend routine.

Blizzard Home Brunch with help from S&S, Cambridge, MA

Last weekend, right after Xmas, there was a pretty strong blizzard messing up Brunch plans for all Brunchers in the Northeast. That's why Ani and I decided to stay home and prepare our own, with a little help. We did not feel like anything too heavy, so we did away with the Eggs, and decided that it was a Bagel and Lox kind of day. So, off I ran to S&S, through the snow, mind you, to get our fix and bring home the bounty. S&S is an Inman Sq. institution. Although we go there often enough, there has not been a posting in this blog about this establishment (although we have posted some thoughts on its sister restaurant, Ryles). That is why I won't go into the details of describing S&S (or its menu) thoroughly. I'll save that for a future posting. Let it just be said that S&S is THE jewish deli in Cambridge and probably in the whole of Boston (some people claim they have some competition from Zaftigs in Coolidge Corner). This is the place to go to get Lox and Bagels.

Armed with a healthy portion of fish and two Bagels (one sesame, one everything) I went back home, where freshly brewed hawaiian coffee, OJ and warm scones (courtesy of our friend Jenni) were waiting for me. Fortunately, we also had some home made cranberry jam, a project of Ani's that put to good use the fresh berries  that came with our box of vegetables from our CSA. All in all, it was a great experience and a fun way to stay warm and away from the snow, while not giving up our Brunch rights.

Orinoco Restaurant, Boston, MA

By now, you may have realized Diego and I live in the Boston area. So, if you know anything about the culinary world around here you might be wondering how can we have a brunch blog and never blogged about any South End spots....

We did most of that area before starting the blog and, trying not to repeat places, we hadn't been back in a while.

That changed this weekend, when we brunched at Orinoco, a cozy Venezuelan restaurant located in Boston's South End, with great atmosphere, delicious passion fruit -panchita- juices and filling arepas.

The menu is mostly comprised of small plates; empanadas, fried sweet plantains, bacon-wrapped dates, seven different types of savory arepas, and two sweet arepas (banana and berries). There are also bigger plates, like salads -although we didn't try them, so I don't know how "big" they actually are- a pork sandwich and several breakfast plates.

I ordered just an arepa (a grilled corn pocket sandwich) with stewed

shredded beef, called arepa Mechada. First, let me say that the sauce was absolutely delicious; tomato-based and slightly sweet, complemented the tender meat perfectly. Second, the arepas come as they are -no garnishes or side

dishes; a 3in. corn dough with about four tablespoons of filling. Ex-post, I know that would have been enough for me (a petite woman), but ex-ante, I had to order something else for the meal to feel complete. I went with the fried green plantains, one of my all-time favorite caribbean dishes and a great option at Orinoco; without sugar added and at the right point exactly before getting crispy.

Diego, also thinking that one arepa would not be enough went even further and ordered the Resuelto breakfast plate. It was basically a "deconstructed" Mechada (meat on the plate and arepa on the side), with tomato and fried onion scrambled eggs, and black beans. A powerful dish aimed to feed any Latin macho. As such, Diego finished it all helped with many cups of coffee and a passion fruit juice.

I also had a passion fruit-based beverage: a passion fruit mimosa that arrived at the table at the same time we were finishing the meal(!), as if it were an aperitif, rather than an actual drink. But it was so amazingly delicious that I didn't say zilch and I zipped it as dessert.

All in all, Orinoco was a great discovery. It felt very authentic and the food tasted and looked really homemade. In addition, we got there exactly before the place started getting crowded. There were three of us (Pablo, the third bruncher had the berries sweet arepas) and we could choose between a small table and a booth. A couple of minutes later it would have been no longer the case. However, I was checking the waiting line the whole time and I don't think anyone waited for more than 10 minutes (there are not that many tables; just enough to fit the crowd) a clear plus when looking for a relaxed place to brunch.

The Gazebo Restaurant, Maui, Hawaii

Yes, you read it correctly. We are in Hawaii. And it's Sunday... Actually, we weren't planning on having brunch; lunch plates are more the style around here. We were looking for a casual light lunch on the beaches near Kapalua and we discovered The Gazebo, an out-the-way "beach dinner" with award-winning omelets.

Let me first say that the view was absolutely stunning. Diego complained about our table a little bit at the beginning -by the window, with amazing views of Napili bay- but then he changed seats (on the same table) and saw this

and found his cool.

This was only momentaneous, though. His food choice was as uncool as his initial mood... Instead of going for the obvious option -the gazebo eggs Benedict!-, he ordered a tuna sandwich. He said he thought it would be a grilled tuna sandwich.... But we were in a dinner!!! so a tuna salad sandwich was brought to the table. As with the view, he was initially unhappy, but then admitted that the sandwich tasted quite good, and that it was more beach-compatible than any other item in the menu. To drink, he ordered a POG -passion fruit, orange and guava- juice. Super refreshing and delicious.

By now you must be wondering whether we may have expanded our idea of brunch to tuna sandwiches just to say we went to Hawaii...

We didn't. I did have eggs -should we say at least one person in the table has to order eggs to be considered brunch I'll have to check all the previous postings to be certain of this...- I had the chicken and basil (and tomato) omelett, topped with Jack cheese and accompanied with home fries and four heavily buttered toasts. The omelett was cooked to my taste - not runny- but the chicken was a bit bland. The basil's flavor helped it significantly, however, and I ended up devouring three quarters of it. The home fries were on the hashy side, but quite decent. Treasoning my brunch principles (diego's fault), I also went with the POG and passed the coffee. So, was this the perfect brunch? Certainly not. Was this the perfect setting? You bet!

Brunch in Cambridge at Brookline Lunch, Cambridge, MA

Say you are in Cambridge, MA and Saturday sneaks up on you. You decide you've had a long enough week and it is time to forget about the uninteresting details of everyday life and concentrate on the important things. You decide you want to go out for Brunch. Cambridge? Brunch? Where do you go? Brookline Lunch???????????????? You bet!

Ok, I agree it is a confusing name for a Brunch spot in Cambridge. The fact it is called Brookline has nothing to do with the neighboring town, but with the address of this establishment on Brookline St. (by the way, this is the first time since Ani and I are writing this blog that we come across an establishment with no official web site! In any case, here's a link to a Yelp! page with all the necessary info). Lunch, I don't understand. Maybe they thought lunch would be their thing when they opened this place. Maybe people do go for lunch. Maybe it hints at the fact that prices are more lunch like than dinner like... Whatever the reason you should not be discouraged and consider this hidden gem as an option for the Mother of All Meals when in Central Square.

Brookline Lunch is located in a little rundown building just off Mass Ave. The decor is eclectic and dominated by exposed brick walls and old artifacts/toys that might have been forgotten and left there by previous tenants 60 years ago. Tables are old and a little bit unstable. Still, the whole atmosphere is mostly dominated by pieces of art borrowed from Out of the Blue Art Gallery, which is located not far, on Prospect St. I believe this establishment was closed for repairs for a while (can't tell what was it that needed to be fixed) last year, but it is now back in business full blast.

Now, one of the main features of this place is that it is clearly inexpensive. Don't expect fancy cutlery or table centerpieces. On the other hand, affordability lures in a pretty interesting and heterogeneous crowd ranging from hungry grad students to starving poets and artists. The establishment has a family-owned-and-run feel and everything is cooked to order. The menu is dominated by egg-based food divided by categories: Egg breakfast sandwiches, Benedicts, Eggs+ (like Eggs + Bacon) and Pancakes with Eggs (yeah, pancakes are considered egg based food). As always I decided to give the Eggs Benedict a try. The main reason I was attracted to this option is that they offer a wide variety of Benedict-like dishes, where different ingredients take the place of the thick cut ham. I went with the Bacon Benedict. It was really tasty, I have to say. Eggs were perfectly cooked and the home fries (of which I'll say more in a second) were perfect. The only complaint is that bacon was a little scarce. It is obvious to me - and we can put it up for vote - that two strips of bacon are needed per English Muffin. At Brookline you'll get one. Of course, you can't complain about value, even with the one strip per muffin situation. Ani, on the other hand, went with the Ham and Cheese Egg Sandwich. It had a great home-made look (and taste!). As with all dishes, home fries accompanied the sandwich in style. These home fries are something else, I'll tell you that. Crispy on the outside and soft inside, mixed with all sorts of vegetables, from large pieces of green peppers to broccoli, they are a great side to any dish and great way to jump start your weekend. One more thing: do not forget to ask your server for the home made hot sauce - it goes great with the potatoes.

All in all, this is a great option for a low key Brunch experience in Cambridge, where sometimes it gets steep to have a good meal. We will certainly be back.

Wedding Brunch at Cornelia, Greenwich Village, NYC

It has been a few days since our last posting, but this does not mean we have not been brunching. The main reason behind our disappearance  was the wonderful Thanksgiving break in Ahmerst, MA (and as great as the turkey was I should not tell you much about it as TG dinner is clearly not a Brunch experience). More interestingly, the weekend before last we went to NYC to attend Pablo's and Vicky's wedding. Since they got married at city hall, the festivities consisted of lunch after the wedding and Brunch the Sunday before. It was a fun event and the the groom's and bride's families were there, as well as a few friend like Ani and myself. Visiting from Spain was Anastasia (which has also made a previous appearance in this blog), from Houston, TX, Gustavo and from Adrogue, via NYC, Mercedes.
Given the size of our party, finding a Brunch spot in Manhattan was a little bit of a challenge. Pablo and Vicky solved this problem successfully by picking Cornelia Street Cafe. This establishment is tucked away in a little street (Cornelia) just off Bleecker in the heart of the Village. Ani and I were assiduous visitors at Cornelia back when we were living in NJ. It is a very relaxed cafe where you can chill out and enjoy great Eggs Benedict and Bloody Marys while taking in the awesome atmosphere of a Sunday morning in the Village. Particularly amusing is the fact that they fully open their windows in Summer and you can take the art of people watching to new heights.

On top of that they offer a very comprehensive Brunch menu, including a Prix Fixe option, which was the usual choice for Ani and I. Luckily for us, the wedding Brunch consisted of such fixed menu. This is what you get: Coffee/Tea, Bloody Mary/Mimosa, a piece of pastry (like the wonderful warm chocolate bread from Amy's Bakery just across the street) and an entree. While people around the table ordered different dishes, the Eggs Benedict and the Quiche were the most popular choices and, as it happened, Ani and I each ordered one of these (can you guess who got the Eggs Benedict???). The Eggs Benedict are just great here. They are usually cooked to perfection (in ~30 times I have been here I can remember only one less than perfect Egg) and covered with a formidable Hollandaise, not too thick, not too runny.  The Bloddy Marys are also very solid and consistent. While they are not the best ever, they are well above average and more than reasonable for the price of the Prix Fixe. Quiches are another one of Cornelia's specialties. They offer a different Quiche of the Day every weekend and they are usually very tasty. In our case, Ani got to enjoy a ham, bacon and cheddar quiche-bomb (there was also a less adventurous vegetarian quiche option). It was served with mixed greens and was more than enough to send you home happy. All in all, this is a great place and a very typical representative of the great Brunch scene that NYC has to offer.

While it is true that you might not be celebrating a wedding every weekend, it pays off to find an excuse to visit Cornelia as often as possible and enjoy life West Village style.

Fusion, Bloody Marys and Spice at East Coast Grill, Cambridge, MA

This week Ani and I decided we wanted to give East Coast Grill a try for Brunch. We had been there before for dinner and I was particularly interested in visiting this Inman Square legendary establishment - ECG is consistently ranked as one of Boston's best restaurants - to enjoy the mother of all meals. There was one main reason for my unbridled enthusiasm. If you've been to Inman Sq. before you might think this was the fact that there is always a line outside or that they are solidly fully booked every night of the week. This was not the reason. Every time I walk by ECG, while on my Quest for the Perfect Brunch, I can see the most wonderful thing through their windows. It is a perfectly set up Bloody Mary self service bar with dozens of different ingredients to choose from to make the perfect eye opener. If this is not a reason to pick a Brunch spot, what is? But I am getting ahead of myself here... We'll get to that.

East Coast Grill is a pretty cool restaurant that serves a type of Latin-Southern fusion food where dishes are mostly (but not only!) seafood based. Culinary examples of what you might find in the menu go from fish tacos to southern style BBQ, making a quick detour through a raw bar where solid oysters are served. Also popular at ECG are their special events held around the year, the most popular of all being Hell Night. Truth to be said, the common denominator found in all dishes here is the fact that they tend to be rather spicy. I guess that is not a surprise in a latin-southern restaurant, but what is particular to ECG is that they make a statement out of it. Hell Night is just the main date in the calendar where this aspect is enthusiastically celebrated.

So, what about our brunch? While Ani went with her usual Grape Juice / OJ combo and coffee, I could not resist from venturing deep into the Bloody Mary bar described above. I decided to go with it head in first. When you order the drink, you get a tall glass filled with vodka and ice, topped with a lime and rimmed with hot spices. Then, off you go to the self service area where the sky's the limit. I decided to try a few things so I could have a general idea, but not too many so I could make out the particular tastes. I went with: Heart of Palm, Mango and Avocado fresh mix, Garlic and Chile sauce, Pickled Jalapenos, Olives, Tabasco sauce and Celery. Good, ain't it? If you think that's a lot, well... it was just a very small fraction of all options possible. Now, that does not make a Bloody Mary. There is one crucial ingredient left: Tomato juice. ECG offers three different options: standard tomato juice, Bloody Mary Mix and Clamato. Wonder what this last one is? It is tomato juice mixed with just the right amount of clams juice which makes the drink saltier and tastier. Of course, I decided to go with this last, more adventurous, option. The result was just amazing. Brunch perfection in a glass. I can hardly wait to come back and try a different combination.

What about the food? We opened with three oysters from the raw bar. They were meaty and tasty. Very solid, indeed. Ani is not a big fan of raw prehistoric animals in shells, so she asked for some cornbread croutons as a snack. Here we have to take our hats off to our waitress, as she agreed to serve us 3 oysters (while 6 is the norm) and the croutons (that were part of some other dish). After this prelude, and while I kept sipping from my self-made Bloddy Mary, we got to the entrees. Ani went with the Amilcar's Omelette, which comes with avocado, black beans, jack cheese, salsa verde, salsa roja, queso fresco and guava paste. I thought it was pretty good and I especially liked the salsa verde. Ani thought it was too much of a fusion dish (she confessed she is not very much impressed with latin fusion food, as all dishes tend to contain way too many ingredients) and did not like the fact that the black beans where inside the omelette and not mixed with the cheese. Not a complete success. I, on the other hand, nailed it. I got one of the specials. Salmon and Chorizo Cakes with fresh tomatillos and beans. It was just out of this world. The cakes where golden crispy and spicy, but very well complemented by the tomatillos. It was a perfect dish to pair my clamato based Bloody Mary.

I have to say I had a great time at East Coast Grill. Making my own Bloody Mary was fun and their ingredients were fresh and tasty. Oysters were a great way to start our meal. On top of that, my dish was remarkable. Maybe Ani, was not a 100% pleased with hers, but it might have not been the strongest dish in the menu. Furthermore, her complaints about latin fusion food made me feel she may have not been unbiased in her judgement. :)

East Coast Grill is an Inman Sq. classic and you will not be a local until you've visited it. What better time than Brunch to do so?

Minimalist Brunch at Market, Boston, MA

When you think of Brunch, do you have baroque images of big dishes filled with bacon, fries and other forms of grease based food in your head? Is your idea of the most important meal of the week a type of comfort food where quantity and overall goodness are more important than presentation? Do you like to sit at a spot where you can see right into the kitchen where a 20 year old is flipping your pancakes and poaching your eggs? Then you have no business visiting Market at the W hotel in Boston's Theatre District.
Ani and I have been meaning to visit this nicely setup establishment for a couple of months now. We first discovered the place when our friends Javier and Nicole (who have just happened to visit Boston again last week and have been immortalized in the previous posting!) visited Bean Town before their wedding and decided to stay at the W. If you visit their web page you'll see they describe themselves as "wicked cool". Well,... They are right. While waiting for Javier and Nicole at the lobby we were admiring the place and were very surprised to discover that Jean-Georges has a restaurant in the hotel. Apparently, Ani read about him in a New Yorker article so we decided to make a mental note to visit the place for Brunch sometime. That time was today.

Market has a very quiet and sophisticated atmosphere. It does not feel as a hotel restaurant at all. Tables are very nicely setup and the menu matches the wide range of offerings you can find at any top Brunch destination at Soho in New York. Prices are just a little steep but nothing to cry about. Also, how expensive can Brunch be?

On to the food and drinks! Besides our usual cups of coffee we decided to share two drinks. One was Ani's favorite mix of OJ and Grapefruit Juice in equal parts. The other was a drink that caught our attention: Lychee-Raspberry Bellini. I have to say I am not a big fan of Bellinis, but this one was quite tasty. Ani was not sure about the Lychee, but in the end she ended up having the whole drink for herself! I barely tasted it and heard that it was good...haha.

Ani decided to have a gruyere omelette with roasted potatoes (as always) and fresh tomato salad. It looked quite tasty and the vegetables were fresh and flavorful. Oh, there were also some toasts. But I took care of that...guess I was trying to compensate for the lost Bellini. On my side I went minimalist all the way. I decided to try a deconstruction of Eggs Benedict (I am also predictable, I guess). It was fresh smoked salmon served on top of hollandaise covered poached eggs resting over nicely cut baskets of brioche. Wow! The dish also came with a great side of fresh greens salad which included fennel as an ingredient. Just great.
Maybe we did miss some human warmth. Maybe the lack of students/actress/singers/poets/waitresses was noticeable. Maybe they called us "M'am" and "Sir" instead of "dude". But our servers were fully trained and efficient and everything was just right. We had a great Minimalist Brunch experience and recommend you have one too. Make the most of the weekend!