I popped into this little French joint for Brunch last weekend. I tried the steak burger and really enjoyed it. it was topped with melted brie, thin sliced tomato and cucumbers, and tartar sauce, of all things. It really worked nicely. And the fries were BONKERS. I’d definitely eat this burger again.
LES ENFANTS DE BOHEME
177 Henry St
New York, NY 10002
Just a quick note here about Dudley’s, which has a great brunch on weekends. My wife and I tried their Bloody Mary with “chicken salt” rim – delicious. I got mine with mezcal, she got hers with vodka.
They make a great double cheeseburger, reminiscent of Big Mac flavors. I’ll definitely be back for this more often, now that I live close by.
And on the healthier side, poached eggs with smoked salmon and salad. Very nice.
DUDLEY’S
85 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
My wife and I popped in here for brunch and the place was PACKED!
We had a quick, meaty meal.
“The Hangover Burger” is a thick 8oz patty that’s topped with caramelized bourbon onions, blue cheese, pickles and a fried egg.
They cooked this fucker just right.
We also tried their grilled hanger steak and eggs dish, which came with a chimichurri sauce, a mixed greens salad and some roasted potatoes.
Not bad! I’d come back to try some of their dinner menu selections, and I’d probably try one or two of the sweeter brunch items (like the cast iron blueberry pancakes or the French toast).
THE CONSULATE
519 Columbus Ave
New York, NY 10024
Michelin star winning dim sum joint Tim Ho Wan opened up a second NYC location in Hell’s Kitchen last week, and my wife and I gave it a shot for her sister’s birthday. I found the experience to be pretty standard, to be honest. They’re known for their pork buns, which are very good by all objective measures, but not really my thing. Too sweet. Here’s a photo dump of all the stuff we had. My favorites were the fried milk sticks (dessert) and the rice roll wraps.
TIM HO WAN
610 9th Ave
New York, NY 10036
Muriel’s has a great jazz brunch, where a three piece band plays some nice tunes as you dig in. My wife and I loved this spot so much on our trip in 2009 that we went twice, and we even had the band play a request for us.
The restaurant is a beautiful converted townhouse near Jackson Square.
I started with a bloody. I love the addition of spicy pickled beans and okra in the bloodies down here.
And I also devoured some of their toasty, buttery table bread with whipped butter.
This place makes a great turtle soup, classically prepared with a drizzle of sherry at the end. Still as delicious as I remember it.
But I was really blown away by this stack of fried green tomatoes, shrimp and remoulade. I have a deep love for fried green tomatoes for some reason.
I ordered a pork chop for my entree. It was decent, but a little bit sweet. I guess since this was brunch, they were using more maple flavors in the preparation than savory flavors.
For dessert, I had a bite of my wife’s bread pudding. I loved it. I’m a big fan of bread pudding. It was soft inside, and caramelized on the outside. Perfect.
That about does it.
MURIEL’S
801 Chartres St
New Orleans, LA 70116
My wife and I went to Prune for brunch. We started off with some nicely crafted Bloody Mary drinks (which come with a Red Stripe beer back).
Mine was made with gin and garnished with a pickled egg, and my wife got a vodka based one with some southern spices, caper berries and pickled beans. I actually mixed my beer into the bloody when I was about halfway done, to make what was almost like a michelada.
For my entree, I had the famous fried monte cristo sandwich (ham, turkey, and cheese, breaded and deep fried). It was amazing – like a French toast sandwich. It came with two eggs and a berry jelly.
That coil of sausage we ordered as an extra side. Home made lamb sausage to be exact. It was incredible.
While the bill was a bit steep, we were satisfied and the food was delicious.
Incase you’re wondering, those are little licorice schnauzers that come with the bill.
PRUNE
54 E 1st St #1
New York, NY 10003
Osamil serves up a really great brunch on weekends. They open nice and early too, at 10:30, so if you’re like me and think that brunch is really just a big breakfast with booze, then 10:30 is right on the money. We went at 12:30 with another food couple that we’re friends with though, so this became our main meal of the day.
The cocktail menu is really fun here. This pink one had watermelon foam and mescal. Very nice.
I also tried a michelada (beer and bloody mix), which was nice.
And we shared this giant punch bowl.
As for the food, we started with some kimchi deviled eggs, which had a nice spice level to them.
Next up was cold uni bibimbap. Essentially this is rice, kimchi, egg, quinoa, onion, nori, mixed greens and other tasty things, mixed up with some uni (wish there was more).
This asian pear salad with candied walnuts was really nice and refreshing too.
The broth for these mussels is incredibly slurpable. I was eating it by the spoonful throughout the meal. And yes there is bacon in there.
And those fries you see there are some of the best in the city. Might be my new favorite, as a matter of fact. They’re dusted with pimento and finished with truffle oil.
Okay so let’s get to the meat. First, spam. I know, I know… but it really is good.
Next, pork belly, lettuce and tomato sandwich. So good!
But here’s the show stopper: grilled prime hanger steak served atop bacon and kimchi fried rice, with a sunny-side up egg. Amazing.
THAT’s what breakfast should be… Not only is it gorgeous but it tasted great too. The steak could have used a bit more salt and pepper, but that’s only if you were eating it by itself. When combined with the rice, you got all the savory elements from the bacon and kimchi working together with the steak, so it’s all good. 9/10.
OSAMIL
5 W 31st St
New York, NY 10001
One Sunday afternoon my wife and I went on a hunt for oysters in the neighborhood. The first place we went to was closed for renovations (they usually have dollar oysters), but we always wanted to try this place ever since we saw it first open.
They had oysters, so we got our fix. Three east coast and three west coast, times two, so we could each try one of each variety.
They were all great and really fresh. The cost goes down as you order more, so this plate of a dozen came out to $3 each, or $36. A bit high considering we were starting off with the idea of paying $1 per oyster, but we were happy with the quality. A few of the varietals normally cost upwards of $4 a piece. We both liked the Kumamoto style the best.
Next up was their seafood pizza.
This elongated beauty of a pie was a bit pricey at $20, but also very tasty. I don’t mind paying up a bit if the quality is good. The only critique here is that the pie could have used some shaved parmesan cheese to finish at the end, and perhaps a sprinkling of some crispy prosciutto.
BLUE SEAFOOD & PIZZA
856 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019
Breakfast at this bakery-slash-restaurant joint was pretty fantastic.
I had an amazing lobster BLT sandwich that must have had a pound of good lobster claw meat on it.
My wife’s “little breakfast” was just $9 and had a ton of food on the plate.
The only downer was the side order of truffle fries. They were more like roasted potato wedges, not too crisp, and I think they were simply hit with some truffle oil to give it an aroma.
CAFE LE PERCHE
230 Warren St
Hudson, NY 12534
NOTE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED
Alice’s Arbor is a true farm-to-table concept in Brooklyn by Dimitri Vlahakis (Motorino, La Gamelle, Esperanto). They use products sourced from 13 local purveyors, and fresh pastries and bread from sister restaurant La Gamelle.
The menu features breakfast all day, like this hanger steak and eggs that I had for brunch:
That’s a great meal for just $15. The steak was a perfect medium rare with a nice crust on the outside. The black bean sauce was unique and delicious. 8/10. Eggs were exactly as ordered, and the paprika-spiced potatoes carried a nice comfortable heat.
They also offer signature sandwiches like the Banh Mi Croissant (braised chicken or pork with daikon, carrot, cucumber and jalapeño). We went with pork:
This reminded me a lot of the Thai dish called larb as posed to a classic banh mi. It was savory, pungent and flavorful like larb, only in sandwich format. The croissant was an interesting choice for the sandwich. It ties back to the French colonial and Vietnamese roots of banh mi, but there’s just something about a classic baguette that holds up really well to the juiciness of these kinds of sandwiches. The flavors were great, but I ended up using my fork and knife to take this baby down. That said, I’d still eat this again for sure.
There’s also an exceptional selection of dinner entrees from the wood-burning oven, like Sullivan County Farms Trout filet over green beans and roasted fingerling potatoes in a lemon brown butter sauce, topped with almonds and capers.
Other favorites include the unique, customizable Mac & Cheese with spiral pasta, cheddar and goat cheese bechamel topped with toasted breadcrumbs (with optional add-ins of pulled pork, truffle oil or jalapeños); or the popular brunch items like crab hash with poached egg, lemon Hollandaise and greens.
Daily happy hour specials from 4p.m.-7p.m. include $5 for draft beer, $6 draft wine, $2 off well drinks and $1 oysters. Awesome deal!
The interior evokes cabin-esque ski lodge decor, perhaps from the northwest: An upcycled vintage vibe with aged brick walls, repurposed wood paneling and driftwood branch light fixtures. Very cool.
I definitely recommend hitting this joint.
ALICE’S ARBOR
549 Classon Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11216
