Brunch in New York

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For such a great neighborhood, Brooklyn Heights has always been curiously devoid of truly great places in which to dine. Subtract the Grimaldi’s pizza joint under the bridge and the River Café and ice cream place on the river—probably those all belong to DUMBO geographically, anyway—and what do you have left? Jack the Horse Tavern? Okay. We’ll give you that one. A bakery or two? But that’s about it. That’s what makes Colonie, new as of February 2011, such an interesting and daring entry in the Great Brooklyn Resto Sweepstakes. They’ve gone all-in with brunch offerings like foie gras (!) doughnuts, Long Island white wine on tap, and oysters on the half-shell. Hard to tell if this place will survive the brutally competitive BK dining scene, but it’s certainly not gun-shy. Read the rest of this entry »

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Casa Lever, the restaurant, is on Park Avenue at 53^rd Street, within the landmarked Lever House, New York City’s first curtain-wall skyscraper, later imitated in Paris and Berlin.  A gracious Isamu Noguchi sculpture garden is situated within the Lever House courtyard.  The restaurant interior, meanwhile, beckons with opulent, 1960s retro-chic.  Andy Warhol prints of Dennis Hopper, Giorgio Armani, Jerry Hall, Sly Stallone and Alfred Hitchcock enliven the space. Before Casa Lever even officially opened, Madonna threw a party in it for her friend Penelope Cruz. You can picture Warhol himself, nonchalantly sitting in one of the parallelogram-framed booths, looking out and up at a Venini glass chandelier to quip “I was just joshing about those fifteen minutes.” Read the rest of this entry »

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The recently opened Graffit restaurant feels a bit out of place in the Lincoln Center area of the Upper West Side – and this is a compliment. The restaurant’s website defines its name as “an unconventional fusion of art and food”, and that is exactly what you will find. Chef Jesus Núñez was a graffiti artist in his native Spain, and the walls of the dining room feature murals that fuse graffiti and fine art to showstopping effect.  The restaurant’s design is truly breathtaking and transportive. Read the rest of this entry »

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Café Boulud has a most prepossessing interior, recently refreshed by designer Jeffrey Beers.  Seating niches are finished in embroidered leather, wood accents lend warmth to the space, table linens are by Rivolta Carmignani while the custom Limoges porcelain serving pieces are by Bernardaud and Rosenthal.  If your sensibilities are fired by casual chic, this room just might make you weep for joy. That star twinkling above every table is from Michelin.  The latest stars in the kitchen, meanwhile, are Executive Chef Gavin Kaysen and Pastry Chef Noah Carroll.  Before treating the brunch proper, we feel obliged to mention that Saturdays from 7 to 10a.m. and Sundays from 8 to 11, Café Boulud serves one of the city’s most civilized breakfasts. Read the rest of this entry »

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We have a problem with this brunch : Paul rated it 4/5 but Scott rated it 2/5… Both are great food journalists, so we let you decide!

Paul’s critic:

New York foodies have long known all about chef Tom Colicchio, a local guy whose spreading empire of niche restaurants have gradually taken over the city’s Flatiron district to rave reviews.

His latest endeavor, though, abandons his safe traditional ground for the uncertainty of far west Chelsea: parked between a gas station, a big intersection, and the back end of the food-filled Chelsea Market, this is nothing if not a gamble. A gamble that, food-wise at least, is paying off. Read the rest of this entry »

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Petrossian is to brunches what Renoir masterpieces are to painting.  That is not hyperbole — C’est si bon!

The enchanted main Petrossian venue in New York’s upliftingly beautiful Alwyn Court building is an oasis of soothing civility.  The French-Romanian architect Ion Orveanu, commissioned to create the most tastefully luxurious and cocooning interior known to mankind, delivered with pink Finnish granite, etched Erté mirrors, a Lanvin chandelier, Lalique crystal wall sconces and bronze sculptures from the 1930’s.  The elegant surroundings suggest elegant dress, but diners do visit sporting casual chic and are more than welcome.  The varied guests are cosmopolitan and international, and locally may be from the East Side, the West Side and all around the town. Read the rest of this entry »

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Entzückend.  That German word for charming is entirely apropos to Wallsé, the Michelin-starred Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner’s homage to his Austrian hometown on the Danube.  Situated in lively yet relaxed environs in the far West Village, the restaurant, physically, is characterized by tasteful, unusual appointments including genuine Adolph Loos Viennese café chairs and Julian Schnabel’s impactful portrait of Chef Gutenbrunner.  The storefront’s generously-sized-windows mean that at brunch time – Saturdays and Sundays between 11a.m. and 2:15p.m. — copious natural light enlivens the interior. Read the rest of this entry »

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Café Colette is a small café located on North 9^th Street and Berry Avenue very in the now famous and trendy area of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The place is cosy and well decorated with some black and white pictures and contemporary paintings ; some may say that you could almost feel like you are somewhere in Europe. Read the rest of this entry »

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Across from the Museum of Natural History, Ocean is the perfect brunch spot to bring visiting parents (or even grandparents!). But just because it’s safe for grownups doesn’t mean it’s stuffy.  It just means that you might encounter fewer screaming children than you will elsewhere on the Upper West Side on a Sunday afternoon. And you can make a reservation ahead of time, skirting the interminable brunch lines. Read the rest of this entry »

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On the road to the perfect brunch, we make a stop at this popular Scandinavian address. The prix-fixe menu is $48 per person. Not acceptable ? Let’s see at the end of the adventure…Round one, welcome to somewhere between Stockholm and Copenhagen. The decor mostly consists of dark wood with contrasting white accents. Modern and sophisticated ! Read the rest of this entry »

Fruits, nutella and toasts...

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We found it ! A nice place to brunch without any tourists. Penelope is a tiny New Yorker oasis in the heart of Murray Hill.

Very discreet, this place is “the” spot of the neighborhood. On the weekends, you might have to wait 40 minutes to have a seat. It’s the only negative point (along with the cash only policy) but coffee is offered while you wait. Prices are more than reasonable : 14$ prix fixe with Apple Cider Mimosa or coffee/tea and orange juice.  Read the rest of this entry »