Brunch in New York

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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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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 »