Brunch in New York

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Antibes Bistro is a lovely, welcoming French bistro with a distinctly neighborhood feel on a sleepy stretch of Suffolk just above Delancey St. The minimal foot traffic means that you will likely get seated right away or shortly after your arrival. In the warmer months, we suggest taking advantage of the outdoor seating  - even if it is quite warm you will be perfectly comfortable in the shady, semi-enclosed patio area. Although Antibes Bistro does not offer a brunch prix fixe special, the prices are so reasonable that you can feel free to order à la carte without worrying about what your bill will look like. Read the rest of this entry »

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Beauty & Essex is, quite simply, a fantastic and innovative brunch experience—absolutely worth putting on your brunch ‘bucket list’ whether you’re a hip local Brooklynite day-tripping into the city or an Arkansas traveler just passing through.

Brought to you by Portuguese-American chef/owner Chris Santos, he of the equally-uber-hip Stanton Social eating club nearby, this place takes “speakeasy” to new heights: you actually enter through a pawn shop that looks like a real pawn shop. (On closer examination, it is real. You can actually buy the guitars hanging up on the wall and the books stacked up in a corner, for the prices indicated on the tags.) But, truth be told, this pawn operation is mostly just a cool façade—and a mighty convincing one, too. If you didn’t know there was a restaurant here, you’d probably walk right on by it. In fact, even knowing it’s here, it’s a little hard to believe this is actually the place given the drab surroundings. But it is. Read the rest of this entry »

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Any restaurant that so shamelessly promotes heavy drinking is probably trying to cover something up. At Essex, it’s bland food and very spotty service. But, still: $20 for any entrée on the menu and three brunch cocktails? At that price, you can forgive some inadequacies. And there are plenty.

The menu is extensive, and almost half of the options include a tacked on surcharge (which is understandable). We love potato pancakes, but the spinach-shitake-black bean hash that accompanies them just doesn’t work. Fortunately, the sautéed apples and honey cream sauce do work, and help to offset the dryness of the pancakes. We suggest The Essex Cubano with tostones and salsa, or for the very hungover, The Southern – biscuits, sausage, patties and eggs with sausage gravy. A safe bet is The Sunday Platter – house cured salmon gravlax, Read the rest of this entry »