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Cafe Argentino

20 Mar

Place: Cafe Argentino

Neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 499 Grand St. (between Union Ave. & Hooper St.)

Mimosa Rating:

3 mimosas

The scoop: I was meeting a friend in Williamsburg, so I was looking for a brunch spot that wasn’t too far from lower Manhattan. The prices at Cafe Argentino seemed unbeatable, and the location worked well for both of us, so we agreed to give this place a shot.

Inside Cafe Argentino

We walked in a little after 2 p.m. on a Saturday, and the restaurant was half full. The waiter told us to sit wherever we wanted, so we took a seat at a table near the door. The booths by the window looked ideal since they are near large windows that provide sunlight, but they were all taken. There was a slight smell of cleaning products in the air, and the restaurant looked a little old.

Bar area

A lot of the workers hung around and were milling about the bar area in the middle of the restaurant. Not a bad idea because the workers can get a full view of the restaurant from the bar, allowing them to be attentive. I enjoyed the classic rock music playing in the background, and they spiced it up with the Spanish version of the popular The Clash song, “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”

Red sangria

Bottoms up: Each brunch item comes with your choice of white or red sangria and a cup of coffee. I decided to skip the coffee, and we both had red sangria. The sangria wasn’t bad for a complimentary drink. It had a slight taste of wine, but not many pieces of fruit.

Chew on this:

Huevos rancheros

Huevos Rancheros $9 / Two eggs over tortilla with black beans, jack cheese, avocado & fries

The waiter asked how I wanted my eggs prepared; I went with poached. As soon as the dish was placed in front of me, I noticed there was lots of cheese, and I was turned off by the wateriness of the beans. In my opinion, the watery beans on top of the cheese made the dish look a little unappetizing. Despite the presentation, the tomatoes and avocado were fresh, and the cheese mixed with everything tasted good. I substituted a salad for the fries and was pleased with the size. It was on a separate dish and consisted of greens, sliced cherry tomatoes and onions. The light mustardy dressing added a delicious flavor.

Florentine omelet

Florentine Omelet $8 / Spinach and cheese with fries & greens

The presentation of this dish looks way better than the huevos rancheros. Marilyn enjoyed her omelet and thought it was flavorful and prepared perfectly. She didn’t have any complaints with her meal. Her dish had a good amount of food from the salad to the fries and toast. It was definitely a solid variety of food to satisfy. 

Cafe Argentino

The final bite:  Cafe Argentino offers decent dishes at dirt cheap prices. I don’t know of many places in NYC that serve entrées as low as $7, including a drink and coffee. I wouldn’t travel too out of the way for it, but if you are looking for a low-key restaurant in the area, Cafe Argentino is a good place to brunch.

Reviewed by: Victoria

Le Gamin Cafe

14 Feb

Place: Le Gamin Café

Neighborhood: Brooklyn’s Greenpoint, 108 Franklin St. (between Milton St. & Noble St.)

Mimosa Rating:

The scoop: I went to Greenpoint to go to a boutique on Franklin Street. I was looking for a brunch place nearby, and Le Gamin was recommended. The restaurant is located about four blocks from the G train. If you are coming from the L train and have some time to spare, it is about a 15-minute walk from Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg.

Inside La Gamin

The inside of the restaurant was packed pretty tight. Tables were very close to each other. I could sense that Le Gamin is frequented by the locals in Greenpoint. The décor was simple and not really noticeable, but with the beautiful sun shining through the large front windows, it made you feel like you were in a French café.

With two servers responsible for all of the tables, I was pleasantly surprised that we were quickly seated and orders were taken soon after. We weren’t rushed out after we finished our meal, even though people were patiently waiting outside to get a table. La Gamin’s brunch is cash only.

Bottoms up: They had several types of hot chocolate (sweetened, unsweetened, mixed with Grand Marnier, etc.), coffees, and a few simple brunch cocktails.

Valhrona Hot Chocolate $3.50/$4.50

Valhrona hot chocolate

Valhrona is an unsweetened French hot chocolate. I like it a little sweet, so my initial reaction was that it needed to be sweetened! I added honey to mine and my boyfriend proceeded to add four packets of sugar to bring the drink to his liking. What I like about the Valhrona as opposed to other hot chocolates is that you have control over how sweet you want to make it.

Chew on this: The menu is very authentic French. I wasn’t sure what some of the words on the menu meant and looked them up on Google. According to MenuPages, you can order most of these brunch items during the week as well.

Omelet $10.50 / Served with mesclun salad & home fries. Choose three ingredients.

Omelet

The ingredients chosen were merguez (French sausage), ham and mushrooms. The omelet was cooked to perfection and not overcooked on the outside. The ingredients were scattered throughout the omelet. It was a standard sized omelet. The home fries were cut into mini cubes and were slightly crispy on the outside. They had no seasoning or sauce, which left you to decide how you wanted to make them taste. The side salad was only greens, but the dressing was so delicious it did not matter. The dressing was a Dijon mixture that tasted like it had a hint of cinnamon in it.

Crepe Gamin $9 / Served with mesclun salad. Choose three ingredients.  

Crepe

The ingredients chosen were brie cheese, merguez and caramelized onions. I was surprised when the crepe came in a square shape, but shape didn’t matter. Everything about it was pure heaven. Brie has a very distinct cheese flavor and merguez has a strong spicy sausage flavor, so combining the two couldn’t have been a better choice. The onions added a little crispiness to the crepe. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite, and it was just the right size for me. I walked away wondering if I could recreate this at home.

Open for brunch!

The final bite: Le Gamin in Greenpoint serves authentic and delicious French fare. If you have time while exploring the neighborhood, it’s worth stopping in for brunch.

Reviewed by: Erica

Piquant

26 Sep

Place: Piquant

Neighborhood: Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights, 259 Flatbush Ave.

Mimosa Rating:

Large patio

The scoop: With nothing to do on a Saturday, I thought it would be the perfect time to head to Brooklyn for brunch. I chose Piquant, a restaurant in Prospect Heights with modern Southwest cuisine, for its good-looking menu, drink special and proximity to the train. Piquant is a very large space with a long bar in the front of the restaurant and small tables across from the bar. Toward the back, there are more tables. We chose to sit outside on the patio, which is downstairs. On our way outside, we walked through another small dining area that had couches and a smaller bar. The patio was incredible — one of the largest I’ve ever seen for a restaurant in this area — complete with a babbling brook. The whole atmosphere was very serene. I noticed they have heating lamps for when the temperatures dip and fans for hot summer days. They also have speakers scattered throughout the area, but there was no music playing when we were there. Some tables had umbrellas; ours did not. It was a cloudy day, and unfortunately, the few times the sun peaked through, the trees on the patio shielded the sun.

Babbling brook

The service at Piquant was very sub par. Our server was slow and hard to track down at times. We were the only table she was waiting on outside. The other servers were more visible and checked on their patrons more often. After we had been waiting for drinks for some time, I went to the restroom and noticed our server was sitting on a couch texting. I think that says it all.

Bottoms up: Piquant has a great special: $14 prix-fixe with an additional $8 for unlimited cocktails for two hours. And they have a lot to choose from – red and white sangria, mimosas and bloody Marys. I did find it strange that the prix-fixe menu only included egg dishes. A carafe of water was on every table, and if you ordered tea, they brought you a basket with different ones to choose from.

White and red sangria

Red and white sangria

I was a little worried when I didn’t see any fruit in either sangria. Have no fear, though, both types of sangria were quite tasty. I could taste the wine in the red; I could also taste a hint of sweetness. I couldn’t taste liquor in the white. It actually tasted like juice, which can be dangerous!

Mimosa

Mimosa

I’m not sure if it’s because I had two glasses of red sangria before I tried the mimosa, but this traditional brunch drink had a tropical taste. I think they ran out of flutes because mine was served in a wine glass.

Chew on this:

Breakfast burrito

Breakfast burrito / Scrambled eggs, borracho beans, chihuahua cheese and pico de gallo in a flour tortilla with salsa Colorado. Served with home fries or mixed green salad

What a big burrito! It was packed with super fresh ingredients. It had just the right amount of everything. I didn’t know what borracho beans were and was surprised to see they were red. Usually, I don’t like red beans, but these were good and went well with the rest of the fillings. I did scrape off the creamy sauce because I’m not a big fan and didn’t realize that would come on top of the burrito. Sometimes side salads are too small with only a few pieces of lettuce but not at Piquant. My side salad was a good size and tasted excellent. This dish hit the spot.

Steak and eggs

Steak and eggs / Marinated 6 oz. skirt steak with chimichurri sauce and two eggs any style. Served with home fries or mixed green salad

There was nothing bland about this dish. Everything had good flavor. The steak was seasoned well with chimichurri sauce and was cooked the way I requested. I asked for my eggs overeasy, and that’s exactly what I got. The home fries contained sliced red and green peppers and onions. I could actually see the herbs on the potatoes.

Buttermilk pancakes

Buttermilk pancakes $6

We both wanted something sweet, and since pancakes, French toast, etc., aren’t a part of the prix-fixe, we decided to split the buttermilk pancakes. The instant our food was placed in front of us, I could smell the deliciousness of the pancakes. I’m used to eating pancakes with a filling, but even though these were plain, they were so good. They were buttery and very fluffy. The pancakes stayed warm, even though we ate them after our main dishes.

Outside Piquant

The final bite: With solid drinks and tasty food, Piquant is a very good brunch spot, but the service holds it back from being great. If you’re a Manhattanite, the trip to Brooklyn for Piquant’s brunch is worth it.

Reviewed by: Stephanie

Burrito Bar and Kitchen

14 Jun

Place: Burrito Bar and Kitchen

Neighborhood: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, 307 Flatbush Ave.

Mimosa Rating:

 

Mimosa

The scoop: Between the colorful letters on the outside of the restaurant and the decor in the inside, it looks like a hippie made the Burrito Bar and Kitchen his home. Large windows (which are kept open on warm days) surround the restaurant and there is a seating area along the front for those who want to sit outside. In the back of the restaurant there is a long bar with a TV for customers to relax and enjoy their drinks. This place is very festive with colors jumping everywhere and paintings all over the walls. I felt like I was in a loft due to the open space and homey vibe. Our friendly waiter was very attentive and made us feel welcomed.

Margarita

Bottoms up: The Burrito Bar’s brunch special includes one drink (mimosa, bloody Mary, frozen margarita or screwdriver). I decided to go with my summer drink of choice, the margarita. The strawberry margarita was very delicious and didn’t taste syrupy like some flavored drinks.

Sangria

Viviana loved her mimosa because they use fresh orange juice.

Yvette ordered a pitcher of red sangria (Note: Sangria is not a drink option on the brunch menu). The sangria was filled with fresh fruit, however, it was a little too sweet. The syrupy taste of the sangria was more prominent than the wine.

Chew on this:

Chips and salsa


Chips and salsa / Complimentary

Yummy, flavorful salsa with overly salty chips.


Huevos a la Mexicana

Huevos a la Mexicana $16 /
Scrambled eggs with tomato, onion, and jalapenos. Topped with homemade queso. Served with guacamole, black beans and warm tortillas. Note: All brunch items come with turkey ham, red bliss potatoes and homemade muffins.

This dish is satisfying as it came with a little bit of everything. I combined all of the above and made little burritos with their delicious homemade tortillas. The eggs would have tasted better if they weren’t salty. I wasn’t too crazy about the guacamole because it was mild and bland.

Muffins

Assorted muffins / Complimentary with brunch

The muffins were delicious. They were very soft, moist and tasty. They made for good treats after my meal.

Nachos

8 miles high nachos $8 / A mound of blue, red and orange corn tortillas topped with your choice of shredded chicken, chili, or black beans and topped with melted cheese and pico de gallo. Served with guacamole and sour cream

Yvette’s nacho dish was disappointing. The black beans were a little too runny for nachos. It’s as if they forgot to drain the can of beans. Also, the cheese was unevenly distributed and heavily concentrated in the middle.

Mini chimis (one chimi is half-eaten)

Mini chimis $6 / Three deep fried mini burritos. One shredded chicken, one beef and one veggie. Served with guacamole and sour cream

Viviana was satisfied with her dish and it is definitely a bang for your buck. This item is not on the brunch menu, but the size of this appetizer makes for a satisfying meal.

The final bite: Good drinks, decent food and comfortable atmosphere makes Burrito Bar and Kitchen a fun place to visit if you are ever in the Prospect Heights area. Also this place is pet friendly. Grab your friends (or dog) and enjoy brunch at Burrito Bar and Kitchen.

Reviewed by: Victoria

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