Brunch Gang NYC

Place: Cafe Petisco

Location: Lower East Side, 189 E. Broadway (between Canal St. & Rutgers St.)

Mimosa Rating:

The scoop: Cafe Petisco is located in the lower east side of Chinatown where unfortunately there are a lack of brunch options. I decided to brunch at 3:30, and I was surprised that this place had a decent crowd of people considering most people aren’t too familiar with this area of Manhattan.

Wine decor

I thought the inside was cute in a simple way — I liked that they used wine bottles on the walls for decoration. It seems like they make the most out of the restaurant space. The place isn’t too big, but there were a good amount of tables. At the counter, pastries are available for sale and that was also where the bartender mixed the drinks. Right behind the counter area you can see the kitchen.

The restaurant was kind of noisy with chatter, but not unbearably loud. There were a some kids in the restaurant and a couple of them were eating pancakes that looked pretty good.

Bottoms up: From 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the brunch mimosa, bellini and beer cost $5 each.

Mimosa

Mimosa $5

Since I was ordering an egg dish, I decided to go with the mimosa. Instead of a flute glass, this drink was served in a tall glass. I wasn’t wowed as it was your standard mimosa. 

Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary $ 9 / Vodka, tequila, tomato juice, worchestire sauce, horseradish and harissa

Served in a mason jar and garnished with the bloody Mary essentials, this bloody Mary hit the spot. Matt really enjoyed the homemade taste and it had the right amount of spice.

The Heatah $9 / Tequila, lime, jalapeno coins, cointreau, agave

The Heatah

Since we had brunch late, I was able to order a drink during the happy hour special ($6 per specialty cocktail). I absolutely loved the Heatah. It was spicy with a tad bit of slight sweetness and pretty strong. I saw the bartender mixing the drinks and he really put effort into all of the specialty cocktails that he made. 

Steak Benedict $11.25 / Two poached eggs over skirt steak, hollandaise sauce

Steak Benedict

Since it was late in the day, I wanted a heavier dish so the eggs Benedict with steak caught my eye. I assumed the steak would have been filling, but there weren’t many pieces which was disappointing. The eggs were perfectly poached over bread (not an English muffin) with a scarce amount of steak. Since the egg yolk was very runny and there was a good amount of hollandaise sauce, I really didn’t get to taste the flavor of the steak. The salad was fine, but I was expecting more from this dish. 

Grilled Shrimp Pita $12.50 / Arugula, cilantro, onion and tomato (spicy)

Grilled Shrimp Pita

Matt wasn’t in the mood for a brunchy item, so luckily Cafe Petisco offers lunch items. The cilantro made the pita very tasty, but the sandwich wasn’t spicy. The spicy component was the mayo served on the side which Matt didn’t really use. A good amount of mini shrimp were toward the bottom of the sandwich, and I took some to mix with my salad since I wasn’t satisfied with my dish. The pita came with salad, but Matt substituted it for fries. He thought the dish was OK and filling. 

Cafe Petisco

The final bite: Hidden in an area unknown, Cafe Petisco offers food that many restaurants nearby don’t offer. Even though my brunch meal was just OK, I think this cafe has pretty good drinks and the friendly and relaxed vibe is inviting.

Reviewed by: Victoria

Place: North Square

Location: Greenwich Village, 103 Waverly Place (between Sixth Ave. and MacDougal St.)

Mimosa Rating:

Inside North Square

The scoop: North Square is a restaurant that is part of the Washington Square Hotel and located on the northwest corner of Washington Square Park. I felt a hotel vibe as soon as I walked into the restaurant. The inside has a very casual feel, a decent amount of space and big pictures hanging in between the large windows which provide some natural sunlight. Toward the back of the restaurant there is a private dining area and a lounge.

Seating was very comfortable and there is lots of space so we weren’t on top of the tables next to us. The waitstaff was very attentive, and we had multiple people serving us throughout brunch. On Sundays the restaurant offers a jazz brunch.

Blood orange mimosa

Bottoms up: There is a brunch prix-fixe option for $20 which includes choice of coffee or fresh squeezed juice, blood orange mimosa or bloody Mary, and classic omelette, brunch tasting or Challah French toast. The dishes we wanted were one of the three listed on the prix-fixe menu, so we went with the special. As per the waitress, the cost of a mimosa is $8.50. 

Blood Orange Mimosa

The blood orange mimosa was delicious! It tasted extremely fresh, and there was a good balance of juice and champagne. It tasted way better than your usual OJ mimosa. 

Coffee

Coffee

I am a fan of strong coffee and this coffee was exactly how I like it. I added a drop of milk and was pleased with my cup of joe. 

Chew on this: 

Bread basket

Bread / Complimentary

I love an assortment of breads, but I was unimpressed with this bread basket. There was a piece of bread with cranberries, and although it had berries, it tasted a little plain. The corn muffin tasted like it was processed and straight from a box. Since I was so unimpressed with the breads, I didn’t bother with the plain slice of bread.

Brunch Tasting $13 / Baby pumpkin pecan pancakes, eggs any style, chicken & apple sausage, cheddar biscuit

Brunch Tasting

At first glance of the menu, I knew I had to order the brunch tasting. I am a huge fan of variety and this dish had everything I would want in a brunch. I love pumpkin and pecans, so the pancakes sounded very appealing. Unfortunately, I was highly disappointed because they tasted very plain. I couldn’t taste the pumpkin and there were barely any pecan bits in the mini pancakes. The cheddar biscuit was another disappointment because it didn’t taste fresh. I imagined a nice warm biscuit with a cheesy taste. Instead the bread was really hard and cold and not really good. The best items in the dish were the eggs and sausage. I ordered my eggs scrambled and they were prepared to my liking. The sausage was very flavorful and it was sliced in half making it easy to eat. It had a prominent taste of apple, and my mom and I thought it tasted very good.

Classic Omelette $12 / Choice of two fillings: mushrooms, cheddar cheese, gruyère, goat cheese, roasted peppers, asparagus, ham, chorizo or prosciutto served with home fries and baby greens

Classic Omelette

My mom ordered the classic omelette and asked for it with cheddar and ham. They made a slight mistake with the order because it was served with gruyere, but my mom didn’t mind. She thought the shredded ham was tasty, but she thought it could have been better with a little bit more cheese. The home fries were flavorful and she liked that there were pieces of onion. Also, a fresh salad was served with a light dressing.

North Square entrance

The final bite: North Square offers a comfortable atmosphere for a casual brunch. If you decide to brunch here, I would stick to an egg dish since the bready items were unimpressive.

Reviewed by: Victoria

Place: Sons of Essex

Location: Lower East Side, 133 Essex St. (between Stanton St. & Rivington St.)

Mimosa Rating:

Direct me to brunch!

The scoop: I’ve heard that Sons of Essex serves a good brunch, so I always had this place in the back of my mind. We were looking for a place on the Lower East Side. I decided it was finally time to try brunch at Sons of Essex. As we approached the restaurant, the word “BRUNCH” was written on the sidewalk in chalk. How inviting, brunch was exactly what we wanted at this time! As we walked into the restaurant, we noticed that the front looks like a deli where they sell coffee and other pastries.

Lounge area

It is pretty dark the further we got into the restaurant. It was around 2 p.m. and the place was packed, but we did not have to wait for a table. Although the restaurant is dark, we were comfortably seated, and there were hooks against a pole to hang our coats. I liked the hooks because I get annoyed when my bulky coat gets in the way of my eating. The inside looked very rustic and there is a small lounge area a couple of steps below from the dining area.

Service was OK, and our waiter was very likable.  The wait staff and busboys wore name tags that said “Hello, my name is _____.” We enjoyed the music, and it was not overly loud.

Bottoms up:

Truffle Olive Bloody Mary $10 / Double cross vodka, tomato juice, horseradish, fresh lemon juice, fresh lime, sriracha hot chili sauce, Worcestershire, celery salt, fresh ground pepper, celery stick, lemon & lime wedges, double cross blue cheese truffle olives

Truffle Olive Bloody Mary and the Squatter

Just by the description of the drink, Matt had high expectations. He was also excited that the restaurant offers three different types of bloody Marys. Despite all the ingredients, this bloody Mary did not stand out, and he thought it tasted like any other ordinary bloody Mary. He also tried the regular bloody Mary, and he thought it had a heavier taste in comparison to the truffle version.

The Squater $11 / Patron citronge, mumm napa champagne, muddled cranberry splash of cranberry juice

I liked my drink, but I wasn’t impressed since it had a very simple taste.  When I am at home, I like to mix cranberry juice with water to dilute the sweet taste and this is exactly what the cocktail tasted like. This drink could have used a little more champagne to give it a zing. 

Chew on this:

Cold Citrus Crab Taco

Cold Citrus Crab Tacos  $16 / Chilled lump crab meat, mixed with mango, orange, lemon zest, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, topped with pico de gallo; three tacos per order

The tacos were overflowing with a mixture of ingredients and tasted very juicy and refreshing. This would make a perfect summer dish. Matt thought the dish was pretty unique, and he hasn’t tasted anything like this during brunch. 

Eggs Benedictowitz $16 / Poached eggs, set on top potato pancake, smoked salmon, hollandaise sauce

Eggs Benedictowitz

I liked the creative name for this version of eggs Benedict. I really liked the freshness and taste of the potato pancakes. The salmon was just OK. I personally thought some bites tasted overly fishy. Although the dish looks a little small, it was pretty filling thanks to the potatoes. The eggs were fine and the side salad was the perfect amount. After the meal I was able to get a bite of sweetness with the strawberry that was served on the side.   

Shoestring fries

Shoestring fries $7

When Matt asked for the fries, the waiter politely and in a funny manner tried to convince us to try the truffle tater tots. Being a fry type of guy, Matt decided against the tater tots.  The truffle fries were so good that we ate every last crumb. Originally I wasn’t in the mood for fries, but I couldn’t resist after I tried the first bite of these fresh and tasty fries. Although I didn’t eat the cheese on top, it added to the presentation. 

Entrance to Sons of Essex

The final bite: We enjoyed brunch, but I felt like some items were overpriced for what we were served. The drinks weren’t bad at all, but for the prices, I want something a little more innovative.

Reviewed by: Victoria

Place: Yuca Bar

Location: East Village, 111 Avenue A (at 7th St.)

Mimosa Rating:

The scoop: I hadn’t seen my high school buddy Isabel in forever. I was looking forward to brunch with her on a Saturday afternoon at Yuca Bar. Yuca Bar is located right across the street from 7A Cafe, on the corner of 7th St. and Avenue A. Yuca Bar doesn’t accept reservations, but I was told the wait for two people wouldn’t be too bad. I arrived at the restaurant before Isabel, so I went in to give the host my name. He told me not to worry and he didn’t bother taking my name. When Isabel arrived, we went inside the restaurant, and the host said the wait would be 20 minutes. I reminded him that I was in the restaurant not too long ago and he didn’t take my name. When he realized his mistake, he told me we would be the next ones seated.

Merry Christmas from Yuca Bar

While we were waiting, we sat on high stools against the window and we sat facing the direction of the bar. Luckily, we only had to wait for about five minutes before the host pointed us to our table. We sat at a table for two, and I was on a booth against the wall. Seating was OK, but the restaurant was extremely loud. In order for us to talk to each other, we had to talk pretty loudly. Isabel said she felt like she was shouting.

When the waitress came to take our orders, she had a hard time hearing me, and I honestly felt a slight attitude from her. Also, when she brought over Isabel’s soda, she slammed it down in front of me. Bartenders don’t even slam beers that hard.  The most homey part of the entire restaurant was the Christmas decorations.

Bottoms up: Yuca Bar offers a brunch prix-fixe for $16 which includes a choice of Bloody Mary, screwdriver, frozen margarita, sangria, mimosa, fresh squeezed orange juice, and coffee or tea.

Sangria

Red sangria

I’ve read great things about Yuca Bar’s sangria so I had a good feeling about it. I haven’t had an amazing sangria in a while. I was very happy after sipping the drink. The sangria was very flavorful without being overly sweet and it also had an ample amount of alcohol. The glass was a decent size, and it lasted me throughout my entire brunch. 

Chew on this:

Crab Cakes Benedictos

Crab Cakes Benedictos (add $1) / Served with poached eggs, guacamole and chipotle hollandaise

I am not sure what happened to the eggs because they weren’t poached at all. I felt like the overly-cooked eggs took away from the dish. The crab cakes needed more moisture. The best part of the dish was the tasty guacamole that was spread on top of the crab cakes. Some of the prix-fixe dishes come with your choice of Latin home fries or rice and beans. I went with the rice and beans, and unfortunately yellow rice isn’t an option. The rice and beans were standard. Needless to say, I wasn’t too impressed with my dish.

Churrasco and Eggs

Churrasco and Eggs / Grilled skirt steak with three eggs any style topped with garlic and parsley chimichurri

Isabel asked for her steak well done and it was cooked to her liking. Since she wasn’t a fan of the chimichurri sauce, she scooped it off of the steak to the side of her dish. Her eggs were perfectly scrambled and she thought they were good.  The churrasco also comes with home fries or rice and beans. There was so much food that she was unable to eat everything. 

Outside Yuca Bar

The final bite: I would not recommend this spot for brunch because not only was I unimpressed with my meal, the atmosphere is extremely loud. If I am brunching with a friend, I want to be able to talk without feeling like I am screaming. The sangria was pretty solid so maybe it would be a good spot to grab one drink at the bar and go.

Reviewed by: Victoria