• New on the menu at 180 Neapolitan Eatery (180 Hester St.) is a hangover pizza for brunch!
• Mas (la grillade) (28 7th Ave. South) begins brunch Saturday. With a newly opened outdoor patio, the West Village restaurant sounds like the perfect spot to check out brunch this weekend.
• Millesime in the Carlton Hotel (92 Madison Ave.) launches a bottomless brunch punch this Sunday. For $25, you get an entrée and two of their unlimited brunch punches — like vodka lemonata and strawberry tequila.

Place:

Neighborhood: NoHo/East Village, 54 Great Jones St. (between Lafayette and Bowery)

Mimosa Rating: 

The scoop: While walking down Great Jones St., we couldn’t miss Great Jones Cafe if we tried. The outside of the restaurant is painted bright orange. The color stands out and gives it a little bayou feel.

Busy brunch at Great Jones

Great Jones is always packed, it never fails! We arrived around 2 p.m. or so and still waited about 25 minutes. When we walked into the tiny and cozy restaurant, we noticed right away the large wall with the menu painted on it and the large chalkboard with the daily specials, which are usually grubby and cheap. There are decorative Christmas lights everywhere. There actually isn’t much real lighting, only one front window which provides minimal light. The overall decor is plain and simple, and you really don’t need anything else here. There is not much seating, but you could come with a group if you called ahead. A decently-sized bar takes up one side of the small restaurant. You can sit at the bar for full service, but this area was packed, too.

The atmosphere is pretty loud and noisy, but nothing too crazy. They’ve got a jukebox pumping out unnoticeable tunes. There were only two servers working on this day, but they were attentive and quick. We were starving, lucky for us, the food came out in record time!

Coffee and juice

Bottoms up: Every brunch meal comes with your choice of coffee, tea or juice. I had the coffee, which was just black drip coffee with a little milk, and Johnny had some pineapple juice. I love getting free liquids! Although the coffee and juice were nothing to write home about, they were definitely needed to start the day. There is also a full bar and specialty brunch drinks available.

Chew on this: All brunch entrées are $12.95 and include your choice of cornbread or biscuit, AND home fries or grits. Plus you get a choice of the previously mentioned beverages. Such a steal!

Smothered Eggs

Crescent City Smothered Eggs / Scrambled eggs with ham over biscuits, smothered in sausage gravy

After becoming addicted to eggs with sausage gravy and biscuits from Nolita House (now closed), I always love trying to find a replacement. Great Jones’ version was pretty dang delicious and a close second to Nolita House. If you are ordering this dish, you need to be starving, as it’s extremely heavy and hearty, but believe me, you won’t be disappointed with the combination of two meats and the thick, flavorful gravy. Grits can be a hit or miss, and I would say the grits here were a total hit! They had just the right consistency and density, with cheese and hot sauce (optional, available at every table). I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and the homemade biscuits. Thankfully, I had my boyfriend with me to finish it up!

Andouille Omelette

Andouille Omelette / With Andouille sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, cheddar cheese

If you’re looking for NOLA flavor, then you will find it in this Andouille omelette. It is packed with an incredible amount of spicy sausage and a great combo of veggies. I am not an omelette person, but I am considering going back just to order this — it was that good.

Cornbread

Side of Cornbread

Jalapeno cornbread?! Yes, please! It wasn’t too spicy for those who can’t take the heat, but it sure adds extra flavor. And after carb-overloading with everything else, I still found room. It is actually a pretty large piece of cornbread, and it’s also drizzled with honey.

Bacon

Side of Bacon / $4

This side wasn’t completely necessary, but it sounded good and it was! Not only was it a great deal (bacon averages around $6-8 as a side during brunch), but there was also several pieces which could be shared among a group. It wasn’t too crispy or under-cooked.

The brightly-painted exterior

The final bite: I can’t remember the last time I got such an incredible brunch deal. Not only do you get a drink with your meal, but you also get two sides. The food was excellent, down-and-dirty comfort food that might make you think you’re in New Orleans. I would be more than willing to go back again!

Reviewed by: Erica

We especially want to thank our mothers, Debbie, Cristina and Paula, for their constant love and support. We are lucky and thankful to have moms like you!

Manhattan:

• Petite Abeille (various locations) toasts all mothers during brunch on Sunday with a complimentary mimosa. Check out Victoria’s review before you go!
• Bring Mom for brunch at Southern Hospitality (645 Ninth Ave.) and her dessert is on them!
• Someone likes buttermilk! Ichabod’s (15 Irving Place) is launching a brunch menu with dishes like buttermilk pancakes with berries and fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits.

Brooklyn:

• Melt (440 Bergen St.) is getting in on the Mother’s Day action as well, with a free glass of Champagne and 1/2 off Mom’s meal at brunch.

Place:

Neighborhood: West Village, 47 8th Ave. (between Jane St. and W. 4th St.)

Mimosa Rating:

The scoop: We were lucky enough to get invited to check out the brunch scene at Barrio 47  (Thank you, Alex!). We met for brunch at Barrio on a Saturday afternoon around 12.

Inside Barrio’s back dining room

At this time, the restaurant was on the empty side, and it was also pretty cold inside. Granted, it was cold outside, too, but we expected it to be warmer indoors. The inside of Barrio is very narrow (think railroad style).  We were seated in an uncomfortable area in the middle of the restaurant, which was right near the oven and where the chefs prepare the food. We love seeing open kitchens because we like to know that a restaurant doesn’t have anything to hide, but we almost felt like we were too close for comfort. We did see the chef making each batch of truffle fries and seasoning them. That was pretty cool.

The service was decent at Barrio. Since the restaurant wasn’t very full yet, the servers were just standing around chatting. Ours recommended getting cocktails, but we just didn’t feel like drinking on this particular day. It’s too bad because they looked yummy.

Bottoms up: Barrio 47 offers a brunch special that includes one entrée and three champagne cocktails for $29.  The champagne cocktails consist of a mimosa, kir royal, bellini, blood orange, the Passionate, which is made with fresh passion fruit purée, and the Eva, made from housemade hibiscus extract. Although the Gang didn’t have any cocktails, we heard from an outside source that the drinks are of quality.

Chew on this:

Merguez Sausage Hash $15 / Poached eggs, jalapenos, butternut squash

Merguez Sausage Hash

Out of all three dishes, luckily for me I had the best one. The merguez was extremely flavorful and there were a lot of chunks throughout the entire dish. My only complaint was that the eggs were not properly poached. It could be disappointing when you don’t get what you expect, however, the unpoached eggs didn’t ruin the dish because there was a lot going on and the dish was moist from all the fresh ingredients. Toast was served on the side, and I used it to scoop up the tasty butternut squash mixture.  

Grilled Cheese Panini $12 / Manchego & gruyere cheese, baby spinach, roasted tomatoes

Grilled Cheese Panini

I chose the Grilled Cheese Panini because with manchego and gruyere it sounded more appealing than your average grilled cheese sandwich. The cheese was gooey and melted well. The bread had a buttery top and a nice crunch. I think there were mushrooms in the panini, even though the menu didn’t state that in the dish description. The roasted tomatoes were more like the sun-dried tomatoes that were included in the side salad. I gave up fried foods for Lent, so instead of their truffle French fries, which sounded good, I asked for more salad (the dish was already supposed to come with greens). I thought I would get more salad than I did since I wasn’t getting fries. The salad had a peppery bite, which was likely from the light dressing tossed over the top. This sandwich wasn’t bad, but I felt like it was missing something. It could have used more mushrooms, or even meat.

Eggs Benedict $14 / Black truffle & sage hollandaise, English muffin, fries (choice of prosciutto, smoked salmon or baby spinach)

Eggs Benedict

They had me at truffle, but I was sadly disappointed. There were about 2–4 miniature truffles and they did not provide that truffle flavor I was looking for. Although the truffle flavor wasn’t what I thought it would be, the prosciutto was delicious and a good alternative to the usual ham on an eggs Benedict. I did not really taste any sage, and the side salad were just OK. After eating at Blue Ribbon, it’s going to be difficult to find an eggs Benedict that is as delicious.

Outside Barrio 47

The final bite: Brunch at Barrio 47 wasn’t bad. The food was OK, but we think we may have missed out without cocktails. If we go again, we’d order drinks.

Reviewed by: Brunch Gang

• Barrio 47 (47 8th Ave.) is celebrating Cinco de Mayo with $2 tacos all day. They also have their regular brunch special – $29 for an entrée and three cocktails.
• Vamos (348 1st Ave.) gets their party started at noon tomorrow with their Cinco de Mayo brunch. Brunch on with a dish and bottomless frozen margaritas.
• Woodrows (43 Murray St.) is also celebrating with a special holiday brunch. Victoria checked out brunch at the Tribeca spot last year.
• Cole’s Greenwich Village (118 Greenwich Ave.) now has brunch 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The 94-seat restaurant serves Eggs Benedict on a popover instead of the traditional English muffin.

Place:

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

Greenwich Project’s Pastrami Cured Salmon (Emmanuel Cayere, Project Group)

Manhattan:

• Greek restaurant Molyvos (871 7th Ave.) is launching weekend brunch for the first time and will serve Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Their menu features à la carte options and a $24 two-course prix-fixe with one app, one entrée and a drink.
• Greenwich Project (47 W. 8th St.) is also new to the brunch scene, kicking off this weekend! Black and White Pancakes and a fancy twist on the traditional bagel and lox combo, Pastrami Cured Salmon with Broken Bagel Bites, Cream Cheese Powder and Mustard Seed Relish, are two of the menu’s standout dishes. Brunch will be served Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Montmartre (158 8th Ave.) is currently serving up our favorite meal of the day. Their brunch menu includes Ratatouille Sandwich and Buckwheat Crêpes.

Brunch Gang Recommends: Eater.com has put out a great list of the hottest brunch spots for spring. Three restaurants we’ve visited– L’Apicio, Rosemary’s and El Toro Blanco – made the cut.

Place:

Location: Tribeca, 275 Church St. (between Avenue of the Americas & White St.)

Mimosa Rating:

The scoop: I hadn’t had Italian food in a while, so I was definitely craving an Italian brunch. After searching the Tribeca area, I came across Da Mikele. The Neapolitan-inspired brunch menu had exactly what I wanted. I was immediately sold. Da Mikele is the sister restaurant of Ovest (Chelsea) and Luzzo’s (East Village), which I added to my list of restaurants to try.

Bar

When we walked into the restaurant around 2 p.m., it was pretty empty, however, it started to get more full when we were leaving. Since the other patrons were toward the front of the restaurant, we chose to sit in the back. The restaurant is a good size and has a comfortable atmosphere. It had a very rustic feel, and the exposed brick all around the restaurant added to the vibe. There is a large bar toward the back of the restaurant where you can sit and watch TV. Even though pop music played in the background, the restaurant wasn’t loud, and it was comfortable to chat or read.

A couple of workers served us throughout brunch and they were very attentive and friendly. Whatever we needed, we pretty much received right away.

Bottoms up: If you order a brunch entrée, you have a choice of a complimentary mimosa, bloody Mary or bellini. This is a steal considering the brunch dishes range from $9-$14.

Bloody Mary and bellini

Bloody Mary

The bloody Mary was pretty strong, but not too spicy. Although there was a good amount of ice in the glass, the glass wasn’t small and there was still a decent amount of the liquid in the glass. 

Bellini

Just like the bloody Mary, the bellini was pretty strong. It was slightly sweet with a bit of fizz. Yummy!

Chew on this:

Olive oil and bread

Bread / Complimentary

Served in a little sack, the bread was deliciously fresh and warm. We added vinegar to the olive oil and stuffed our faces with many pieces of bread throughout brunch. I normally try not too consume too much bread before a meal because I don’t want to ruin my appetite, but the bread was so good that I couldn’t help myself. 

Pizza Battil’occhio

Pizza Battil’occhio $10 / San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, eggs and truffle

Matt thought his pizza was very delicious. It was thin, and he was very pleased that the pizza wasn’t too cheesy since he isn’t a fan of overly cheesy pizza. The truffle oil made each bite extra tasty. Matt didn’t really like the egg on his pizza, so he pushed them to the side and ate them after he finished the pizza.  

Homemade vegetable lasagna

Homemade vegetable lasagna $12

The lasagna was excellent. The pasta was definitely homemade, the sauce was flavorful and there was an ample amount of veggies ranging from zucchini to peppers. It was served hot and it remained warm throughout brunch, which is definitely a plus. The meal was so filling that I was able to take some to go.

Da Mikele

The final bite: Brunch at Da Mikele is served until 5 p.m. and is an amazing steal. With great food, good drinks and inexpensive prices, I can’t believe this restaurant is located in Tribeca.

Reviewed by: Victoria

Place:

Neighborhood: Chelsea, 362 W. 23rd St. (between 8th and 9th Avenues)

Mimosa Rating:

The scoop: Chelsea Pub is a new bar/restaurant located in my parents’ neighborhood in Chelsea. My sister, mother and I had seen a sign in their window advertising their $5 brunch drink special and were looking forward to stopping in for brunch one weekend.

A quiet Chelsea Pub during brunch

We ventured into Chelsea Pub on a Saturday afternoon around 12:30, and to our surprise the restaurant was empty, with the exception of two small parties and two people at the bar. The inside of Chelsea Pub isn’t what I expected. Having the same owners as Westside Tavern, which is next door, Stitch and Houndstooth Pub near the Garden, all three of us thought the interior would be dark with dim lighting and dark-wood tables. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Chelsea Pub’s walls are covered in red wallpaper, and the low and high-top tables are made of a light wood. The space is very roomy and can fit small and large parties alike. While I’d consider Chelsea Pub’s sister restaurants sports bars, Chelsea Pub only has two TVs, so I wouldn’t consider it a sports bar, but it’s definitely a chill, comfortable bar. It wasn’t loud either, which we liked.

There was only one server during brunch, but he did a great job. He was enthusiastic, willing to give suggestions and friendly. He checked up on us numerous times and was excited to learn about the blog when I slipped him our business card after our meals.

Bottoms up: Chelsea Pub offers $5 mimosas, bloody Marys and screwdrivers during brunch.

Brunch drinks

Mimosa $5

Kelly and I both had a mimosa. Kelly said she isn’t a big drinker and wouldn’t know the perfect mimosa, but she thought this one was very good. I agree with her. The drink had the right mixture of both ingredients. We could taste the orange juice, but it wasn’t overpowering. 

Bloody Mary $5

My mom enjoyed her Bloody Mary. It was spicy in a good way. The drink had just the right kick to it. This bloody Mary was one of the best she’s ever had.

Chew on this: Chelsea Pub’s brunch menu has good mix of breakfast and lunch items.

Breakfast Sandwich $12 / Two eggs, bacon or sausage with a choice of cheese on brioche roll

Breakfast Sandwich

The breakfast sandwich caught my eye when I was looking at Chelsea Pub’s brunch menu. I was surprised by how big the sandwich was when it was brought out. The soft roll was huge and was stuffed with fluffy eggs, melted American cheese and crispy bacon. I added pepper and and ketchup to the sandwich. The brioche roll added a slight sweetness to the sandwich. The cubed home fries were just OK. They reminded me of home fries that were served in the dining halls in college. Overall, I enjoyed this dish and would order it again. 

Breakfast Burrito $12 / Scrambled eggs, chorizo sausage, hash browns, baked beans and sautéed onions and peppers

Breakfast Burrito

Kelly was debating between eggs Benedict and this burrito, but she always gets the Benedict , so she decided to take the plunge at the recommendation of the waiter and get the burrito. While the burrito tasted very good, it wasn’t for her. She isn’t a fan of spicy food at all and the sausage had a kick to it. Also, she wasn’t anticipating the burrito to be so greasy and include baked beans. Usually, burritos have Mexican style beans, like refried or black. She thinks people who like things with some heat will really like it. Kelly ate half of it and gave the other half to our mom. Again, it wasn’t for Kelly, but our mom, who likes spicy food, loved it. She recommends this burrito, but not to those who don’t like greasy or spicy food. Kelly really liked the potato pancake. It wasn’t too greasy and had good flavor to it. She’d order one of those again.

Eggs Benedict $12 / Poached eggs and Bearnaise sauce

Eggs Benedict

My mom ordered Eggs Benedict, which is what she usually gets at brunch. She asked for the sauce on the side. When the server brought over her dish, the sauce was on the side, however, it wasn’t a traditional Benedict sauce. She hadn’t noticed that the menu stated the sauce would be Bearnaise. While Benedict and Bearnaise sauces are very similar, this Bearnaise sauce wasn’t as smooth and creamy as it usually is. The sauce looked like melted butter. My mom didn’t ask the waiter to bring her Benedict sauce instead, but when he noticed she didn’t like Bearnaise, he brought out Benedict sauce, which was nice of him. The eggs were cooked perfectly, and when my mom poked one of the eggs, yolk poured out. She received a generous piece of ham on the English muffin, and she thought the English muffin was bigger than your average.

Outside Chelsea Pub

The final bite: Chelsea Pub is a good spot for a casual, no-nonsense brunch. The service was good, and we were pleased with the majority of our dishes. I want to check out their dinner, too.

Reviewed by: Stephanie