If there's one thing us Mice excel at, it's eating. And if there's one meal New York dining spots are particularly brilliant at, it's breakfast.
So on our recent trip to the Big Apple, we felt it was our duty to seek out and gobble up all of the very best coffee, eggs, waffles and pancakes that the city has to offer, wash them down with several rounds of Mimosas, and then bring you the skinny on all our favs. So, that's exactly what we did. The things we do in the name of the blog...
We researched for weeks in advance, came up with a shortlist and then painstakingly nibbled and munched our way from breakfast to brunch all around the City. The results? Well, in no particular order, here are our top three spots to kick off the day in NYC...
First up, a West Village neighbourhood eatery with more than a dash of ooh la la.
On our second day in New York, we bounced out of bed as dawn broke over the Manhattan skyline and peered out of our Williamsburg Eagles Nest to be greeted by a distinctly gloomy day. Undeterred, we snuggled into layers of cashmere and coats, pulled on our boots, slapped on beanies and fedoras and bundled out of the door ready for a brand new day of urban adventuring. Despite the fog and drizzle, we decided that a wander across the Brooklyn Bridge would be a the perfect start to the day, and an excellent way to work up a hearty appetite for a huge New York breakfast.
The views may have been less than stellar (read non-existent), but we were definitely ravenous by the time we'd crossed over to Manhattan and found our breakfast spot of choice - Buvette.
Which meant that when we arrived to be greeted by a huddle of people shivering outside, and when the very disinterested waiter at the door informed us that it was a twenty minute wait, our poor frozen, rumbling tummies were less than delighted. Luckily there was coffee (and excellent coffee at that) to simultaneously defrost and caffeinate us while patiently waited for our first feed of the day.
When we were finally called inside, we all declared it more than worth the wait as we peeled off our layers and settled into a cosy corner of a communal wooden table at the back of the bustling dining room. A declaration wholeheartedly reiterated by all when we took the first sip of the best Mimosas we've ever drunk a few minutes later.
We wasted no time in ordering up a banquet of a breakfast - Prosciutto and eggs, Croque Madame and the Waffle Sandwich (the star of the show - a mountain of bacon, eggs and molten cheese squidged between two halves of a fluffy waffle). Several minutes of complete silence followed as three Mice cleared their plates in record time.
Portions are surprisingly petite for New York but they turned out to be just right, leaving us absolutely stuffed to the brim and ready for a snooze...
But it was nothing a little retail therapy couldn't cure. Cue a serious shopping spree in 3BM fav, Reformation...
42 Grove Street
West Village,
New York,
NY 10014.
No Reservations
Next up, TriBeCa Celeb hangout, Locanda Verde.
This Italian hotspot nestled at the base of the Greenwich Hotel is almost as famous for its scrumptious food as it is for its A-List sightings. Think hotel co-owner Robert De Niro sipping cocktails at the bar while Beyonce, Jay-Z and Taylor Swift (who all own apartments a couple of blocks away) brunch behind him.
No Celeb-spotting on our visit, but the beast of a brunch more than made up for it. We kicked off proceedings with sheep's milk Ricotta drizzled with Truffle Honey and piled on to delicately charred slithers of citrussy toast.
Then there were the legendary lemon ricotta pancakes topped with a pool of lemon curd and a scattering of juicy blueberries.
The Uovo Al Forno - baked eggs topped with roasted heirloom squash, field greens and a swirl of creamy ricotta.
And the Uovo Modenese - two perfectly poached eggs sitting atop cotechino hash and spinach and topped with a tangy, creamy tomato hollandaise.
Post-brunch and three coffees and six Mimosas later, we hauled ourselves out of the restaurant and took to the TriBeCa cobbled streets for a weekend morning wander, darting into boutiques and basking in the spring sunshine.
Once we were all shopped-out (ha, ha - like that ever happens) we hotfooted it up to the Bronx where we kitted ourselves out in carefully co-ordinated caps before hitting the Yankees stadium for a bit of baseball and a couple of beers.
377 Greenwich Street,
New York,
NY 10013.
+212 925 3797
The Fat Radish
Last but by no means least, The Fat Radish - a hip little veggie-centric, Lower-Eastsider.
We messed up our reservation here and ended up rocking up an hour late, mainly because we got distracted by enjoying our last morning hanging out on the roof of our Williamsburg bolthole before relocating to a hotel in Midtown. Ooops!
When we finally arrived though, the staff were charming, showed us through to the whitewashed exposed brick dining room and settled us in a cushioned nook with a menu to wait for a table.
Ten minutes later when we got usher to a plum spot just next to the bar, we ordered in a round of raspberry bellinis and vodka-spiked elderflower lemonade in celebration.
Our brief wait had given us time to spy on what everyone else was ordering so without missing a beat, Mini Mouse and I ordered the avocado on toast with spicy eggs.
While Middle Mouse opted for the poached eggs on potato cake with a decent drenching of creamy Hollandaise sauce.
Our waitress forgot to bring us the truffle fries we'd ordered, a mistake which worked out pretty well for us in the end because it meant that we had room to order the House-made Donuts which arrived rolled in icing sugar and oozing tangy lemon curd. A dish of deep-fried goodness so delicious that they were gone in a sprinkling of sugar before anyone had even thought about lifting a camera...
17 Orchard Street,
New York,
NYC 10002,
+212 300 4053
Enjoyed reading about your New York escapades a city I have yet to visit among others. I can't understand why you three mice aren't like brick cowsheds the amount of food you eat. The food looks so delicious I am slabbering (this is a norn Ireland word) just looking at it. Love your blogs.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy - so glad you enjoyed the post!! You need to get Katie to take you and hit up all the brunches and cocktails...they are DELISH!! xx
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