Le Grand Dakar - Clinton Hill

To explore some new food options, Justin and I trekked to Clinton Hill to try African-inspired cuisine. I wasn't sure what to expect - would it be more meat or fish or vegetables?

Le Grand Dakar located at 285 Grand Ave is a cozy, inviting spot painted in warm colors. The tables are large wood blocks with benches and wooden chairs surrounding them. African tribal art lines the walls to make you feel like you are in West Africa. The place was lit by soft lightening and candles yet it was a bit too dark to read the menu.

For an appetizer, we tried Accara (black eyed pea fritters), a specialty of Benin. They were fried, soft on the inside, and a bit spicy. We had a good portion (about 6) and they came with a yummy dipping sauce. They were pretty good and I would order it again.

For my entree, I chose the Okra Stew (savory okra, palm oil and served over plantain fufu). I had had Southern okra before so I was excited to see how it was different. This okra, however, was a bit hard and less vegetable tasting. I wasn't really sure what the other elements of the dish were but it did taste interesting. The stew had a meaty-quality to it, even thought it was meatless, which I wasn't really a fan of. The okra tasted sweet which I liked but the other elements didn't provide enough balance. Justin got a chicken dish which he seemed to like. They used some interesting spices to differentiate it from other kinds of chicken.

Le Grand Dakar is fun place to bring a group of friends and relax over a bottle of wine, and some shared appetizers. The waitstaff lets you sit as long as you like, such a rarity in New York. All in all, a fun exploration of a often-unknown cuisine.

Egg - Williamsburg

This spot has been on the 'best of New York', 'best of Brooklyn', and 'best brunch' lists for years. Thus I had to check this place out and see if it really lives up to the hype.

Egg is located in the heart of Williamsburg, the Williamsburg that closely resembles Alphabet City. Egg is located less than a 2 minute walk from the Bedford L stop at 125 North 5th, a few stores away from Bedford Avenue. The place itself is small with maybe 14 tables inside and about 3 outside. Since it was freezing, we opted for a table inside. The decor is reminiscent of a country inn with white washed walls, chalk boards, and ceiling fans. Egg is known for it's organic food and they don't let you forget it with stories of their recent trip to a farm in upstate New York strategically placed around the restaurant. The place is warm and cozy which makes it easy to forget the increasingly chilly weather of New York in late October.

Now onto the food. A big caveat - we went to Egg for dinner where you can order off the brunch menu and lunch/dinner menu, which increased our options considerably. Interesting options on the brunch menu include Egg Rothko (easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy’s brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat or seasonal vegetables), Duck Hash (braised duck leg seared with potatoes and green onions and served with 2 eggs any style), and Chorizo & Eggs.

We opted to go off the dinner menu so look for Egg: Part 2 Brunch soon.

We split an appetizer of Preserves Plate (Chicken live ate, souse, toast, onion jam, mustard, and pickles). The pate was good – not too salty – but the rest of the food was a bit disappointing. We weren’t really sure what anything was and even taste-testing didn’t seem to solve the problem. Next time, I’d pass on the preserves plate. Egg gives you roasted peanuts as the standard appetizer (instead of bread). I appreciated the effort to be different and stay their local/organic theme. However, the peanuts tasted sorta strange. They were soaked in something but I have no clue what. Needless to say, I will be skipping ordering any appetizer next time.

The coffee came in my own personal French press, which was great fun. French press coffee tastes delicious but it’s also just fun to play with the machine.

For dinner, Justin got the Duck Sandwich (seared duck breast on baguette with mustard, onion jam, greens, duck liver pate. served with french fries or salad) or as he puts it ‘duck two ways’. This excited Justin greatly. I had a few bites of it and loved the onion jam but ‘duck 2 ways’ does not excite me in the same manner. I had the Fried Oyster Sandwich (Cornmeal-crusted oysters, spicy mayonnaise, lettuce on a roll. French fries or salad) which I was really pleased with. There were about 5 oysters as the meat of my sandwich, which I feel was the perfect amount. The oysters weren’t overly fried or oily which I liked as well. The oysters were delicious. The salads supposedly had a grapefruit vinaigrette on it was but I couldn’t taste it. It was a nice complement to a heavy sandwich. This dish was by far the standout of the restaurant.

Egg likes to play with food. It takes Southern Food staples and puts their own playful, organic spin on it. I’m really interested to see what brunch brings.

Bacchus - Boerum Hill

This one is absent from the brunch blog list but I figured you might be interested nonetheless.

Alright, so we've walked past this place about 4 times before and always opted to move on. Today, though, we decided to try it. The place itself is a nondescript French bistro with a nice shady outdoor garden. We sat in a wooden booth inside near the front with lots of natural sunlight. If you are super light sensitive or have one functioning eye, this booth may be your worst nightmare. They have a well stocked bar and the waitresses were actually speaking in French in a French restaurant (tres super), so I was eager to give the menu try.

I got a crab and avocado sandwich that came with a small mixed green salad. The crab and avocado combination was great yet the bread was a major snoozefest. We're in a French restaurant so I was expecting baguette or even sourdough. Nope - classic American white bread though, thankfully, this bread was toasted. The salad was fine but it was literally salad and vignette dressing. Would it have hurt to throw in an onion or pepper or two?

Justin got a croque monsieur. I’m not a huge fan of mixing meat and egg but he is. The sandwich seemed to be your average croque monsieur but using extra crusty French bread, which gives it additional points in my book.

This place will let you relax over a cup of coffee even when you’ve been done with your food for a half hour, so a big plus. Bacchus is a good French brunch but I could write the same for dozens of other places. If you live in the neighborhood, check it out, it could become a local fave. Otherwise, keep checking back for a local favorite in your neck of the woods.

Maggie Brown - Clinton Hill

Weekend Brunch in Brooklyn returns with the eclectic spot, Maggie Brown at 455 Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill.

Maggie Brown has a funky decor with 30's style art deco wallpaper, comfy patent leather booths, and lots of light streaming in. Like other area brunch spots, they have a lot of outdoor seating in a covered patio in the back. The music was a combination of every popular indie pop group of the moment. They only offer a brunch menu on the weekends until 4:30 but it has a good assortment of both brunch and non-brunch things, so you have plenty to choose from. Yet you might feel restricted since they only give you the brunch menu.

Onto the food. I got the Grandma Harriet, scrambled egg with fresh dill, tomato, and onion. The dill made this dish go from standard scrambled egg faire to utterly delicious. When I make eggs on my own, I will certainly be adding in dill! The standard sides weren't anything special. It came with a small mixed green salad, home fries, and toast. The home fries weren't really home fries but small pieces of a hard baked potato with some herb added in. A bit of false advertising if you will. The potatoes were fine but I was looking forward to home fries. I substituted the plain toast for biscuit with raspberry jam for $2 more and it was completely worth it. The biscuit was soft, flaky, and certainly not out of a Pillsbury can. The raspberry jam was super tasty and I ended up putting it on the eggs too.

Justin got a salmon bagel platter aka bagel with lox and cream cheese. It also came with a side mixed green salad, lettuce/tomato/onion adds, and capers. While the lox was perfectly done - just the right amount of salty - the bagel was a big disappointment. It was just a plain untoasted boring bagel. Even a quick trip through the toaster would have improved this bagel. It also had some strange ridges - questioning where they even got this bagel. They had some different and interesting combination mixed cocktails but I made it a sober brunch. Next time, I will be trying one of those drinks.

It's a hit or miss place - with the dill scrambled eggs and biscuit being a bit hit though lots of other things being a big miss.

Teresa's - Brooklyn Heights

Teresa's at 80 Montague Street is a classic diner joint in the midst of Brooklyn Heights. Teresa's features sufficient outdoor seating but we decided to sit inside Our table was cozy, maybe a bit too cozy as we both were slammed against the wall. Maybe I should just use the word cramped. There were plenty of empty tables yet somehow we were lucky enough to have a table that had a wall on 3 sides.

After waiting for a while, we finally flagged down our waiter. The menu was extensive with brunch classics, sandwiches, and Eastern European specials like piergoies and blintzes. Justin got the special, some sort of strange dish called Pesto Florentine. The plate itself was interesting with eggs atop ham atop a hash brown with a creamy pesto sauce. A bunch of things that don’t usually go together and maybe really shouldn’t.

I got a lox and onion omelet with kasha. The omelet had nothing else besides the lox and onion so it had a hearty portion of lox and onion inside it. The omelet looked pretty but wasn’t particularly tasty. The kasha was a great side dish instead of the typical hash browns or home fries. I liked the combination of traditional brunch food with an Eastern European flare but unfortunately, the execution didn’t add up.

Lastly, I got pumpernickel bread along with the omelet. The bread was overly toasted and unexpectedly hard. After asking for butter, I got a large plate of butter and jellies. The butter was frozen. Not just cold but actually frozen. We had to warm the butter up with our hands before I could even stick my knife into it. Disgusting.

Verdict: Teresa’s has some appealing ideas but doesn’t measure up to the other brunch places in this area of Brooklyn.

Dino - Fort Greene

Dino, a newish spot on DeKalb (222 DeKalb), boasts a decently priced brunch/lunch menu and a dinner menu. While the restaurant describes itself as Italian, I would call it more American fusion Italian. If you are looking for old school pasta dishes like Tony Soprano eats - this place is not it. Though we ate dinner at this place, I did a quick glance at the brunch menu and saw that it was quite similar, just a bit cheaper in price.

First off, the place is tiny with tables crammed into every nook and cranny. They also have a bar but it's more for ambiance since there is no possible way a group could sit at the bar and have a group eating at the table behind them without a severe attack of claustrophobia. With the exception of 3 tables in the back, the other tables are literally next to each other. It's not the sort of place you want to have a deeply personal conversation unless you don't mind you neighbors hearing your play by play of what’s going with you life. With the exception of the cramp quarters, the place is very cute with soft lighting, simple but refreshing decor, and an attentive wait staff.

Now to the food....

Interesting menu with a host of pasta options though only a handful of meat dishes. For appetizers, we chose an avocado crostini, off the specials, and calamari. The crostini was good with just the right amount of avocado spread though the bread could have been crustier. The calamari was sautéed, not fried, which I loved. It tasted fresh and just the right amount of spicy and chewy. This was my favorite dish of the night!

For my main meal, I chose the orecchiette pasta, which was pasta with a pistachio arugula pesto sauce. The sauce had only a slight hint of pesto with an overpowering taste of argula. Now, I like the taste of arugula so I was very pleasantly surprised but the sauce does not resemble any sort of pesto sauce I’ve ever tasted. The dish was exceptionally hearty with lots of vegetables throughout the dish including potatoes, peppers, and green beans. Overall, I was pleased with my dish. Justin got the bucatini, which was pasta with pancetta, tomato, and a whole bunch of spices. However the dish turned out to be much more similar to spaghetti and tomato sauce with a little bit of meat thrown in. Nothing particularly special.

Because of some logistical moves during the course of our meal, we ended up getting a free dessert. We picked the tiramisu. The tiramisu was delicious and was a great end to the meal yet not the best tiramisu I ever had. That sums about how I felt about Dino – good food and ambiance but not the best ever.

Cafe LULUc - Carroll Gardens

After giving up on Tom's, we decided to hop a bus to try and Cafe LULUc, a French bistro joint in the middle of restaurant row on Smith Street. Unlike Tom's, we walked in and got a table immediately, even though it was prime brunch time (12 pm). They have a nice shaded garden in the back of the restaurant, which we sat in. The menu is more standard brunch faire with omelets, eggs, and pancakes. They also have a wide variety of salads, soups, sandwiches, steaks, and pastas. The wait staff was efficient and my coffee refills came like clockwork. The prices were very reasonable with most dishes in the $6-9 range.

Because of the huge menu, I struggled with what to order. I ended up settling on a spinach and goat cheese quiche which came with a small mesculin salad. The piece of quiche was on the small side but was quite filling and tasted great. The salad wasn’t anything special but it was nice to have a healthy side for brunch. The other dish was a cheesesteak sandwich that had a very tasty caramelized onion sauce. The steak sandwich was good, though nothing too exciting.

The real draw of this place is the outdoor garden, good prices, expansive menu, and good tasting food.

Tom's Restaurant - Prospect Heights

One of the better-known Brooklyn brunch spots is Tom's Restaurant at 782 Washington Street (at Sterling Place) in Prospect Heights. After a few recommendations, I decided that it was time to experience it for myself.

After an almost 4 mile walk, we got to Tom's located on the corner of Washington & Sterling. There were a bunch of people already outside so I knew the wait was going to be pretty long. With deck chairs set out around the place, the line snaked around the corner. The staff kept coming out and providing free cookies and coffee to all who were waiting yet the wait was up to an hour plus and it was only 11 AM! For that reason, we put Tom's aside for another day.

The next day we returned to Tom's earlier during the day (9:30 AM) for a second try. This time the line was only 20-30 minutes so we gave it a shot. The place itself is filled with kitschy artwork and is reminiscent of a time gone by. Tom’s opened in the 1930s and the music and décor is completely 30’s chic. The place itself is filled with a great cross section of people from cops to families with babies to young couples to old couples.

Once you sit down, the staff is eager (understatement) to take your order. Once you order, the food comes super fast. They know what they are doing and they get you in and out fast. If you are looking for a place to enjoy a leisurely brunch, this place is not it. They gave us the check before I’d eaten one bite of my food. However if you are looking for good brunch food like scrambled eggs and omelet’s, this is your kind of place. We had sides of the standard brunch faire – bacon and eggs – and they were cooked fast and well.

Further they have some interesting menu options including: crab cakes florentine, pumpkin walnut pancakes, and lemon ricotta waffles. We had the first two, which proved to be delicious. The pumpkin walnut pancakes were soft and flakey, different than usual diner pancakes, and they gave me a very good-sized portion. The crab cakes florentine came with home fries to give you a whole lot of food – very tasty and yummy.

All in all – a very successful brunch. Is it worth an hour plus wait? Probably not but see for yourself!