Fig & Olive: Chic UES Brunch

Long time no review? Our readers (yes, both of you) needn't worry as we are still eating out, just not getting enough time to pen something interesting for this blog. Hope to clear the backlog this weekend so wish us luck. Btw does anyone else want to see the Pope in NYC tomorrow or is the photographer just weird? Anyway, here goes...

This review should have come sooner as this is fast becoming our favourite place for brunch with its convenient upper east location and super food. We have also never waited for more than half an hour for a table which stands out in stark contrast to 2-3 hour waits at the neighbouring Alice's Tea Cup. Fig & Olive has a very chic decor with the bar lined up bottles of olive oil and a variety of gourmet freshly baked goodies. The cane chairs and the communal table (which seems like an idea picked up from Le Pain Quotidien) give it a very chic feel.

The food is very nicely presented and tastes as good. The poached and the scrambled eggs come atop a crisply baked bun along with salad drizzled with olive oil. Since the foodie can't resist anything doused in truffle oil, her favourite is the poached eggs with asparagus and truffle oil. This dish also comes with yummy grilled peppers. One of Foodie's friend also recommends the vegetable quiche. We have never gone there for dinner - a trip which is due to taste some their olive oils with bread.

The service is average. They have once mixed up our order and once told us " we don't keep ketchup" in a tone that smacked of upper east side snobbery. However, usually they are efficient, quick, not overtly friendly but get the job done. One of the foodie's friends commented that crew cut and well-shaven seems to be a part of the uniform for all the waiters!! For brunch our bill is $20 per person including gratuity.


Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 8/10

Fig & Olive: Bet 62 and 63rd on Lexington

9th Street Market: Another LES gem

We went to a place called Ninth Street Market in the Lower East Side on an impulse sunday brunch outing (great winter weather you see). This place hardly has any markings but was still easy to spot because of the large group of people waiting outside. We wrote our names down on the pad hanging outside and walked around exploring the quaint shops in the hip east village neighborhood. The wait of 50 minutes was longer than expected, but the food was definitely worth it. A scruffy, bearded guy came out at regular intervals to announce the names of the next table. When we went in, we realized that he was the (quite friendly) waiter for all tables.

The foodie's breakfast toastada came with a crisp base, topped with onion, beans, cheese and two poached eggs. The home fries were spicy and crisp. The photographer's special omelette of the day was fluffy and stuffed with chorizo. It came with a side of fresh-from-the-oven bread with the best strawberry jam ever (most of which the foodie polished off). The orange juice was fresh and the service was attentive, our bottomless coffee cup was re-filled constantly.

The place is cozy and has a fireplace for an added measure of coziness. However you immediately see the reason for the long wait - it is tiny! It probably can't seat more than 20 people. The photos above cover about 98% of the floor area of the restaurant. Fresh flowers, pictures of Indian Gods (including scenes from the Mahabharata!) on the walls, and a generally run-down decor give it a very exotic neighbourhood cafe vibe. The music selection is hip remixes of old-school 80's hits. Our total bill including gratuity was $15 per person and included unlimited coffee/tea, juice and an entree.

We recommend the ninth street market brunch only if you don't mind waiting for at least 45 mins. Avoid going in big groups.

Food: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Ambience: 7/10

9th Street Market, 337 East 9th St. (between 1st and 2nd aves), New York, NY 10003

Follow Me Café: an undiscovered gem on the UES

Tucked away in a building on 62^nd and Lex (on 62^nd st) is a small, cozy and excellent place. The food is cheap, waitresses are efficient and the clientele looks very, very good. This has become one of our favorite hangout spots in the city. We have been to the Follow Me Café more than a dozen times and will keep going there for an unpretentious, warm experience. The food selection is great for any time of day- omlettes, sandwiches, savory and sweet crepes, wines and beverage selections. The portions are for the health conscious- a side of generous salad accompanying most sandwiches and omlettes (very European- and unlike a lettuce leaf and tomato ‘salad’ of most places in the city). The stuffing of the omlettes compliments the cheese in it very well (we have had all of them and recommend the Mediterranean omlette). The skirt steak sandwich has a delicate Chmicuri-style sauce that will satisfy the ardent carnivore. Their lemonade and iced-tea is served in cute jar-mugs. The only complaint (if you can call it that) we have is that the tables near the door are exposed to the elements, so we would suggest that you sit at the inner tables. Its great for big or small groups and is ideal for people-watching for both guys and girls. Although you may have to wait for a table sometimes, it is never longer than 5-10 minutes. A must go to place. Since most of our trips there are spontaneous, the photographer is usually without his camera. We will correct it on our next trip there.

Food: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Ambience: 9/10

 Follow Me Café, 62^nd St and Lexington, NYC

 

Febuary 2, 2008

Barking Dog: Good for big groups

The Barking Dog was recommended to us by a friend who stays across the street from it. It is unlike your regular diner. It is rather cozy with a hip ambience and a good song selection of the top 20 hits. Beyond that, there is much scope of improvement in the food and the service. Our waiter looked like he was dragged out of bed and took our order rather reluctantly. He was, however, quick to get our food. They were accomodating to our group of five and we saw many other big groups, especially in bigger, round tables in the far corners. The foodie got the poached eggs with bacon, sausage and biscuit. The egg was still swimming in water and the biscuit was cold and tasteless (maybe she is spoiled by Alice's tea cups scones!). The others ordered omeletes which were rather nice, so you should stick to them as they are relatively hard to screw up (although you would be surprised about that too if you go to Brio). 

Our bill was $16 per person which is not bad considering the diner food and above average ambience. We recommend if you are part of a big group and omlettes are all you care about. Alternatives to the Barking Dog include Vinyl. Annie's was a great UES spot for brunch but unfortunately they are all boarded up now.

Food: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Ambience: 7/10

Barking Dog: 1678, 3rd avenue

January 27, 2008

Tavern On The Green: Checked off the list

Zagat had warned us to go for the view not the food, so we kind of knew what we were risking. However, it was Restaurant Week in New York- 2 weeks (twice a year) where the usually unthinkably expensive New York City restaurants have a special 3-course restaurant week menu. This cold friday evening, we decided to try out Tavern on the Green in the western side of Central Park and 67th street. We waited for our table in the fancy bar which looked much like a palace set from one of those historical movies. The decor was plush with velvet seats, huge chandeliers, glass, mirrors and thick carpeting (bordering on stuffy, depending on what you are used to). I guess we partly paid for the decor with our $20 cocktail (gratuity and tax included). The dinner was nothing to write home about and was quite disappointing for a place of this much fame (or hype? probably hype). So as not to make lowly patrons squirm in their plaid dining chairs, the wines in double digit dollar amounts were printed in bold in their wine menu. The waitress (they want to refer to themselves as 'captains' for some reason) could not recommend a single sweet red wine from the entire list. The lobster bisque (appetizer) had too much salt but was creamy, the organic chicken entree was average and the chocolate cake tasted like it was bought from the neighborhood diner in a jiffy. The photographer's salmon entree was exactly like the salmon he eats in his university cafeteria every Tuesday for $5.95. Service was similarly dismal - we had to return water with ice twice after having told our server that everyone of us will take water without ice. What is with restaurants and ice in the water anyway? The time they took in getting us the water without ice made us wonder if they are actually waiting for the ice to melt.

In summary, we would suggest you visit Tavern on the Green only if you have fantasized about it since childhood and can afford to be laden in fur and adept at air-kissing. You can apparently take a horse-drawn carriage to the place. You will probably need that memory to tide over the horrible food and service.

Food: 5/10

Service: 4/10

Ambience: 9/10

Tavern On The Green: Central Park at 67th Street

January 25, 2007

Sarabeth's: Underwhelming

We wanted to go for brunch at Sarabeth's for a while. We finally got enough people for a reservation (they only take reservations for 6 or more) at this chi-chi 'highly recommended' Central Park South eatery. Our experience could be best described as underwhelming. 

There was no creativity in the menu as one would expect from a place voted in the past as the best brunch place in town. The food was average but the service totally put us off. Our waitress took so long getting the milk that our coffees were cold. On asking for a wine recommendation, she replied "I don't know. I've never had these wines". The wine we ordered was not in stock and the one that was finally given to us was like sugar syrup and couldn't be finished. Maybe the lacklustre service was because they add 18% gratuity to the bill for a party of 6 or more? For our second round of coffees, one of us had to get up to request the waitress to get the milk! We were very disappointed with both the food and service, so we won't be going back. Brunch entree's listed between $10-15. 

 

Food: 7/10 

Service: 4/10

Ambience:   7/10

Sarabeth's- Central Park South, between 5th and 6th Ave, NYC

Jan 12, 08

Image: From Sarabeth's website

Ino: No Eggs Benedict- in a good way

We braved 20 deg F (that's -10 deg C) to try this quaint brunch place in West Village. A wine bar by night, this friendly place attracted the Foodie's attention for NOT having Eggs Benedict in its brunch menu- something that no other brunch place worth its pancakes would do. This place is famous for its Truffled Egg Toast and we see why. A kind of poached egg served on a crusty focaccia type base with steamed asparagus and a delicate flavor of truffle oil. Foodie says truffle oil elevates common dishes to a-la-gourmet. The seating is cramped, yet cozy. The tables have to be slid with precision so as to let the lady sit while not knocking off the Photographer's panino. Very reasonably priced at $12 which includes coffee/tea/fresh OJ with your brunch entree.  

Food: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Ambience: 9/10

Ino- 21 Bedford Street, NYC

Jan 20, 08