40 days & 40 nights without alcohol
April 5, 2013Afternoon with Dior
April 19, 2013As a foodie in New York I feel entitle to share with you my fellow foodies and readers the best food spots in this beautiful city. I have taken this duty so serious that from now on, I’m going to start posting weekly my visits to the best/hot/popular eateries/restaurants and more in New York City.
I never knew what brunch was until I came to the big apple. Ever since I discovered it, I can’t stop “brunching” (and I love it!). Pancakes, egg benedicts, potatoes, waffles, bacon and COCKTAILS! Whoever created brunch totally believed in “It’s ok to start drinking at 11am, it’s 5pm somewhere else in the world”.
With no further due, I’m going to tell about one place I went a couple of weeks ago for brunch. I bought a deal in Gilt City (great deals btw!) because I’ve heard this featured restaurant was great. The deal included 4 course menu and a bottle of champagne (You can’t go wrong with that!).
I arrived at 11am on the dot and the place wasn’t open. Luckily, it was a beautiful day in the Lower East Side and I decided to wait outside until we were told to come in. By the outside looks, the place didn’t look extravagant or glamorous at all. My boyfriend told me this place used to be an old shop and I believed it. We opened the door and we saw a shop, yes a shop, although a cool vintage shop, it was a shop!
The lady who welcomed us pointed the door that took us to the next room, we passed the door and TA-DAH! We were surprised by this huge and beautiful chandelier, and just like that, we were surrounded by elegance and glamour!
Photo from newyork.citypudding.com
I felt so under dress let’s be honest most people who go to brunch do not dressed up (most of the times) but the hostess were so nice that I forgot I was wearing jeans and flat boots HA! For some strange reason my reservation wasn’t in the system but they didn’t hesitate when I told them I called twice to make sure my name was in the list. 2 minutes later we were taken to our seats and the place kept surprising me.
Photo from www.avroko.com
Loved the marble bar with a chic lounge area that led us to this huge-high ceiling space that screamed ELEGANTE everywhere! Dark wall-sexy room with leather chairs and couches and wooden tables. Natural light coming from the window ceiling, gave the space a sense of harmony.
Photo from erinalacarte.com
The server was very nice, let me say surprisingly nice for this type of restaurant. She immediately brought our champagne and gave us time to make our choices from the varied menu.
The food didn’t take long to arrive and our waitress kept refilling our champagne glass until the bottle was done. I love the ambiance, even though was stunning, it made you feel comfortable and relax.
Now the most important part of the brunch experience: the food was AMAZING. I believe it’s the first brunch spot that offers gourmet food and that I can actually say is totally worth visiting! This is what we ordered:
-Egg Benedicts (jamon serrano, bollandaise)
-Grilled Cheese, Smoked Bacon & Tomato Soup Dumplings
-Braised Short Rib “Huevos Rancheros” & Skillet Roasted Potatoes
-Selection of Ice Cream & Sorbets
One of the highlights of the visit was to see Peruvian potatoes in the menu!
I totally recommend this place so if you are looking for a non traditional – fancy brunch experience, you must come to Beauty & Essex. You will LOVE IT!
Additional tip: they say their dinner menu is amazing and they serve free glasses of champagne in the ladies room, how cool is that?
If you have been here or you are planning to go, share with me your thoughts!
xoxo
