Ladies Who Brunch

Manhattan

On Saturday morning Anne and I planned to enjoy a leisurely brunch on the Upper West Side at Good Enough to Eat, a few blocks from Alice's Tea Cup, the cafe where Anne works. Unfortunately when we arrived at GETE, the line was already quite long. There was no hostess to take our name or tell us how long the wait might be; we were just supposed to stand outside in a line on the sidewalk and wait.

Anne and I didn't wait very long. Diagonally across the intersection of 83rd & Amsterdam, another cafe had a banner hung on their railing that read, in huge letters: BRUNCH. Good marketing, no? We glanced at their menu and decided to give Fred's a try.

The food was delicious, the waiters very friendly. They let us linger, talking over our (constantly refilled) coffee cups long after we had finished eating. And linger we did, for almost three hours!

What We Ate:

• Raisin toast with whipped strawberry butter - that butter smelled (and tasted) incredible!
• Anne - omelet with artichokes, sundried tomatoes, & brie, served with mixed greens and potatoes; coffee & a mimosa
• Me - omelet with spinach, mushrooms, & goat cheese, served with mixed greens and potatoes; coffee & red sangria - the goat cheese was just oozing out of it :)

The Scoop:

Fred's is located at 476 Amsterdam Avenue at 83rd Street. Brunch is served on Sat-Sun 10am-3:30pm.

Brooklyn

On Sunday morning, after attending church at Brooklyn Tabernacle (quite a cultural experience!), we brunched again -- this time with Anne's friend Gretchen and her sister Madeline. Walking through Cobble Hill, we must have passed a dozen adorable cafes with chalkboard easels propped on the sidewalk outside their doors, colorfully proclaiming their brunch cocktails and World Cup specials. Verde and Apartment 138 caught our eye, but we ended up at Sweet Melissa Patisserie.

From the front there doesn't appear to be much (if any) seating room inside, but the host led us straight through the patisserie/cremerie shop to a patio garden out back, filled with umbrella-covered cafe tables.

What We Ate:

• Madeline - Smoked Trout & Potato Croquette w/Poached Eggs, Sour Cream, and Mango Salsa
• Gretchen - Banana Rhum French Toast (made from a croissant) w/Bruleed Bananas, Sweet Cream & Bacon - because it was made from a croissant, this French toast was much lighter and less filling than the typical dish
• Anne - Three Scrambled Eggs served with salad, potatoes, & applewood bacon
• Me - Omelet w/Spinach, Caramelized Onions, & Gruyere, served with salad, potatoes, & toast - I know, it's basically the same thing that I ordered at Fred's the day before, but what can I say, I love good omelets!
• To drink - coffee, and two rounds of mimosas for the table!

The Scoop:

Sweet Melissa Patisserie has two locations in Brooklyn: one in Park Slope, the other in Cobble Hill. The Cobble Hill location is open M-R 7:30am-10pm, F 7:30am-12am, Sat 8am-12am, and Sun 8am-10pm.