Rainy Day Brunch in Brooklyn

View of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Promenade

The second day of my weekend in NYC was not nearly as pretty as the first: it was chilly, rainy, and foggy for most of the afternoon and evening. But that didn't stop us from venturing out. We visited a church that Anne was interested in, then stopped for brunch at Le Gamin Cafe on Vanderbilt Avenue (recommended by blogger Jessica of What I Wore).

It might not look like much from the outside, but this little place is adorable. French posters and advertisements adorn the walls; the water is served in elegant blue and green glass bottles; and, there's a shaded courtyard out back that would've been perfect in better weather. The small wooden tables and plastic wicker chairs are packed in pretty close together, but we didn't really mind. We were too busy enjoying the delicious meal.

Oddly we were both in the mood for goat cheese and ratatouille - maybe the weather made us want something rich, savory, and filling. But whatever the reason, after perusing the menu we were eying the same two dishes, so we decided to order one of each and split them. But we ordered our own mimosas - no sharing there.

Afterwards we wandered around Park Slope for a while, poking around in Unnameable Books and finally landing at Heights Coffee Lounge for a much-needed afternoon hot cup o' joe.

What We Ate:

• Oeuf Gamin - poached egg on a goat cheese potato cake, served with homemade ratatouille
• Vegetarien Gamin - herbed polenta stuffed with goat cheese and smothered with ratatouille
• To drink: coffee and mimosas

The Scoop:
Le Gamin Cafe is located at 556 Vanderbilt Avenue (between Atlantic Ave & Pacific St) in Brooklyn, NY 11238. They're open for breakfast, lunch, & dinner; reservations are not needed. You can reach them at 718-789-5171.

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.

Anniversary Brunch

After our deep-dish pizza lunch at Lou Malnati's, my husband and I spent the afternoon at the Field Museum in Grant Park. I can't say that I would recommend it: it was crowded, hot & stuffy, with kids running everywhere.

That evening we went to dinner at a well-known Mexican restaurant whose chef has appeared on PBS and the Food Network. We were really looking forward to that meal, and unfortunately we were disappointed. The meal wasn't bad; but it was a long wait for food that wasn't great, far short of the fave reviews we'd heard.

Sunday (our actual anniversary) redeemed the weekend. My husband, being his usual romantic self, found a great place for us to celebrate with a scrumptious French brunch: Bistro 110. When he made the reservation, he mentioned it was our anniversary, so our waiter greeted us with complimentary glasses of sparkling rosé wine. :)

What I Ate:

• Bistro bellini: Champagne with fresh white peach puree
• Fresh bread, served with raspberry jam and a whole roasted clove of garlic - the featured ingredient of the month was garlic (yay!)
• Shrimp Gumbo: traditional Louisiana gumbo with Gulf shrimp, andouille sausage, tasso ham, okra, and rice - not too spicy, just flavorful
• Eggs Louisiana: sautéed crab cakes topped with poached eggs, Hollandaise and Creole sauce
• Gateau Breton: a traditional French cake from the Brittany region of France, made with sea salt, served with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel sauce - a good balance of sweet & slightly salty, my favorite dish of the meal!

The Scoop:

Bistro 110 (www.bistro110restaurant.com) is located at 110 East Pearson Street, Chicago, IL 60611. Their hours are M-Sat 11:30am-10pm, Sun 10:30am-4pm (brunch) and 4-9pm (dinner). Reservations are available by calling (312)266-3110.

After brunch we spent a few hours at the Chicago Institute of Art, in the Impressionist (good Matisse exhibit) and Contemporary art wings. Afterwards we walked to Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park (photo above). Obviously, the weather wasn't great - lots of clouds and fog the whole weekend - but I think I might have been disappointed if we hadn't experienced "real" Chicago weather. Overall it was a fun, relaxing getaway weekend with my wonderful hubby!