Brunchable

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Full disclosure: I totally got this meal for free. Big thanks to Paige and the Spoon PR team. You certainly know how to make a small-time blogger feel like a big shot.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk brunch.

As you’ve probably noticed, I normally don’t stray outside of my 10-block Manhattan comfort zone. When I’m jonesing for a breakfast/lunch chimera, proximity often outweighs diversity. While on my last snowboard trip to VT, I ran into a sage who spoke of a land where street numbers run into the 20’s (!) and buildings are shaped like flat irons. In this mythical place, there is a catering company called Spoon that has a storefront which recently started offering brunch service. I thanked this traveler for her insight and added it to my to-do list.

This morning I strapped my camera around my neck, hopped on my bike, and threw caution to the wind. Remarkably, I made it to 17 West 20th St. unscathed. Well, mostly unscathed. Cut down in the prime of its life by a insurgent glass shard in the street, my rear tire did not survive the trip. After a quick detour to a bike shop, I was ready to nosh.

One of the first things I noticed about Spoon was its relaxed atmosphere. Behind the pastry/deli counter, the hand-laid mosaic tiles, mis-matched furniture, worn pastel colors and fresh flowers gave me the feel of a french cafe meets mom’s kitchen. The attention to detail actually reminded me of a Keith McNally restaurant (Balthazar, Schiller’s, Pastis), but while they serve bread from Balthazar’s bakery, Spoon is family-owned and operated.

Before you get all worked up, Spoon is currently BYOB. They serve a virgin Bloody Mary which I’ll talk about in a bit, but they do not have a liquor bar. Booze and Brunch go together so well that at times I find them hard to separate. Shockingly, I was able to enjoy this meal while completely lucid. If you can’t go without, pack a little Vodka in a flask and teach that drink a thing or to.

Spoon makes a point of paying attention to where their ingredients come from. They only serve Stumptown direct trade coffee, and their meats and eggs are locally sourced and organic.

On the suggestion of the waiter, I ordered the Brook Trout and Grits. It is served with “pan-seared lemon zest and thyme with Gorgonzola grits cake, frisee, and radicchio.” I also ordered a coffee and their virgin Bloody Mary. I considered the pancakes, but I’m such a finicky pancake eater that the chance of it being too bread-y often causes me to skip them. The food arrived pretty quickly despite a packed house, and the presentation was top notch (see picture). You can check out the full brunch menu here.

Fish at breakfast is a risky thing (smoked salmon excluded). Done right, it can be light and refreshing, but done wrong and your whole morning can be thrown off. When I bit into the first forkful, I was pleasantly surprised to find it not too “trouty” with just the right amount of seasoning. I was tempted to not even use the lemon garnish because it was so tasty out of the oven.

Grits is another risky move. I’m from the south, and I know what grits are. These were balled up into a patty and cooked just long enough to be crispy. The Gorgonzola was a subtle but inspired addition. Definitely not your traditional approach, but a unique and really tasty Spoon recipe.

The Bloody Mary, you ask? Oh right. Unfortunately, I’m not as aglow about the drink as I was about the plate. Right out of the gate, it had an overwhelming taste of smokey spice, like a plate of buffalo wings. Also, it came with an almost laughably large stalk of celery (see photo). In their defense, it was missing a key ingredient that we are accustomed to with this libation. For a place that doesn’t serve booze, their Bloody Mary was acceptable, but probably skippable in favor of the homemade lemonade or other offerings.

All in all, comp or no comp, I really enjoyed this brunch. The service was great but not in your face every 5-minutes asking how you are doing (huge pet peeve of mine!), and the prices were very reasonable. If you find yourself in the Flat Iron district between the hours of 9 and 1pm on the weekend, I highly recommend getting a spoonful at Spoon.

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When you hear about Spitzer’s Corner, people are generally talking about their extensive (we are talking huge) list of beers on tap. The wall behind the bar is literally crowded with pull handles brandishing logos from across the globe. It also turns out that they have a delicious brunch, complete with their in-house take on the Bloody Mary.

Seating is done “community style” on large wooden benches that span the room, and bar style seating around their large (typically open) windows. I recommend the window seats as they provide excellent people watching opportunities. Needless to say, the corner of Ludlow and Rivington is frequented by interesting personalities.

First things first: the booze:
Natasha ordered a Mimosa while I, too stubborn to stray from my tastes, boldly ordered their Bloody Mary even after they told me that it was “very different” and “might not be what I expect.” It turns out, they weren’t lying. If you are looking for a thick, tomato-y beverage with tons of veggies, look elsewhere. But if you are open to a drink more closely aligned with a margarita, full of heirloom tomato pulp and and spice (and a splash of strong vodka), then I recommend this one highly. This drink would be particularly tasty on a warm summer Sunday morning. After letting it sit in my stomach for a bit, I decided it was even worth a second round. Be warned that if you are like me and don’t appreciate an excessively salty drink, request that they not salt the rim. Oh, and Natasha said the Mimosa was tasty. Women.

After cruising the food menu (which is about a 1/3 the size of the drink menu), I decided on the Southern Omelette, featuring home fries and avocado. Being an omelette fan, the concept of avocado and egg seemed like a daring choice, but if done right, potentially very tasty. Boy was I wrong. I guess I was anticipating a garnish of avocado on top of the eggs, but the chef choose to cook them inside the dish. What resulted was a sulfurous heap of conflicting flavor that I was unable to finish. If you’ve produced a dish that even -I- won’t finish, you’ve got problems.

Luckily, Natasha has a stomach the size of a ping-pong ball, and I was able to swoop in and steal her Blueberry Pancake left-overs. I’m not a huge pancake fan because I tend to find them too “bready” and thick, forcing me to chug a lot of liquid to keep my mouth from drying out. Spitzer’s pancakes have caused me to re-evaluate everything I think I know about the dish. These were soft and fluffy, not overly sweet, prepared with fresh fruit, and some of the best authentic maple syrup I think I’ve ever had. Two major thumbs up.

Although not the trend on Brunchable, I actually returned to this restaurant for a second brunch before finishing this article. I had the same Bloody Mary (which was still wildly different yet very tasty), but decided to mix up the dish.

This time I went with the Smoked Salmon platter. Instead of the typical “tomato, red onion and cream cheese,” Spitzer’s Salmon dish comes with creme fraiche, slices of golden and purple beets, a sprig of dill and two lemon slices. The capers were true to custom, but instead of a bagel, they provide with you 3 slices of brown whole wheat bread.

All in all, it was a successful execution. The creme fraiche was light, and didn’t conflict with the beets. The three separate slices of bread prevented the need to pile everything onto one half of a bagel and make a mess as you try to get it into your mouth. If I had to criticize one part of dish, it would be that the Salmon was particularly flavorful. I wasn’t able to tell if this was because it wasn’t particularly fresh, or if it had been smoked for xx amount of time longer, but it had an almost overwhelming flavor.

The verdict? Stay away from the eggs, experience the Bloody Mary, and be prepared for strong flavors. 4 out of 5 brunchables.