Brinkley's: brunch

I've been meaning to stop by Brinkley's for brunch since they began serving it a few months ago. Since the last time I was in, they thankfully rearranged the tables for a much more open bar area and a more utilized back area for dining. The eggs benedict were great, with a thin and crunchy english muffin, perfectly poached eggs, thin slices of ham, roasted tomato, kale and a delicate hollandaise sauce served with a side of thick, oval sliced potatoes.

Update: Baohaus

Today I went back to Baohaus to try the skirtsteak bao - delicious but the real discoveries were the boiled peanuts and sweet bao fries. The peanut shells are super soft and the peanuts had a soft, bean-like consistency. The fried slices of bao were more like a dessert - crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and covered in sweet sesame sauce. Yum!

Hecho en Dumbo

On Hecho en Dumbo's opening night in their new Bowery location, we were lucky to get one of the few seats at the back of the restaurant at the kitchen bar. We started with the tostadas de ceviche - bright white chunks of halibut on a bed of guacamole and hand pressed tortillas and roasted green squash. They were amazing and made even better with a trio of sauces to add some spice.

Out of the three tacos we tried - beef short ribs, roasted poblano pepper with chihuahua cheese and Berkshire pork, I loved the pork and could have eaten a few more.

The barbacoa was an unexpected hit - a lamb shank confit served in consomme with chickpeas, onions, carrots and a blanched tomatillo. The lamb was so moist and tender I was eating it with a spoon. Amazing!

Balthazar

Despite having ordered Balthazar takeout and stopping by the bakery for years, I hadn’t eaten in the restaurant until now. The Balthazar salad was a great start, with fennel, ricotta salata, haricots verts and asparagus in a truffle vinaigrette.

The burger with cheese was cooked perfectly but it was the buttery bun that made it great, served with a heaping mound of crunchy fries.

In a cast iron pot, the duck shepherd’s pie was meaty and filling, topped with a layer of mashed potatoes.

Shorty's.32

Shorty’s.32 is a great neighborhood restaurant in Soho with amazing American food, and I could easily become a regular for dishes like this roasted chicken. The chicken was juicy and very tender in an incredible crispy skin and was served with creamy mashed potatoes and garlicky green beans.


We started with appetizers of the addictive garlicky green beans mentioned above and a side of quinoa salad.

The artichoke soup was rich, creamy and garnished with crunchy mini sized potato chips for a nice contrast in texture.

Breakfast by Oliver Schwarzwald

USA, Breakfast series by Oliver Schwarzwald

I'm loving this international breakfast photography by Oliver Schwarzwald, featuring breakfast foods from 4 countries and one international breakfast. It's compiled nicely here on Designboom.

Chinatown Cake Club

On my third try I finally made it to the underground bakery, Chinatown Cake Club, hosted and showcasing the desserts of the talented Miss Victoria Howe.

The extensive menu, below, consisted of delectable and inventive desserts and cakes like the Cindy Sherman artist series cake above. Everything was delicious, but my favorites were the super creamy ginger goat milk cheesecake, the homemade chocolate malted milk ice cream and hand pressed snowskin mooncakes filled with red bean cream and salted egg yolk. I can't wait for the next one!

Check out the menu and more pics below.

The lovely snowskin mooncakes with dense marbled dough

Black velvet cake, a dense creamy chocolate cake with an unexpected layer of Szechuan peppered white chocolate

Adzuki matcha cake - a brightly colored green tea poundcake with adzuki bean buttercream frosting

The heavenly queen of Sheba torte, spiked with good scotch

Yummy shortbread cookies in pink peppercorn, matcha, and jasmine tea

The beautiful persimmon caramel terrine - alternating layers of sweet candied persimmons with star anise and caramel glaze