Sunday brunch near St. Marks Pl. & First Ave.

[Fat Guy]

This would be for a pre-theater brunch for my mother and some of her friends.

[CathyL]

Is Prune too funky?

[Suzanne F]

We have a group of 5 that goes to Sunday matinees at The Pearl. Me, Paul, his older sister who does not like spicy, her friend who eats anything, and my 80+ year-old aunt who keeps kosher.

We sometimes eat at La Palapa (Mexican); I like it a lot. We used to go to Miracle Grill, but they got snotty so I'm boycotting them. Yaffa's food is okay, but I have sanitation issues with them. Jules Bistro is okay, too, but I'm not sure if they're open for Sunday brunch.

Actually, one of our most frequent brunch places is Teresa's -- Polish coffee shop. Delicious "blintzes" especially the spinach; very tasty soups; excellent babka.

Three of Cups also has pretty good food, but the service is more East-Village-y.

Finally: we've been meaning to try Dosaria, but haven't yet.

[tommy]

you always got da indian places on 6th. goa is new and decidedly a bit more "upscale" than the others, and i found it quite good.

[Fat Guy]

Yeah, but I think we're probably looking for more predictable brunch food. Teresa's or another of the East European places might be as far as it can be pushed.

[Sandra Levine]

There's always the Second Avenue Deli, or is that too mundane?

[LaurieA-B]

What about Kiev? I was there in April and enjoyed blintzes amidst their oddly posh re-decoration. When I worked near there I often got breakfast at KK and Christine's, but they are mostly just cheap (tasty, but nothing special).

[ngatti]

Yeah, but I think we're probably looking for more predictable brunch food. Teresa's or another of the East European places might be as far as it can be pushed.

Leshko's?

edit: 7th & A. I used to go for the pirogi. Used to go to the Odessa, but I don't think it exists anymore.

Nick

[Pan]

I went to Kiev late one night when I was ill, awake, and hungry. Not to put too fine a point on it, it sucked! Pasty, watery, tasteless potato pierogis! I'll never go there again. At this point, I think that Kiev is inferior to Veselka, and I'm not high on Veselka.

[Beachfan]

It's been a while, but I've liked Miracle Grill for brunch (usually nicer weather for the garden). They do southwestern version of brunch items.

Location seems perfect, 1st ave between 7th and 6th streets.

[g.johnson]

Not exactly brunch, but I Coppi (9th Street, near Avenue A) is very pleasant for lunch. (Though they did throw us out for complaining about a dish the last time we were there.)

[Pan]

GJ:

Please fill me in. I'm quite suprised to hear that they threw you out for complaining about a dish. That sounds like highly unprofessional behavior.

Beachfan:

Seconded on Miracle Grill. I haven't been there for several months, but I like their brunch very much and recommend it to most people other than those from California or the Southwest.

[Bux]

I'm quite suprised to hear that they threw you out for complaining about a dish. That sounds like highly unprofessional behavior.

Complaining about a dish or throwing the complainer out? In either case, I suppose style counts heavily.

[Pan]

I'm quite suprised to hear that they threw you out for complaining about a dish. That sounds like highly unprofessional behavior.

Complaining about a dish or throwing the complainer out? In either case, I suppose style counts heavily.

I was reacting to throwing someone out for complaining about a dish, but I take your point. If someone ranted and raved and yelled strings of obscenities and threatened to come back with a .44 and shoot the whole crew, that would change things a bit.

[g.johnson]

I was exaggerating a little. The pasta that one of our party had was actively unpleasant (everyone agreed). He didn’t complain at the time but didn’t eat any of it. When the server cleared the plates she asked if there was anything wrong and he told her that it was ‘disgusting’, admittedly over the top. This was reported to the chef who came over, very upset, and insisted that the dish was the way it was meant to be and the way they like it in Tuscany. They gave us the check immediately (including a charge for the offending pasta). We paid and left.

[Pan]

Do you remember what pasta dish that was?

[g.johnson]

Neither Yvonne nor I remember very clearly. We think it was a cappelletti special which tasted as if the cooking water had leached into the filling making it watery and tasteless.

I should say (especially having recommended the place) that we have enjoyed every other meal we’ve had at I Coppi. During the summer it’s particularly pleasant for lunch in the garden.

Edited January 6, 2003 by g.johnson (log)

[Pan]

I'm reviving this thread because I'm having brunch with a friend tomorrow in this area. We're looking for a place that has good omelettes and is fairly inexpensive (I think that would be less than $20 at most). We're thinking Imagine, the successor to Miracle Grill on 1st Av. just south of 7th St. Have any of you had brunch there or looked at their brunch menu? Also, any other suggestions? Cafe Mogador, perhaps? When do they open on Sundays? I had a good breakfast at Teresa's today (Swiss cheese, spinach, fried onions, and tomato omelette, with rye toast and fresh orange juice), but my friend nixed it as an option for tomorrow.

[Pan]

So we went to Cafe Mogador and had a really good brunch. I had the Moroccan Eggs, poached eggs on spicy tomato sauce, which came with good home fries with peel on them, and some pita. She had the omelette with goat cheese and spicy tomato-pepper sauce, which also came with a small fresh-squeezed orange juice, home fries, mesclun, and toast. I ordered a large orange juice, which was excellent - not watery, with a good quantity of pulp, and made from high-quality oranges. We shared an appetizer portion of hummus and a side order of one merguez sausage, both of which were good. With two Americanos (for her), the total was $41 including tip. One faux pas was the waitress bringing the check when we hadn't asked for it. "I guess we're not getting dessert," I said. But overall, a very good experience. FYI, brunch started at 9 A.M. The Moroccan Eggs are on the breakfast menu.

[Live It Up]

If I had seen this earlier, I would have recommended Mogador. One thing I love about them is that they actually serve breakfast all week long and they're open on every major holiday. True, the menu is not exactly the same, but most of the more breakfasty brunch dishes are on the weekday menu. I've always worked on weekends, so it's really nice to be able to have the brunch experience on my days off.