Need a NYC recommendation for Sunday brunch

[jamesglu]

First things first--I'm a born-and-bred New Yorker, but now live in New Zealand where I cook professionally. I am in NYC for a bit of a break and am meeting up with a friend for brunch/lunch on Sunday. My mantra--no meal should be wasted--is key, but so is the reality that we need to be able to talk more or less in peace and it needs to be affordable (but it also needs to be in Manhattan and close to transport). Any clever ideas??

[dcarch]

Go to Zabar's and make your own incredible sandwiches.

 

Then walk a few seconds to Central Park and take all the time you want to enjoy your food and company.

 

Then another few minutes of walk to all the museums.

 

 

dcarch

[Shel_B]

When sweetie and I were in NYC a few years ago, we had brunch/lunch at the Met.  We enjoyed a nice, leisurely meal, the food was good, and the atmosphere great.  IMO, well worth considering.

[patrickamory]

Weekend brunch is really tough in NYC. If the place is any good, you're facing a wait, a noisy scene, or both.

 

One possibility is Maialino on Gramercy Park - make sure you request a table in the back, in the section well away from the bar, though. [Edit: RESERVE.]

 

A booth at Russ & Daughters Cafe on the Lower East Side is excellent, and they will sit deuces in booths - but the wait can be upwards of two hours at prime weekend times.

 

Barney Greengrass on the Upper West Side moves a bit faster, and is almost as good - you'll want to make sure you're in the back room from a noise perspective. Central Park walk is easy right afterwards.

 

For total peace & quiet and no wait, though also no natural light, you could try Katsu-Hama on 47th Street between Fifth and Madison, for Japanese fried pork cutlets and cabbage with your own sesame sauce that you grind yourself. I don't know whether this counts as brunch.

 

Brooklyn offers more garden-y spots, but the hot ones always have a wait. Until the owner died, I would have strongly recommended Dumont in Williamsburg.

 

Quiet brunch in NYC almost impossible! 

Edited July 25, 2015 by patrickamory (log)

[jamesglu]

Thanks to all who contributed with recommendations. In the end, my friends asked to meet in Chinatown, taking advantage of my Chinese-language skills and giving us an opportunity to was nostalgic about old times spent over dimsum. So we went to Nom Wah on Doyers Street, which we enjoyed pretty well and where, while it was not quiet, we were able to have a nice reunion.

[patrickamory]

I quite like Nom Wah. Not everything is great, and there can be huge variation depending on when you go, but when it's good, it's good.

[weinoo]

I quite like Nom Wah. Not everything is great, and there can be huge variation depending on when you go, but when it's good, it's good.

And when it's bad, it's...

 

Kidding - I still like the once in a while meal at Nom Wah, just not for weekend brunch.

 

I would've recommended Maialino and R & D as well. Then again, I'm not a brunch person.