Brunch-able

[mamster]

Incidentally, Laurie and I finally tried El Greco (after living on Broadway for almost six years). I had the sauteed crispy penne, which is a totally silly dish that I ate every bit of. They make a pretty ordinary penne with red peppers and olives and stuff, but before they sauce the pasta they fry it in a pan until crisp. It's the crunchiest entree I've ever had.

[Blue Heron]

Incidentally, Laurie and I finally tried El Greco (after living on Broadway for almost six years).  I had the sauteed crispy penne, which is a totally silly dish that I ate every bit of.  They make a pretty ordinary penne with red peppers and olives and stuff, but before they sauce the pasta they fry it in a pan until crisp.  It's the crunchiest entree I've ever had.

Mr. Heron really likes penne cooked crisp like that. Whenever I make penne (or similar), I always make extra, so the next day I can pan fry some up for him. He prefers it that way, as well as mac & cheese pan fried crisp the next day, as well. I should take him to El Greco... he would love that.

[tighe]

I had a very ejoyable brunch today at Brasserie Margaux in the Warwick Hotel. My wife and I have had dinner there a couple times and it was very good, so when we found ourselves nearby this morning, we decided to give brunch a shot. My expectations were somewhat lowered because I have seen how some hotel restaurants that are quite good for dinner, sink into deep mediocrity at breakfast. Happily this was not the case.

The menu had some interesting sounding omelelets, a few standard brekfast items (i.e. eggs beni, French toast, etc.) and some French choices. I decided on the quiche (no, I'm not a real man) of the day which had asparagus, ham and goat cheese. Before I get to that however, there were a couple nice touches before the main course was served. To start the meal they brought out a small dish of fresh fruit and instead of just bread, they presented a basket of small pastries, muffins and croissant, all warmed. I was starting to get pretty enthusiastic at this point.....

The quiche was excellent, cooked to my liking, that is still fairly moist in the center. A good-sized piece was served with a salad of mixed greens, julienned pear and toasted pine nuts with a simple but tasty vinaigrette. The flavor of the quiche was exactly what I had hoped for given the ingredients and the crust, which I'm sure was made with about 2 pounds of butter, added to the flavor and texture, rather than detracting as it does with some quiches. At $10.50, I thought this was very good value given how much brunch can cost other places. My wife had the eggs benedict, which she thought was good, but not up to the standards of the quiche. I could tell she was quietly coveting my food through most of the meal.....