I remember seeing a picture of this mouth watering breakfast sandwich on Instagram and could not get one iota of sleep until it was deep in my the darkest pits of my disgusting stomach.

While the sandwich was very delicious, it could have been a few bucks cheaper. However, if this place was located in Manhattan, it would have probably cost nearly $20. So, in summary, I should just shut my face.

The Sticky Bun was definitely worth getting. You could share it with a friend….but let’s face it, you’re starving and that friend is sort of annoying, am I right??

348 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11249
Williamsburg – South Side
(347) 222-6722
sundayinbrooklyn.com

Pecan Sticky Bun / 6

Egg & Sausage, Gochujang Aioli, Crispy Potato, Cheddar, Brioche / 13

Cheddar Scramble, Two Eggs, Long Island Home Fries, Choice Of Breakfast Sausage Or Avocado / 14

This place is NOT good.

The only reason I’m wasting time writing a blog about it is that it’s located on a really nifty hidden street specializing in outdoor dining.

Never having been to this part of FiDi before, I stumbled upon William street, one of the oldest streets in Manhattan and all the ancient buildings are now really bad restaurants with really awesome outdoor seating, perfect for a sunny afternoon brunch or evening booze fest.

Just don’t expect much from the food….

The pretzel balls were hard and dry and contained the sad remnants of dehydrated cheese. They were once fresh, back in George Washington’s day. In fact, these may have been part of his original order and the waiter just found these hidden behind some crumbling brick wall in the basement. They should be in a museum, not in my stomach!

Everything else was just blah. I don’t even want to waste words on it!

Which just kills me because the space is so perfect for eating and imbibing outdoors. It almost pisses me off that the food isn’t better.

19 S William St
New York, NY 10004
b/t Beaver St & Mill Ln
Financial District
(212) 480-8142

http://bavariabarnyc.com/index.html#home

Stuffed Pretzel Balls – $8

Sausage and Fries

Pork Schnitzel Sandwich – $16

LAMB ROGAN JOSH
lamb leg, yogurt, kashmiri red chili, saffron

Junoon is an upscale Indian restaurant that’s been around the block. It’s sort of a bit of a throwback to the Sex and the City era of fancy restaurants. Early 00’s Pan-Asian chic décor, albeit a bit run down along the edges, some Buddhar Bar CD playing in the background, everything a little sexier than it needs to be. So basically, as Samantha Jones would say, Fabulous!

The food is pricey but delicious.

Normally, the basic tasting menu is $80 but during Restaurant Week, it’s only $42 (minus 1 or 2 courses) but it’s still a ton of food for a great deal.

There wasn’t a single thing that we ordered that we didn’t love so instead of boring you with details, just take a gander down below and see if anything strikes your fancy.

Something else fun is Junoon’s Game of Thrones inspired cocktails, I had two and they were both strong and delicious. Just like Jon Snow.

27 W 24th St
New York, NY 10010
b/t 5th Ave & 6th Ave
Flatiron
(212) 490-2100
junoonnyc.com

White Walker – Game of Thrones Inspired Cocktail

ARYA STARK
Brockmans Gin, Japanese umeshu fruit wine, lime, homemade spiced plum compote
$16

GHOST CHILI MURGH TIKKA
tandoor chicken thigh, cabbage slaw, cashew puree, cashew crumble

EGGPLANT CHAAT
crispy eggplant, raita, tamarind chutney, red onion, chaat masala

MURG LABABDAR
tandoor grilled chicken, tomato sauce, fenugreek

SAFFRON SHRIKHAND
green cardamom, candied spiced almonds

DUO OF KULFI
Mango and Pistachio

Nix is a fantastic new Michelin starred vegetarian restaurant that oozes a ton of sex appeal.

I can’t believe I just typed “sex appeal”. 80’s alert! Cue the Vidal Sassoon commercial!

Instead of back peddling on this whole “Sex Appeal-Gate”, let’s just focus on the food and drink.

Both are fantastic (and sexy).

The highlights are the Cauliflower Tempura and the Wok-Roasted Golden Tomatoes. Both bursting with flavor and super fun.

Also make sure you order a dip and some fantastic tandoor bread.

The Pea Dumplings were nice but the Pan Roasted Gnocchi came out nearly cold and light on the promised corn and jalapeno flavors.

The cocktails were quite nice but we both preferred the Baja over the Playa II.

The prices are steep (especially that cold gnocchi for $27!) so come here on a date or an anniversary.

Any event where you want the star of the show to be the SEX APPEAL.

72 University Pl
New York, NY 10003
b/t 10th St & 11th St
Greenwich Village
(212) 498-9393
nixny.com

Baja $14
Fresh mango, paprika, lime, tequila
Playa II $15
Fresh watermelon juice, reposado tequila, champagne foam

Tandoor Bread ($6) and Red Pepper Walnut Dip ($5)

Wok roasted sungold tomatoes, sunflower seeds & banyuls vinaigrette 12

Pan roasted potato gnocchi, zucchini, corn, jalapeño & mint 27

Pea dumplings, radish, ginger & scallion oil 17

Cauliflower tempura with steamed buns & house pickles 18

I’ll have to admit. I was both confused and bored with Atla’s menu, when I was first perusing it online.

I noticed lots of fish options (which I always equate to healthy more than yummy) and I envisioned overpriced and pretentious small plates.

And I’m fine with all of that except for the SMALL part.

But I was pleasantly surprised, no, I was pleasantly shocked at how delicious everything was!

The two highlights were certainly the Arctic Char Tostada (speaking of small, this is a single serving situation) but definitely order the Fish Milanese for the table. Just for that sauce – such delicious lime cucumber mayhem. A more reserved, refined mayhem.

Definitely not a cheap affair, Atla is the perfect place to take your well-to-do pescatarians who might generally have a sizeable stick up their a** but occasionally take it out when the food is good enough.

Trust me, this food is stick-up-ass removable good. Yes, that’s a thing, poor grammar aside.

372 Lafayette St
New York, NY 10012
b/t Great Jones St & Bond St
NoHo
atlanyc.com

Arctic Char Tostada

Mushroom Quesadilla

Fish Milanese

Cold Smoked Hamachi – Honeycrisp, Dill & Wasabi

Park Avenue is your standard beautiful yet non-descript restaurant in the Flatiron district but what sets it apart is their wine dinners.

For $65 a person, you get an appetizer, entree, dessert and essentially all the wine your happy ass can handle (within reason, our server warned).

It’s the best deal in town.

The appetizer highlights were the decadent steak tartare with truffles and foie gras and the light but flavorful hamachi.

The sweet corn agnolotti was also tasty but somehow not as bursting with flavor as I would have liked.

The pork schnitzel was very flavorful if not a bit fatty and the scallops with that heavenly butternut squash and bacon glaze were truly tasty.

I found most of the desserts to be on the meh side but the Black Forest was unique and very nice.

The server happily offered us second pours of all 4 wines being offered so you can really squeeze 8+ glasses of wine out of that $65 bucks before they drag your tipsy butt out and throw you into the nearest taxi.

You’ll regret the hangover but not the bill the next day

360 Park Ave S
New York, NY 10010
b/t 26th St & 25th St
Flatiron
(212) 951-7111
parkavenyc.com

Complimentary Snacks

Sweet Corn Agnolotti – Black Truffles

Park Avenue Steak Tartare – Black Truffle, Foie Gras

Latkes

Corn Creme Brûlée

Viking Village Scallops – Butternut Mole, XO Bacon & Asian Pear

Red Wattle Pork Schnitzel – Pear Mustard, Dates & Chicory

Warm Apple Financier

Bourbon Pecan & Walnut Tart

Black Forest Cake

The iconic Empire Diner location has been many things except maybe successful.

Maybe this new incarnation will change all that? Unlikely but greasy fingers crossed.

Greasy because they make a damn good pretzel crusted fried chicken!

If you read the Yelp reviews, apparently it’s not always that good but I found it fantastic. Loved the crunch of the smashed up pretzel bits and the meat was perfectly cooked. Please note that even though the chicken costs $22, it does not come with a side. Unless you count 3 slices of pickled green tomatoes a side (hint: they’re tasty!)

I ordered the also fantastic Cacio e Pepe Soft Scrambled Eggs with Speck (it’s called Speck on the menu but our waitress confided that it’s really just prosciutto). I know Cacio e Pepe is all the rage right now, but it works fantastically with these scrambled eggs. Comes with a few pieces of charred toast to dip it in. Yum!

What wasn’t thrilling was when a stack of 8 dishes slid off the rack next to our table and smashed, throwing bits of glass everywhere. Everywhere included being imbedded in one of our legs, drawing blood and prompting the manager to bring us over a band aid. More urgently, a bit of glass thrust itself in my eggs! What nerve!

Who cares about a partially severed leg when my last bite of eggs is positively ruined!

The staff were very apologetic and comped about half of our bills, which was really nice of them.

Will definitely be back…..wearing long pants and protective eyewear, next time.

210 10th Ave
New York, NY 10011
b/t 22nd St & 23rd St
Chelsea
(212) 335-2277
empire-diner.com

empire omelettefine herbs, boursin cheese, mixed greens, multi-grain bread
$14

soft scramble eggs cacio peppeparmesan, cracked black pepper, speck (PROSCIUTTO)
$13

sourdough pretzel fried chickenhousemade pickles, mustard hot sauce
$23

Peaches has a bunch of other stuff on the menu, but I came here for the Hot Chicken. Does anything else in life really matter?

I’m not an expert and haven’t even Googled “Nashville Hot Chicken” but I believe it’s basically fried chicken with a bunch of cayenne in the breading. Like, a lot.

Or, if you order the “Extra Hot” chicken at Peaches, it’s ghost chili powder. Way too hot to eat with your hands, best to eat with a fork and knife. If you want your traditional, just order the “Hot” option.

The collards were a bit bland, so if you really want ’em, douse them with the complimentary hot sauce at your table, to give them that vinegar kick that’s missing.

Why mac and cheese isn’t served at brunch is beyond me?? We aren’t coming here for the avocado toast, mother*cker!

Make sure you order the Crispy Grits, they are truly unique and delicious.

The chicken was good, just a smidge on the dry side. I’ve had jucier breasts before (wink, wink) (just kidding) but the thigh and leg were nice (each order comes with three pieces) and you get a complimentary side.

415 Tompkins Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11216
b/t Hancock St & Jefferson Ave
Bedford Stuyvesant
(718) 483-9111
peacheshothouse.com

You know when you’re at a BBQ at someone’s house and you see the spread of burger fixings, and you put a little of everything on your burger?

Whether you prefer your burger like that or not??

Well, I do. I’m a sheep.

I think all of humanity can pretty much agree that a big slice of tomato will ruin a burger. Do question.

The Jean Georges burger at Chef’s Club Counter is that burger. It’s a really good burger ruined by too many classic burger condiments.

There is a new trend of super simple cheeseburgers out there that Chef’s Club is not paying attention to. Or is Jean George to blame? Not really sure how it works.

You see, there is a rotating lineup of famous/celebrity chef’s who are entrusted to create some sort of upscale yet fast casual entrée, such as a fancy toast, some type of burger or sandwich and some type of bowl. It’s open for dinner but the fare is more breakfast or lunch inclined.

The idea is a great one (everyone went nuts when LA’s famous Egg Slut had their residency, selling their amazing breakfast sandwiches) but the execution didn’t really excite me.

The burger was really good, mind you, even with that tomato madness, but it just wasn’t very inspired.

And the Hot Chicken Sandwich was just odd tasting and a bit dry. I wanted more sauce action and more heat on the actual chicken.

The fries were good but standard.

The prices are decent for Soho but not cheap enough to make this your regular lunch time spot.

It’s sort of a confusing set up inside. You don’t really know what the hell to do when you enter. Hint: you order first and then find a seat. However, the menu descriptions are quite vague, even esoteric so if you’re just a tourist popping in for a quick bite, you won’t know what many of the menu items even are and you’ll leave (I saw this happen twice).

I really didn’t mean for this to come off like a super negative review but apparently that’s where it landed. I have no control over these things, folks.

62 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
b/t Mulberry St & Lafayette St
SoHo
(646) 438-9172
chefsclubcounter.com

Belles Hot Chicken Sandwich
by Morgan McGlone
Ingredients:
Crispy hot chicken thigh or tenders, American cheese, lettuce, onion, Belles “Good Good” sauce, served with Old Bay fries

JG Burger
by Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Ingredients:
Grass fed beef, pepper jack cheese, avocado, crispy red onions, Russian dressing.

You only have a few bucks in your pocket.

You’re hungry.

You’re also either drunk or an NYU student.

(You also probably smell unpleasant)

Mamoun’s is where you go.

For $3.50 you can get a pretty decent falafel sandwich (heavy on all the non-falafel ingredients, as you can see) but it will still fill your broke ass up, I promise you.

Go easy on the spicy sauce, it’s VERY spicy.

The place is right next to Washington Square Park so definitely go eat it on a park bench (you can’t really eat inside) and try to avoid one of the thousands of birds there from crapping directly into your pita.

And by birds, I mean NYU students.

119 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10012
Greenwich Village
(212) 674-8685
mamouns.com