Bowery to Williamsburg

This hidden gem is often overlooked due to the more popular graffiti filled laneways which surround the unassuming cobblestoned street. It is worth the search though, with its intimate seating indoors and out, it definitely feels like a place to go to on a slow day where you want to eat good food in peace.

Settling in, I decided on a FANCY hot chocolate: the peanut butter hot chocolate ($5.0), in the end the peanut was very subtle but the chocolate was still quite dark and delicious. Not only that, but all drinks come with an American style chocolate, Hershey’s Kisses or in this case, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Score!

The special for the day was the Monte Cristo: gypsy ham, swiss cheese with friend egg, water cress & pickled onion salad ($17.0) so I opted for that, despite desperately wanting to nom The Reuben as per a friend’s recommendation. If the brioche bread wasn’t enough, there was also copious creamy smooth mayo, with a bite of mustard to round each mouthful off. The warm melty cheese and ham were great and the side of sweet onions and watercress lifted the flavour of the sandwich.

The Pulled Pork Hash, corn bread, broccoli, rabe, poached eggs ($16.0) was quite interesting. The vegies gave the dish a very Asian feel, though I doubt that was the goal. The pork was well cooked but nothing extremely flavour packed. The corn bread tasted like butter cake which was so strange to have a sweet-ish cake in the middle of the savoury fare. The cake crumbled well and I thought it was a weird addition until the very last bite, where it suddenly went well with the vegies and sweet BBQ sauce.

The Buttermilk waffles, mixed berry citrus compote, lavender marshmallow & whipped cream ($16.0) sounded so good I couldn’t resist. The lavender marshmallow tasted a lot like blueberry but was so pillow soft and unlike the pre-packed kind. There was a nice crispy sugar coating where the whipped cream had fallen so that was pretty cool. The waffle was warm and not too sweet and was complimented perfectly with the compote and whipped cream. The Waffle Club waffles are still better, but this was p. good.

TL;DR Such an easygoing environment and American-style food makes me want to return here, over and over.