le gamin

Nancy's Take:

Atmosphere: * * * *

From the outside, Le Gamin doesn't look like much. It's near Cookie Road, which is brightly painted and impossible to miss. Le Gamin you could probably miss unless you were seeking it out. Inside Le Gamin, they make great use of the space. The lacquered light wood bench that runs along the wall has hinges on the seat, which makes me think they also use it for storage. It gives the restaurant a nice modern look, which I liked. I also noticed a decent amount space between the tables. It wasn't crowded that day, so we got our pick of tables. Regardless I feel like we wouldn't have felt too cramped on a busy day. Our waitress was very friendly and happy to cater to our requests.

Food: * * * * *

We were little piggies that day. I couldn't commit to just one dish when there were so many that I wanted to try. Becca and I decided to split two meals - Oeuf Gamin (goat cheese potato hash brown on a bed of ratatouille and a poached egg); Omelette with caramelized onions, brie, and tomato concasse. Oeuf Gamin was delicieux...it was positively orgasmic in taste and the perfect portion. We picked the omelette ingredients ourselves based on being, well....things that we'd still love if they were spread on a chunk of sidewalk. In hindsight the ingredients were a little weird combined in an omelette. It was flavorful but a tad on the sweet side. The omelette was gargantuan, which is a blessing or a curse depending on the size of your stomach. It was too big for us because we ALSO ordered fries to split. The fries were the whole reason we discovered this place, after walking past it one day and gazing longingly at someone's fries from the window. That is, until we realized we were making people uncomfortable with our faces smushed on the glass.

But we didn't stop there. As full as we may have been, we couldn't resist the temptation of a french dessert. We ordered a sampling plate, which had teeny tart versions of some of their larger desserts, including creme brulee, chocolate mousse, and sponge cake. I know that if I go back for dinner one day, I will be ordering either the creme brulee or chocolate mousse. Becca was so excited that she had an entire photoshoot of the dessert before we ate it.

Drinks: * * * *

The liquor menu at Le Gamin is extensive, but I went traditional brunch style and had my Bloody Mary. I was impressed with the size of the glass and the amount of horseradish, but less than inspired by their lack of garnishes. Overall it was a good Bloody Mary, though.

Becca’s Take:

Atmosphere: * * * *

Le Gamin has a cozy atmosphere – it’s nothing fancy or kitschy, but nice and comfortable. There is plenty of seating, but I do think if they were very busy, it might be a little hectic getting in and out of your seat or the restaurant, itself. Luckily, that wasn’t the case! We were seated immediately, with our choice of almost any place in the house, and our waitress was very attentive and didn’t make fun of us for butchering how to pronounce “ouef.”

Food: * * * * *

Holy cow. THE FOOD. Le Gamin is seriously a treasure of a restaurant. If you and yours have not yet eaten there, you absolutely must. Because it’s a bit of a hike from my apartment, this winter weather will make it hard for me to get there as often as I’d like to, but come summer, I’m going to be fat and happy devouring crème brulee, and I really can’t wait to try what they have for dinner! As Nance mentioned in her comments about our brunch dishes, the omelette was seriously enormous. Its platter, alone, was intimidating. The items we threw in there were a little funky together – I’d never put brie in an egg dish again, but the ouef gamin was truly amazing. That potato pancake with goat cheese baked inside of it was a carby slice of heaven. And I’m not hugely into poached eggs, but even that tasted mighty fine. As for dessert, the mini-sized tasting of all of their after-brunch treats were magnificent! Nancy and I know when we need to stop eating so we don’t burst, but we couldn’t say no to this $4 combo. The chocolate mouse was in a dark chocolate cup, the crème brulee was simply perfect, the apple cake was flakey with fresh whipped cream, and the sponge cake was sticky, sweet and we dipped it in a caramely, honey sauce. Dreams do come true…

Drinks: * * * ½

I was excited to see all the drink options at Le Gamin, and would love to go back and try some signature cocktails, but brunch will always be brunch and for me that means mimosas. I downed two of them amidst all that food ! A bigger pig you might not find, nor a happier one :)

Stats:

Le Gamin

108 Franklin St

Brooklyn, NY 11222