Fanny

Nancy's take:

Atmosphere: * * * ½

I was pleased that we were seated right away because I was starving! The decor inside was fairly minimal, but the place was clean and pleasant looking. Being a hot day, my only complaint was that the air conditioning wasn't strong enough, and my legs were sweating on the vinyl seat. I noticed they had a garden area, plus a more private area of seating in the back. This worked out well when a group came in with a crying infant, and they were seated in the very back area. Privacy for them....peace and quiet for us!

Food: * * * *

They offered a mix of creative brunch items on the menu alongside traditional brunch favorites. I wished there were a few more creative dishes that boasted the Southern French theme of the restaurant. Yes it's called "French Toast" for a reason, but how about some things we don't all know?

I ordered the poached eggs and tarragon shrimp (on country bread with sautéed spinach). The sauce had a slight sour cream taste with a hint of dill and was a delightful alternative to a Hollandaise sauce. The flavors all blended together nicely, and the shrimp were large and modestly tasted of tarragon. I would happily go back and order the same thing again!

Drinks: * * *

Bloody Mary

Taste: Delicious! Just the right amount of spicy from the horseradish

Size: Good on size - comes in tall drinking glass

Garnishes: None - I was a little disappointed in the lack of garnish.

Becca’s Take:

Atmosphere: * * *

Fanny is a homey little joint along Graham Avenue with homemade curtains and long, open windows to catch plenty of sunlight (also good for people watching). They have an outdoor eating area, which we were unfortunately not offered when we arrived for brunch, otherwise, we would have dined out there. It seemed to have a sweet garden and happy ambiance. Also maintaining a happy ambiance was that the waitress was kind enough to seat the baby in the back of the restaurant, behind the bar, so us brunchers wouldn’t have to hear it whine.

Food: * * * * ½

I love me some French cookin’ – especially when it’s done right! I didn’t know Fanny deemed its cuisine French, and I ended up ordering a classic French dish: Baked eggs over Ratatouille. Other than the fact that I wanted veggies, this was one of the only meat-free menu options (beware vegetarians!) But it was scrumptious – a dish to be envied by any carnivore. I can’t wait to go back to Fanny for brunch when the weather cools off, because it was extremely warm outside and this dish never gets cold – it was piping hot the whole time – I was sweating in my seat! I chose the salad to go along with my eggs and it was a large helping for a side – very impressive. My dish, had I not chosen to do the brunch special with drinks, would’ve only cost $8, so Fanny is a great place for those who are pinching pennies.

Drinks: * * * ½

With the brunch special, you get a Mimosa or Bloody Mary, so I naturally chose the Mimosa. But, you also get fresh squeezed OJ, so I kind of had a Vitamin C O.D. The Mimosa was very refreshing – so much so that I ordered a second! The drinks are just as affordable as the food – excellent!

Stats:

Fanny

425 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

(718) 389-2060

www.fannyfood.com

Brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The brunch special is $13 and includes entrée, fresh squeezed OJ & either a Bloody Mary or Mimosa.

Beco

Nancy's Take:

Atmosphere: * * * 1/2

We tried to eat brunch at this place the weekend before but were greeted with over an hour wait. I think it's a combination of the small size of the restaurant and the food being good but cheap. It seems to draw a large crowd from the neighborhood, in spite of it being located off a side street by itself. We decided if we were going to have the slightest chance of getting seated faster, we would have to be early birds. We made it there by about 11:30 on Memorial Day, and were pleased to find that people were still out of town for the holiday and there were plenty of tables. Hooray! The inside was cute, very diner-esque with some Brazilian-themed pop culture framed on the walls. The waitress was very sweet and attentive. I also can't believe how well they do with cooking food in their tiny kitchen space. But I'd get there on the early side (it opens at 10 a.m.) unless you want to be starving for at least an hour.

Food: * * * *

I ordered the Misto Quente, which is a sandwich consisting of toasted, sliced bread, ham, and mozzarella with eggs on top, served sunny-side up. I decided the trick was to stick the eggs inside the sandwich to eat it....and it was delicious! This is a traditional Brazilian dish, but it reminded me a lot of the French "croque-madame" sandwich that is also a ham and cheese sandwich with an egg.

Drinks: * * * 1/2

Caipirinha: muddled fruit, sugar, and cachaça (classic-lime, pineapple-mint, passion fruit) with Pitu. I had the Pineapple-Mint version which is one of the brunch choices included in the price of brunch

Taste: refreshing....also pretty strong

Size: small rocks glass

Garnishes: a lime

....Still wondering what their Bloody Mary is like, because I didn't see it on the menu until we had already eaten!

Becca’s Take:

Atmosphere: * * *

Beco is small and quaint and has a traditional Brazilian vibe inside and out. As Nancy said, when we originally went, it was too packed to get a seat, and I simply cannot imagine how warm all of those patrons must’ve been! There was plenty of space when we dined, but boy, was it hot. We sat in a seat in the back, mostly because of the industrial fan pointing right at the table, but ideally, I would’ve preferred to sit by the windows in the front and enjoyed some fresh air.

Food: * * * *

The cuisine at Beco is delicious and creative. It’s a great place for vegetarians, with many options to choose from. I had the Herb Omelet, mostly because of the fillings you could pick: my choices being baby asparagus, minas cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. Mmmm! Being a cheese freak, I had never had minas cheese before – it is actually native to Brazil, and it was incredible. My omelet came with a side salad, lightly tossed in a dressing that had a strong lime kick to it and, my only complaint, the saddest little thimble of potato stix. When we got our bill, our waitress handed us a take-out menu, and the food they serve for lunch and dinner looks just as enticing as the brunch did, so I know I’ll be back. Or, if you're lucky enough to be in their delivery area, their menu does offer delivery service for lunch and dinner. Woohoo!

Drinks: * * *

I had the Sakerinha; it was similar to Nancy’s Caipirinha, in the sense that it was made of muddled fruit (strawberries and kiwi), but my drink was not strong, and I’m still on the fence if it even had alcohol in it at all. I, too, was a little discouraged to find out at the end of our meal that there is a whole brunch “deal,” which includes various drinks, (definitely made with alcohol), so I’ll have to go back and try my hand at their drink menu again.

Stats:

Beco

45 Richardson Street

Brooklyn NY 11211

Tel:718-599-1645

Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m - 2 a.m.; Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 2 a.m.; Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards.

www.becobar.com

All entrees are served w/French press coffee, and a choice of fresh OJ, Bloody Mary, Pineapple-Mint Caipirinha, or

Passionfruit Caipiroska: $14.95

Five Leaves

Nancy's take:

Atmosphere * * * ½

Because this is already a popular spot in the neighborhood, expect a 30-45 min wait for a table. There is no waiting room inside, which is fine when the weather is nice because we were able to wait outside with the rest of the crowd. However, it was supposed to rain later so I wondered what kind of mayhem would ensue as people tried to bunch themselves around the doorway. You can also grab coffee to go from an outside ordering window. There are outdoor cafe tables for nice weather and a very cute indoor space with an antique French bistro look. To accommodate the high volume of customers, they have squeezed the tiny tables uncomfortably close. I always worry that my butt will knock over someone's drink on my attempt to squeeze between the tables.

Food: * * * * 1/2

We both ordered Sage Scrambled Eggs and I had thick cut bacon as my side. The eggs are served as a huge sandwich, so someone with a smaller appetite might want to split it with a friend. I love the egg part so much that I ate it topless (the sandwich, not me) to keep the bread from filling me up. The thick cut bacon was tasty and just the right crispiness.

Drinks: * * * *

Bloody Mary

Taste: Thumbs up! Lots of vodka, and plenty of horseradish!

Garnishes: lemon, lime, 2 cornichons, 2 olives. yay!

Becca’s Take:

Atmosphere: * * * *

Five Leaves is my favorite place to eat brunch, lunch or dinner in Greenpoint - possibly in all of NYC. It is a little tightly packed, but that doesn’t bother me because the servers and the owner are great, they only play vinyl (and kickass vinyl at that), and Heath Ledger was an original investor. Anyone who knows me, knows that I’ll do just about anything if HL was at one time involved. Oh, and I love their bathroom. It makes me feel like I’m on a ship…a really, really cool ship.

Food: * * * * *

Five stars: can’t be beat. Four reasons: It’s fresh, unique, great portion size and it’s delicious (duh). Three menu varieties: If you dine for brunch, you can choose between breakfast and lunch, or mix the two, quite obviously. If you happen to be there between 3 – 4, they have an “in between” menu, which features some great appetizer-style items to get you in the mood for dinner, which is neck-and-neck in the tasty battle with brunch. Two words: TRUFFLE. FRIES. One restaurant my tummy really couldn’t do without!

Drinks: * * *

I had my standard mimosas with brunch, and there was not one thing wrong with it. I usually prefer to order from their cocktail or specialty drink menu, mostly because the ingredients are interesting and slightly more exciting than champagne and OJ, but for brunch, I stay loyal. One thing that’s not so hot about drinking at Five Leaves is that sometimes the service can be slow when drinking, especially if you aren’t right at the bar, simply because it’s always packed, but drinks aren’t cheap, either. I feel the food is priced very fairly, especially for how much you get and how good it is, but a mimosa should never be more than $6 – end of story.

Stats:

Five Leaves

18 Bedford Avenue

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 383-5345

Kitchen open 9am-12am 7 days/week

www.fiveleavesny.com

scottadito osteria toscana

Nancy's Take:

Atmosphere: * * *
The outside garden looked nice, but we were seated indoors due to the wait time. There is unfortunately not much waiting room in the front of the restaurant. We were initially offered a table in the "wine cellar," which we declined. From what I understand, the wine cellar is a very private but dark area, probably perfect for a romantic dinner date but not for brunch with friends. We decided the inside of the restaurant had an almost medieval look to it, and there were old, exposed pipes above, which added to that appearance. The decor was fairly minimal but still it was a nice looking place to sit for a meal.

I should add that our waitress was rude and went MIA immediately after we ordered, so we were not very well attended to. However, the maitre d and other staff did their best to make up for it and apologized for the problem. I'm also told by friends that the service is normally great.

Food: * * *

I ordered the "Uova Benedette" (poached eggs on a English muffin with prosciutto, hollandaise, and pesto sauce) and a side of homemade pork sausage. I thought it was very tasty and also a unique eggs benedict version with the prosciutto. It's an Italian restaurant, so I like that they added some Italian flare to the brunch menu. The potatoes on the side were okay, but I was pretty indifferent to them. My favorite part of the meal was probably the sausage - I ate the whole plate in spite of being full.

Drinks: * *

We had mimosas since they were included with the meal and supposedly unlimited. They were pretty watered down. My friends who have been there several times assured me that normally their glasses are constantly refilled and the "unlimited mimosa" holds true to its claim. However, we had to find someone and ask them for our 2 refills.

Becca’s Take:

Atmosphere: *

I like sun on a sunny Sunday – not a dark, medieval dungeon style joint. It seemed as if, at any moment, a guillotine would come swinging down from the ceiling. It was aiming at being rustic, but I thought it was more rust-y. The bathroom was nice – spacious and private – so they’ve got that going for them. There were no kids, which was nice and surprising for Park Slope, but I don’t think I’d ever go back. I just was underwhelmed.

I’ve never been so ignored at a brunch place in all my brunchin’ days. Our waitress, from word one, was rude, abrasive and seemed to simply hate us. Not even a nice “Hello, how are you?” Fake it, could ya? It soured me from the get go.

Food: **1/2

I ate an egg dish, scrambled, which was served with roasted potatoes, peppers and mixed greens. It was extremely tasty, for such a standard plate, and it came out extremely fast. The cooks were right on top of our order – even if Madame Miserable took a hiatus during our stay. The only thing I didn’t like about the fixed-price menu was that, as I was near starvation, I would’ve loved a side of pancakes or biscuits or something, but the menu left me no choice but to reorder a whole other plate, which would run me $18! And the few side dishes they did have were almost all meat – I’m a vegetarian, so I was S.O.L.

Drinks: *

The words “endless” and “mimosas” in one sentence is enough to make me cab it to Park Slope, but I was truly devastated by the lack of “endless,” due to our lack of good service, and by the weakness of the mimosas we were given. Not even a buzz! This is brunch, Scottadito, make it count! For my $18, I would’ve been more content to buy a few bottles of Andre, some OJ, and do “endless” on my own.

Stats:

Scottadito Osteria Toscana
788A Union Street
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 636-4800
Brunch Saturday & Sunday, open from 11am- 11pm
Brunch is $17.95 and includes unlimited mimosas, champagne, and coffee
Website: www.scottadito.com

mesa coyoacan

welcome to our blog. nancy (brunette) and becca (blonde) have decided to leave no big-name brooklyn eatery, hole-in-the-wall little gem restaurant, or oh-so-good greasy spoon unturned this summer, as we embark on our summer of brunch. we're writing and rating about every place we visit, and we purposely post on fridays so you can decide where your saturday and/or sunday brunch destination will be.

have fun, eat up, and let the summer of brunch begin !

Nancy's take :

Atmosphere: * * 1/2

The restaurant décor is a nice blend of rustic tables and art pieces that gives the atmosphere a modern yet authentic Mexican feel. We were seated immediately, which was a plus. We were, however, seated in the corner of a large table, which signaled "family style" to me. There seemed to be a greater number of large tables, which may be the rationale to seating several small parties faster, rather than waiting for the small tables to open up. This was fine at first when there were just two people seated at the diagonal corner. However, a large party was asked to fill in the remaining seats of the table right before our food came. The man next to me hovered over my plate of food and wanted to discuss what I was eating and what certain words meant on the menu. Ahhh….family style.

Food: * * * *

I ordered the Huevos Rancheros. I was caught off guard by the amount of bright orange food on my plate. This may be a bit alarming at first, but I urge you to taste it before passing judgment. It was definitely a top ranking Huevos Rancheros in my opinion. The plate presentation was beautiful, and I felt the portion was just right. I asked the waitress for hot sauce, and was impressed when she brought a small tub of homemade hot sauce rather than a bottle.

Drinks: * * *

Bloody Maria (same as a traditional Bloody Mary).
Taste: thumbs up on taste!
Size: comes in a small rocks glass.
Garnishes: a small stalk of something with an apple texture....not particularly desirable to consume.

Becca’s Take

Atmosphere: * *

I loved the homey, cozy feel of Mesa Coyoacan on a brisk, rainy Sunday afternoon, but it felt a little dark. We were right by the window, and even though it was overcast, we got some light. Unlike the back of the restaurant that looked like a black abyss. Also wasn’t too keen on the waitress repeating what I ordered in a perfect Mexican accent, as if she couldn’t understand me since I didn’t roll my R’s – it came off a little pretentious. And a tip to those who go to brunch solely to kill your wicked hangover – don’t come here. It’s a little close, seating-wise, and there are BABIES. The baby at our table didn’t cry, but if I were the least bit annoyed at life (as I am when I wake up hungover), it would’ve been a scene.

Food: * * * * ½

I ordered the Chilaquiles con Huevos, and, similarly to Nancy, I was shocked that my plate was so orange. My immediate thought was “this is going to be too hot to consume,” but after digging in, it was unbelievably delicious. By the dish’s end, the tostados get a little soggy, but that’s no surprise…they’ve been sitting under a pile of sauce and eggs. It was also adorned with refried beans and guacamole. Holy guacamole - that was good.

Drinks: * * * *

Mimosa
Taste: Delish. Especially since it was made with fresh-squeezed OJ!
Size: Decent. The glass may have even had a little more girth than the standard champagne flute.
Garnish: None. And no need.

Stats:
Mesa Coyoacan
372 Graham Avenue (Between Skillman and Conselyea)
Brunch served Saturday & Sunday 12pm-5pm
www.mesacoyoacan.com