Lets do Brunch: Union Square Cafe

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Sharing is caring, but when bacon is on the table, screw that

Dining in New York, it is unavoidable to try and avoid eating a Danny Meyers ran operation, and beside who would want too? Shake Shack, Gramercy Tavern and others from fine dining to jean casual all his food is top notch and enjoyable for whatever mood you are in. Before he had his stark empire, he had to start somewhere and in 1985 he opened up Union Square Café, a New York classic eatery and up until recently, started brunch service. I went with the family to check it out and covered the menu pretty well. Union Square Café is located well, as the name says by Union Square and tucked away on the side away from the bustle of the Green Market. Stepping into Union Square Café, you feel as if you stepped into someone’s house and somewhat reminds me of the Beard house. It has that classic Americana feel, maybe the show room of a Huffman Koos. My quip with the space in Union Square Café is that if you are seated in the lower level, it feels a bit cramped with the low ceiling, and I was unconsciously watching my head every time I got up from my seat.

Regardless of the space, the most important thing is the food. 

Bread basket like whoa

The bread basket was promising with 3 kinds of bread: a crispy rosemary flatbread, a mini baguette and a country sourdough bread which were all good and with a side of cured olives that had a hit of orange zest, there was almost no need to order any starters or snacks. We started with two snacks, the bacon and eggs and the polenta crisps. The Bacon and Eggs was a favorite snack that I have ordered 5 more off and called it a day. It was a play on chips and dip in which the bacon was the chip and the eggs were scrambled into a creamy consistency that became a dip. Enough bread, Food after jump!

Shake Shack July 4th

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Going to the Shake Shack in the Theater District is not a good idea.

I was craving a burger and sure I could have went to Minetta and finally see if their burger is worth the sticker price or the numerous other restaurants that are making a good burger but getting a burger at Shake Shack especially during the July 4^th weekend seemed to make sense. Although Shake Shack is considered to be under the classification of fast food, the quality of the burgers is nowhere near the burgers at Mickey Ds. In fact, I have to confess, I actually never been to a Shake Shack until this weekend. Sure I have had a burger from there and have weaseled my way into getting family and friends to get me take out from there but I manned up and went to the Shake Shack on 8^th, which opened up last summer and would pay my dues and wait in line for a Shack Burger. 

Smells like USA #1

  When waiting in line anywhere in the city, you are in such close proximity that you cannot avoid over hearing other people’s conversation, and unfortunately, this has caused a lot of brain fart incidents. Such incident occurred while waiting in line, which was about a 10 minute wait which was not horrible but I cannot imagine how long the line would be later in the day because I showed up about 10 minutes after it opened. The family behind me was obviously from out of town and she was debating on her beverage option and concluded that although a shake would be deemed appropriate it had too many calories and “fatty”. However, she then proceeded to just get a beer because it was a healthier alternative. This is why a bunch of pasty, Anemic looking Swede kids rank higher than us in academics.  

Tasty corndog, See ya 2012 Memorial Weekend

My brain fart incident was thankfully cut short by placing my order and getting my food. I of course got the Shack Burger but I also got the corndog and the flamboyantly named, “Blueberry pie, oh my!” concrete. The corn dog and the concrete were a must order, especially the corndog because it was only being offered during the July 4^th weekend. The corndog is a Shack special that only appears on the menu during July 4^th and Memorial Day weekend. The corndogs are dipped to order ensuring deliciousness with every bite. The corndogs are served with a pickled corn relish from Rick’s Picks and is a perfect accompaniment with the corndog although not really much of a dipping or spreadable condiment on the corndog. The Shack burger was cooked perfectly and shoved on a Martin Potato Roll scream USA #1. A freshly griddled burger with a blanket of processed singles cheese slice shoved in a Martin Potato Roll is the formula for anyone that was grilling during the holiday weekend. This burger is a symbol of America as much as the America flag, constitution and supersized meals.  The blueberry concrete was a simple and tasty concoction of vanilla custard and blueberry pie and basically blueberry pie al a mode in a cup. Big chunks of blueberry pie in every bite and the blueberry filling did not have that weird canned filling taste which made waiting in line at the Shake Shack worth it.

Blueberry concrete, spanks DQ Blizzards

Shake Shack

Various Locations in NYC, Coming soon th Fulton St. Brooklyn

http://www.shakeshack.com/

Maialino

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Pork is awesome in any language, especially a dead language

Finally got to do brunch at Maialino, which serves Roman style food is located in the Gramercy Park Hotel Maialino are one of the newest restaurants in the Danny Meyer’s stable and certainly one that should not be overlooked. The word Maialino apparently means “Pig” and anything that is named after such a magnificent and tasty animal, I am there.The Romans were known for a lot of things like creating a functional government and giving Russell Crowe a movie career; they had really good food.

One thing that I like about Maialino is that most places stick to the brunch and will pretty much have eggs benny, some kind of pancakes, French toast or waffles and some kind of burger. Maialino of course has the brunch staples but does a good job changing it up and also do fresh pastas as well.