Brunch at The Breslin

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: The Breslin needs more mounted animals on their walls

The Breslin is slowly becoming one of my favorite places to eat in New York and especially in Nomad. I am being awesome and calling this area Nomad because it sounds cool and feel trendy. The brunch menu here is something that should not be overlooked and is offered bright and early on the weekends so if you need a bit of protein after your workout, I think the lamb burger will suffice. The pastries here are good like the gooseberries coffee cake. I have really have no idea what the heck a gooseberry is and frankly, sounds dirty but I know that it works in this coffee cake. 

The gooseberries are really tart and great contrast with the sweetness of the coffee cake and sandy crumbs. One of the specials was the pork sausage roll, all made in house from the sausage up. The pastry was flaky and buttery and oozed of butter that blanketed a dense flavorful sausage. You could taste each Weight Watchers point and with a side of mustard and fried sage leaves, I could have stopped here. But I would have missed my main of the baked eggs with chorizo. The eggs were in a spicy tomato sauce and topped with slices of chorizo this was like an eggy dip. The toast crisps were really the only utensils needed to eat this dish. Only one personal complaint was I wish the eggs were a bit runnier, of the three eggs, there was only one runny egg. Brunch at the Breslin is good, though next time; I need to man up and fatty up and have at that fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

The Breslin
16 West 29th Street 

 New York, NY 10001

thebreslin.com/ 

Nomad Pizza

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self:  GPS is awesome


I realized today as I was leaving the house for work, that I have not seen grass since Christmas. Although I do enjoy a Winter Wonderland, I do not want a Winter Wonderland for four consecutive weeks. I found this little piece from a review of Nomad Pizza back in the summer and just reading it and looking at the pictures of hot steamy pies just warms me up, as well as crave a chewy, steamy Neapolitan pizza in this cold weather.

 

I had my first Neapolitan pizza when I was in Naples. I unfortunately, was not fully culinary aware at the time so I underappreciated the value and my experience of such a special pizza. One thing I did know and learn was that:

1. There was more to pizza than the Neo-Neapolitan pizza I was used to eating

2. Getting drunk in front of your parents, although good idea at the time is pretty awkward

3. Neapolitan pizza is like no other and is by far, my favorite style

Now, for those of you that are not food nerds/losers that do not read and research food constantly or in this case, read Ed Levine’s Slice of Heaven, there are many types of pizzas. Not going into a whole food history, Wikipedia-like lesson, generally the pizza that we know that comes from your local pizzeria is characterized as New York Neapolitan pizza, the step child of the original Neapolitan pizza. True Neapolitan pizza has stringent standards to be called a true Neapolitan. There are actual government, bureaucratic rules to this set by the Italian government and the city of Naples. You have got to love the Europeans, only they would set laws on food standards, better that the United States doing the whole “freedom fries”. The rules range from the construction (hand formed, 12-14 inches, 0 or 00 flour), to the ingredients (San Marzano Tomatoes from San Marzano, Italy and fresh as hell mozzarella from region around Naples like Campania or the Southern Apennine Mountians). Bascially you get the idea that this is no ordinary style of pizza but the main gist of it is the usage of the best and freshest ingredients and producing the best pie one can create.  As ridiculous as these rules may seem to you (read normal people) these standards create something unlike any other pizza. Neapolitan pizza has a texture and taste that is unlike anything I have ever eaten.