Easter eggs and Bonnets, Mandela Style

Photo - Skye Von Der Osten

Easter Sunday always brings back great memories for me of the older ladies walking up the hill, with brilliant bright colors reflected from their grandiose church hats, entering the church, seeing all the pews filled with plastic daffodils and hibiscus flowers, sometimes so high, that you couldn't even see the alter.  That's the image I wanted to re-create for boozy brunch this Sunday.  OK, not the church, but definitely the hats.

And so it was, that the crew got together for another brunch in the grand Brooklyn town of Fort Greene.  Where else to get dressed up, get a reservation for 18 peeps, and reign over the restaurant for hours.  What an amazing day!  I do have to revisit the weekend however, before diving into Brunch #14.

Photo - Skye Von Der Osten

Friends were visiting, again, this time from Austria, and the week was a mash-up of reunions, gallery openings and ladies night rendezvous.  There were a couple parties thrown in, and dub-step ruled the night.

However, I was bright as a button for a lovely sunny Sunday morning, and with my Audrey Hepburnesque Easter Bonnet, we traveled to Brooklyn, to  a South-African favorite in Fort Greene, called Madiba.

white bread

Now, just a bit of history.  Madiba is the name the locals call Mandela, and this restaurant is dedicated to him and is all about where South Africa is headed.  So, it's a positive, delicious slice of everything good about South Afrique.  Got it!

My family joined the crew for a good old-fashioned get-down, and I have to say, fun was had by all. The first thing we enjoyed was being able to sit at the long table in the middle of the restaurant, and our complimentary bloody marys were quickly delivered to us.  Then the crew started to show up, and extra tables and chairs had to be brought to us, which was the beginning of a good time.

quiche

Now, New Yorkers kinda lose our minds when the cold weather FINALLY loses the battle, and there was definitely a wistful wish that the damn table was outside, but we overcame that struggle and spent some much devoted time over what to eat.  The menu is extensive, but with brunch on the mind, the choices each sounded more delish than the other, with vegan and vegetable choices for , well the vegans and vegetarians, and lots o' meat for the meat lovers.

Photo - Skye Von Der Osten

Orders were finally placed.  Now, I have to say this, it took a while to get the food.  Some time was taken indeed, but I think I was more stressed out about it than anyone else, but you know it's kinda crazy that we had to go to the bar ourselves to place the second order of bloodys.  Anyway, although the service was a bit slow, the bloody marys and marias were divine, and the food, my lovelies, the food was totally delish.

There was sweet potato quiche with asparagus tips, eggs Benedict, seared salmon, lamb with onions and apricots (oh my), and meat pie, vegetable curry, fried bread, and lots and lots of yummy sauces and fries.  When all the food arrived, everyone was satisfied.  Since peeps arrived at different times, the food did the same, and yes, it was Easter Sunday, so I kinda think the restaurant should have been more prepared, HOWEVER, you can't knock a beautiful day with friends, hanging out and spending some real time together.

So, I def give Madiba 3 out of 5  HGHs and 4 out of 5 duh, WINNING!

Photo - Skye Von Der Osten

OK, after the brunch, things got even more interesting.  Why not explore Fort Greene, with a stop at a local wine bar, Stonehome Wine,  for some amazing French Bordeaux, then back to the city to Minetta Tavern , where I was complimented on my hat by a super yummy gentleman of the salt and pepper variety - YES.

Then on to Cuba for dinner....yes dinner.  And finally to plop in front of the TV for a late nite viewing of Eddie Murphy's "Delirious"  Now, I'm not Aunt Bunny, but I could have fallen down any steps  if they had been in front of me.  Thank eggs, they weren't,  only my bed,  and it was good night to another freaking amazing day, and finally, my bonnet and brunch #14  went to bed.

BRUNCH #14

PLACE:  Madiba Restaurant

EATS: Sweet potato quiche, vegan samie with avocado, vetkoek, yebo burger, seared wild salmon, meal in a pie, vege curry and yes, lots of bloody marys and maria and mimosas.
TRACKS : Ded Prez % WTF- It's bigger than hip hop ,  Michael Jackson - Off the Wall
OUTSTANDING WORDS: one team, one dream.
OUTSTANDING QUOTES: 
'Hey, do you have that picture of me with the eyeball in my mouth?"
"you guys look cool, and we're kinda square..." 

three of cups - # 13 - cops included

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I need a moment,  a breath, before even trying to describe this past weekend.  It was truly an experience,  but wow, how to put it into little words.    Spectacular, spectacular, always the vernacular.  So, let me take you on the journey, yes?

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My door is open to all, and the lovely Kathleen and Mark arrived in the city on Friday to make the weekend  sparkling and beautiful.  We had just enough time for dinner,  a drink and costume changes for the gathering at Rebel.  The theme this week?  Think of the sexiest Arabian night fiesta, mix some glitter and feathers together, then cover it with black light and henna, and that will give you about 10% of the eye explosion we experienced that night.  It's so funny, when you have a costume party to go to, if you're dressing alone, any flurried piece of grandeur may be easily forsaken, however, having a gang of costume revelry at your finger-tips can tip the scale from the mundane to adding silver snakes, gold necklaces, and lots and lots of bells.

The lovely Linda

And so it was, that we preened and masked our way to the ball.   We danced and danced and celebrated until the light started to tip the night away, and I went home to crash.  Spent Saturday getting to Jersey to hang with the family, check out Rio (funny), and back home for another cosy night with the Leskos.  I knew that brunch was going to be an experience, with response after response of affirmatives, until the Maitre-D at Three of Cups answered my calls with "Yes, Nikki?" But my mind was sufficiently blown when we finally settled at twenty peeps, with folks dropping in and out at the centrally located cafe.

us

We sat and broke bread together, and had lots and lots of unlimited mimosas and bloodys to wash it down.  Will I ever get tired of this? No freaking chance, not when you can actually vibe with peeps, get together outside of a party environment, and just be .   The server was amazing, and she kept up with our changes to the menu, doubling us up with drink orders, and making the placing and taking of hot plates appear effortless and gracious.

picture in a picture

The restaurant itself is in a cool corner of the East Village, and we had french doors opened to let the sunshine in, and kept adding tables to the end as more peeps arrived.  The manager was super-accommodating, and I'm not sure he's seen the likes of us there in a while, as many of us still wore remnants of Friday/Saturdays festivities.

The food itself got mostly rave reviews, my baked eggs with green peas was divine, as were the omelets with sauteed onions and ricotta cheese, bread and oil, and oven poached salmon.  I'll definitely come back.

let the sunshine!

artistians approaching

Of course, after the meal finally ended and the drinks were finished, what else was there to do, but head to Jason's apt, which was conveniently on the same block , to head to the roof-top for some afternoon champagne and mural painting.  By now, the crew had converged, changed, expanded and stretched across blankets and sheets on the floor, dancing to the tiniest sounds from an iPhone, and it really started to feel as if Spring had arrived.  We made art, fingers sticky from spilled champagne, and magenta  and sapphire blue hews.

Watching the sunset over the village, saying sweet goodbyes and excited hellos, I finally got to take another breath, and close the book to another amazing brunch.  #13, how sweet you were.

cops

Oh and yes, the party ended with the cops coming.  Noise complaint, yes!

BRUNCH #13

PLACE:    Three of Cups    

EATS: Baked eggs on a bed of plum tomatoes, onions & peas, Open faced omelet w/roasted peppers & spinach, unlimited mimosas and bloodys for 5$ extra.....= lots o bloodys.
TRACKS : Let the Sunshine in
OUTSTANDING WORD: pet peeve
OUTSTANDING QUOTE:  "I want to live inside Tina Fey's frontal lobe." 
"It's like a curse word - the Meatpackingdistrict".

Hell is in the kitchen

I'm sitting in my apartment listening to boys under my window singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" loudly and badly, and I got to realize,  that some things in concept - like boys singing under my window - should be a beautiful thing, but when it's music from a bad 80's rock band,  and the boys are drunk NYU students, all you want to do is throw water at them and close the window.

poached eggs

And that's how this weekend was.  I tried to fit my requirements into one spot, and forgot the most important one - off the beaten path.  The choice I made was so on the beaten path, that it was a five-lane highway, and the folks working the joint were beating their clients with withering rolling eyes and snappy putdowns.  Where was the lovely spot? HK Cafe.  Sure it had the makings of a great brunch - unlimited drinks for $12.95 AND a DJ present. Sure, they didnt take reservations, but they said the wait would only be 20 mins.  And so it began, the journey into the thunderdome.

boys and their toys

We were greeted with  a full-on visual assault, a crowded entry, plenty of one-dimensional couples and tourists standing outside.  We were told by Mr Sassy, that the wait would be an hour, so after the collective intake of breath, we went to  Hell's Kitchen Flea Market at 39th and 9th, which is well-known and  actually a cool spot.  They have food trucks outside offering a variety of fat-free fare - no, not really,  but for a moment we thought, hey,  why not brunch it up here? But no,   I wanted to stick it out with HK, so went back  30 mins later, to check the time and if more of my brunch peeps had arrived. 

Mr Sass was in full attitude gear, possibly frazzled from all the half-toasted peeps already laid out at the bar, but STILL, there was no need for the frosted lift of the eyebrow, the arrogant statement  that the wait would be another hour.   He clearly didn't remember us, so  I kinda reminded him about, you know, 52 brunches, and the eight of us,  but he just kinda shrugged and WALKED away. 

scrambled and cheese grits

So, there you have it, what to do, what to do.  There had to be a PLAN B. Luckily,  Al suggested another spot on 44th and 10, called 44th & X.  cute.   A quick reservation was made, and we were off like dirty underwear to brunch fastforward #2.


44th & X only serves until 3, so by the time we got there, we had about 10 mins to sit and order our food before the kitchen closed.  Which leads me to this tiny rant...where do we live, in Paris?  This is NYC, why would a restaurant close to prepare for dinner?  Especially a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen? Pretension? I think so.  OK, Rant over.  But really, closing kitchens after lunch reminds me of old-school Europe, and even if the freaking kitchens in Rome closed at 3, you could still sit outside by the Spanish Steps drinking house Red, and enjoy the afternoon sun.  However, we are not in Rome, but close to 42nd St, where any restaurant, even freaking Quiznos is open 24/7....OK, I'm DONE!

So, we had to order as soon as we sat down, and yes, yes, yes, the food was divine.  They have the most delish little muffins that were a delite. Organic yummyness and exactly what we all needed to quiet our grumbling bellys. Although my bloody was a bit weak on the actual alcohol, the horseradish-seedyness balanced it out.  They brought us tabasco in a little white cream pitcher, which made my pretentious meter flip out again,  but I digress - again.  The meal was satisfying, we were all together, and it was turning into a fine afternoon.

That is, until the Waiter took our last piece of chocolate souffle.  OK, seriously now, who does that?  We didn't get a chance to play the "oh-no-you-take-the-last-piece' game.  He just up and took the plate, then had the nerve to ask us if we wanted it back.  Of course we did!! But........he didn't bring it back.  And so, no-one got to eat the last piece of chocolate souffle.  No-one.

The owner was nice though, and he was wearing a cute chef jacket, so that was lovely. And he gave me his email, so I'll be sending this off to him as well.  (smile).

Afterward, we walked back to the flea market, and the boys bought the bowls they had been coveting.  Highlight!

So, in summary, therefore, furthermore and in conclusion, Hell's Kitchen is an appropriate name for brunch #12, and yes, our journey will march forward to other neighborhoods, restaurants and experiences without ever looking back......to this spot.  On to the next!

BRUNCH #12

PLACE:   44th&X         

EATS:  Scrambled eggs, mushrooms, vermont cheddar cheese grits, goat cheese omelet, eggs royal, Maryland crab cakes, Mediterranian chop salad, grand marnier, bloodys and mimosas
TRACKS : David Bowie - Changes,  Tina Turner - We don't need another hero
OUTSTANDING WORD: Pretension.
LESSONS LEARNED:  Reservations are a beautiful thing.

ferrys and hooks

homemade bklyn

"diamonds in the back, sunroof top, digging the scene with the gangster lean.."  Instead of a Cadillac, we rode the IKEA ferry, and there was no sunroof, but checking out Governor's island on the way to Red Hook, put me in that ready-for-summer-dammit mood. The stage is set to explore NYC when it begins with a sunny day.  Include a free ferry ride to our own seaside town - I'll put whatever label I want to put on Red Hook - and it's a match made in new york heaven.

The day certainly had a bit of a rough start for me, as I was still recovering from Cielo Friday night, and this story is sounding all too familiar.  What else should I have done, stay home when the nite was beckoning? And so it began -  dinner with friends, then Cielo for lots o dancing.  Nickodemus, Jeremy Sole and Wiseacre dropped records all nite, until we looked up and it was over, just like that.  Got a gigantic limo to take me home for only $5, then the rest of the crew went off for 6am breakfast.

Saturday was a blur, and i felt almost no guilt for staying in watching movies, while LCD Soundsystem blew the roof off Madison Square Garden.  I said ALMOST!

vegan organic goodness

But, hey, Sunday was here before we knew it, and I got down to Wall Street, met up with Toni on the pier, and had a lovely ride over to Brooklyn.  Red Hook is so chill and picturesque,  as Fryske put it, like a movie set.  If EVER I decide to move from Manhattan, and Jamaica is not ready for me, i might just like Red Hook.  Old buildings, cobbled roads, red brick landscape and a giant IKEA...sounds perfect.

champagne for everyone

To round off the homely feeling, where else would we eat but at Homemade Bklyn, and the restaurant lived up to it's name, with an organic feast, that made my grumbling belly sigh with joy. Getting three new peeps to join in, sitting in the garden in the back, with the sun perfectly still on our faces...spring is here!


Our host, Morgan was amazing, and she entertained us with sweetness, red-neck stories, and opening a champagne bottle with a knife.  What? Off with it's head, and into our glasses!

smiles collaborate

The food was the best, with spicy potatoes, fluffy truffled eggs, omelets, fresh salads, bread soaked in oil, and freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice for our Bellini's and champagne loveliness.

It turned out to be a perfect Sundaze, and talks meandered around why we love NYC so damn much - LCD Soundsystem, why rainbows are perfect - Kermit, and why is love so damn weird - Violent Femmes. and before we knew it, it was 4:30, and more was waiting for us.  John did his dick-extension dance - because it had to go there, and it was hard to break up the gang.

dill and pickle + martini

floating balcony

Oh well, back to the ferry, and a cab ride to the penthouse at Cooper Square Hotel, for an African jam session that we rsvped for, lounging on the wooden balcony, looking over at the LES in all it's grunge-filled graffitti covered madness. The air is shure better up here.  Maybe I can move in?  A little too many hipsters joined us, and I needed some real life, so we left, got some niblets at Five Points,  and of course there was a choice for some dill on the menu!. Finally, made it back to the Village.

Another brunch on the out, but we will be back next week.. for shizz! Only if we can dress up like Vanilla Ice!

BRUNCH #11

PLACE: homemade bklyn

EATS:  truffled egg & parm scramble, baby arugula, lemon & evo, parm reggiano w/ grilled toast , omelete, bellinis, and mimosa goodness.
TRACKS : LCD Soundsystem - NY I love you , Phil Collins - Take me home, Kermit - Rainbow Connection, Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby,  The Beatles - When I'm 64
OUTSTANDING WORD: collaboration