Having already been to No. 7 once and been absolutely blown away by their dinner menu, I stopped on this pack weekend on Saturday to see what they had to offer when it came to brunch. My brunch expectations are usually pretty tame, though, so while I expected something good, I didn't really have my anticipation meter dialed way up.
Folly! Folly, I cry!
I promise never again to underestimate No. 7. What could have been a pedestrian but acceptable brunch with eggs, potatoes, a waffle, and a bloody Mary was instead full of surprising takes on the classics with some extra free fried chicken.
My friend went relatively conservative with her order of scrambled eggs and salt potatoes. It might just be me, but I don't see salt potatoes on menus down here very often, so it was a nice surprise. The actual potatoes themselves were exactly what they claimed - tender potatoes cooked in overly-salted water. Very good, and a nice side dish for almost anything.
The eggs were a real star, though. How surprising could an order of eggs really be? I mean, look at them. It's a bowl of eggs. But there's something in the water at No. 7, because these were spicy and subtle and shockingly great. I don't know what they're doing to them, but whatever it is, it's Good.
While the eggs and potatoes were interesting, the waffle was the real star here. Again, I expected a good Belgian waffle. What I got was maybe the best waffle I've ever had. It's soft and sugar-y and spicy with all sorts of subtle flavors. It also came with a delicious banana compote and glazed almonds to sprinkle about wherever you please. There was also syrup.
In addition to our order, our lovely waitress provided a free sample of their fried chicken. I almost refused since I was about to head home to make ten pounds of my own, but who can say no to free fried chicken, really? No one can. No. 7's version was pretty good, and certainly would make for a good brunch option if you're in the mood.
The only thing close to a disappointment for me was the bloody Mary, which was ok but not great. It was frankly kind of bland and not spicy at all, but it was still good enough that I had a second. Olea still holds the local crown in that regard.
I'm now convinced that there's nothing No. 7 doesn't do well. It's unequivocally my new favorite restaurant, and I promise one of these days I'll show up having not forgotten my camera (these are all iPhone pictures). In the mean time, if you haven't yet stopped in, do yourself a favor and give it a shot.
Information:
No. 7
7 Greene Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
718.522.6370
http://www.no7restaurant.com
Google Map
2 comments:
My name is Igor Guryashkin, and I am a journalism grad student at NYU. I am writing to see whether you would be interested in an doing an interview. I am writing an article looking at fort greene and clinton hill specifically through the people who chronicle the area in the form of blogs and websites. In other words by asking the writers what makes the area so special I can try to establish what is so emblematic about the neighborhood and what motivates people to write about it. If this sounds at all appealing then just drop me a line at my email address. (ig514@nyu.edu). The article has to be filed this wednesday morning).
Igor
Dude, seriously. You have got to go to Amy Ruth's in Harlem to compare Waffles... it's so good that if you Google Map anywhere in the neighborhood, Amy Ruth's comes up as a landmark at 115th and (I think?) Frederick Douglass.
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