Avenue (Brunch)

When you're brunching aside the ocean on a warm, sunny winter's day with family, it's easy to recognize happiness in the everyday. And when you have good food and overabundant service, Sundays are just that much more fulfilling.
The food, described as Parisian brasserie, isn't exactly crave-worthy nor perfectly authentic. However, Avenue does have consistently tasty food and an expensive, yet earthy, ambiance (which is memorable enough to crave). Being by the ocean doesn't hurt one bit. Parking in the summer is positively impossible, but in the winter? Easy Peasy. The Pain Perdu, made with brioche (!), apples, and hazelnut butter (!) is definitively delicious, and the titular, Avenue Breakfast, is perfect for the hungry (wo)man who enjoys a sampling of foods for brunch. Be sure to share a pot of pomme frites (cause the French seem to do this best!) as the perfect accompaniment to round out your meals!

And then there's always room for dessert. Well, not always, but room will be made; space created! We shared the pecan pie, pineapple cheesecake, profiteroles, and chocolate crepes with pistachio. Yum!



Avenue Restaurant
23 Ocean Avenue
Long Branch, NJ 07740

Peep Peep!

For our true loyal readers (aka the ones who actually still check this blog after several months hiatus on our part), here is a [**drumroll**] rerun!

But it looks so gooood! With work (I know, repetitious excuse, but it's true!) and home renovations going on, who has time to eat out anymore? Well, it's a new year. So let's make (and keep) them resolutions that encourage more time spent with those we love (but not those we don't).

Le Peep. Their coffee isn't so great, but gosh darn those pancakes are craveworthy. The Pumpkin Pie pancake is pictured here, but we still recommend the Apple one over this gooey-ness. The Grande Skillet is huge! Our eyes saw it, and our brains registered it. Yet, we still ate the WHOLE thing! Bad coffee doesn't stop us. We just stopped by Starbucks on the way home. =)



Le Peep
Design Center Plaza
345 Rt. 9 South
Manalapan, NJ 07726

Turning Point

Hawaiian Cafe

Though we've been here dozens upon dozens of times, we've only written about Turning Point a couple times here and here.

Yes, the whip cream is eating the Pumpkin French Toast before your very eyes.

Low and behold, the Chef's Specials! Every restaurant has it! Yet, it's taken us this long to realize that if you're bored of the same ol' same ol', check out the small placard in the center of the table! This week's special was the Pumpkin & Apple Stuffed French Toast w/ Apple-Cinnamon Brown Sugar Syrup. YUM. Around the table, we also had: Chocolate Chip Pancakes, the Bandito Burrito, Ham-Cheese-&-Egg Baguette, (2) Western Omelets, and a Catalina Wrap.



Turning Point
55 Route 9 South
Manalapan, NJ 07726

Happy Weekend #9

In honor of this week's Asian-inspired posts, we present to you-- something totally unrelated.

Introducing: Æbleskiver.

Having thoughtlessly amassed several recipes for these Danish treats, K finally thought to request the Æbleskiver Pan on her Wishlist. Obviously, the wish was fulfilled. Twice (thanks, J!). A little chopping, a little whipping, a little butter, a little heating and then a pouring later, followed by some frantic mumbles, requests for E's help, and some 4-hand-action-over-a-single-burner later-- these emerged.

Though many ideas came to mind regarding possible fillings, the hustle-bustle of the pouring, and the filling, and the pouring, and the turning of these spherical buggers only allowed us to attempt two kinds this first time, apple and chocolate. Plus the recipe only made about 24.

Can't wait to try it again! And you're invited!

Read THIS WEEK'S UPDATES here:
Tokyo Japanese Hibachi & Sushi Buffet
Spice Market


Related Posts: Happy Weekend #6. Happy Weekend #7. Happy Weekend #8.

A Gnome of a New Year

Dooooooughnuuuuuutssss!!!
We are officially addicted.

But fortunately for us, each new visit is always slightly different from the last. It was a BUSY December, but we somehow managed to squeeze in Fromagerie's BUFFET BRUNCH on the last day of its offering (....in January XP). I mean really - passing up a buffet brunch at one of our favorite restaurants is deserving of a hard slap in the face. And none of us want a bruised face to start off the new year.

Buffets are dangerous. Especially when there's plenty of delicious food to serve even the pickiest of palates. And our eyes are always hungrier than our stomachs can handle. So I'm going to do the nice thing and make your eyes salivate too. :)

a little breakfast sampler

These four dishes were available from the kitchen as part of the buffet
...and of course we ordered all four

though INSANELY full, we still never miss out on dessert


....hungry yet?


David Burke's Fromagerie
26 Ridge Road
Rumson, NJ 07760

Crown Palace

It's hard to find good (authentic) Chinese restaurants in the middle of the suburbs, which automatically makes Crown Palace one of our two staples in the area.

We've been here many times with family & friends, but dim sum outings are too few and far between. What better excuse than the holidays to gather everyone around and "drink tea". ;)

pictured above left = must-have dish

Crown Palace
8 N Main Street
Marlboro, NJ

Le Peep

After jumping the DMV crowd and renewing our licenses at the crack of dawn, K and I went to grab some breakfast to help start/continue the day. We've been wanting to try the Java Moon Cafe on Rt. 9 just for a change from the usual Starbucks, but unfortunately that already closed and changed hands. So, we thought we'd give Le Peep a try before it changed hands too (plus as much as we love Turning Point it gets a little old when you go there every time you go out for brunch in NJ).

The hardest part about ordering breakfast is deciding between a sweet or savory. Thankfully with 2 of us, we can order (and share!) both. We went with the Eggs Benedict with Corned Beef Hash and the Special: Apple Pie Pancake. And though the coffee was pretty terrible (bleh!) and the decor was lacking 98%, the food was delicious... and we got to sit next to a window (yay natural light for taking pictures!). The win-win cancels out the lose-lose in a jiffy! Besides what in this world could be better than a fluffy pancake with crusty sides and sweet apples?


Looks like...not much. Since, the first picture started out 12"-14" in diameter, and the second picture is how much was left.

Le Peep
Design Center Plaza
345 Rt. 9 South
Manalapan, NJ 07726

Re-visiting the Gnome

This place is still as friendly and comfortable as ever! Unfortunately, half of a year later for A's Birthday Brunch Bonanza, the menu doesn't change... But, we did go with some family first-timers, so it was all a new [and enjoyable] experience for them! Last time, we didn't show pictures of desserts, but this time, of course we had to. We aim to please. Next time, someone definitely has to try the shortribs. Here's a list of what our table got:

mango smoothie in a spoon. raisin scone. yogurt parfait. french onion soup. salad. titanic french toast. pancakes. chopped burger. omelette. granny smith apple tart. butterscotch panna cotta [shown above right]. crème brûlée. kickin’ cake batter donuts [shown above left]

And, what better way to end a birthday brunch than with a surprise of BLUE COTTON CANDY!?!!


David Burke's Fromagerie
26 Ridge Road
Rumson, NJ 07760


Related Post: DB's La Fromagerie

DB's La Fromagerie

POW! That, my salivating sidekicks, is FRENCH TOAST: two pieces of sponge-y cake-like bread filled with marmalade and jam, then deep-fried into a hunk of brunch goodness, and completed with a strawberry to counteract artery clogs.

Below is the Gnome and the ham and cheddar filled omelet. Not pictured are the blueberry scones, yogurt parfait, french onion soup, buttermilk pancakes, eggs benedict, fruit sorbet assortment, and the apple galette (complete with cinnamon ice cream donning an apple hat). I think the food speaks for itself. Seriously-- it whispers sweet nothings.

Happy Father's Day! (Just pretend you read this back in June.)







David Burke Fromagerie
26 Ridge Road
Rumson, NJ 07760

The Delicatessen

My first visit to The Delicatessen was for D+M's babyshower gathering. The ground floor showcases an open area - very crowded, but the open garage doors make it appear like you're sitting outside anyway. But our party was held downstairs in a little nook - comfortable for 15, quite cozy for 20. It was the hottest day of the year so far, and the a/c unit in the basement area was a blessing I didn't fully appreciate until it was time to leave.

The party consisted of a smaller pre-determined menu to choose from, and it only took me a minute to decide on the buttermilk pancakes. The stack was accompanied by citris cream and carmelized apples, and preceded by a fresh fruit platter. The platter looked quite nice, but unfortunately, several of the fruits were tart or sour. It was the first time I'd seen grapes cut in half though, and...I'm impressed by the little things :p The pancakes were deeelish, and I finished off my entire plate.

Everyone seemed to like their food, but it was the chicken in a bucket that won the popularity award. I'll have to try that next time :)


Delicatessen
54 Prince St
(@ Lafayette)

Cafe Charbon

Several mouth-watering choices on the menu made it hard to choose, but I finally settled on the Matefaim "pomme-banane" - a caramelized apple-banana pancake with vanilla ice cream and a side of raspberry sauce. How could it get any yummier than that!?! It was so filling that I had to share some with my pregnant company ;)

Cafe Charbon
168 Orchard St
(@ Stanton)

Josie's Restaurant East

A bunch of CMU Archie grads (and some extra good friends) got together to celebrate the holidays and all the birthdays that were near (including mine!). The venue is small, but the decor is clean and modern. And they take reservations! For starters, they offer a cinnamon raisin majigger somewhere between a cake and a spongey bread. For the meal, K and I split the Strawberry Pancakes and the Crabcake Eggs Benedict. Both were tasty, but the crabcake was a bit to crabby for my taste.


Josie's Restaurant East
565 Third Avenue
@ 37th Street

DB Fromagerie

Oh My. David Burke is a food god. After visiting his DB&D twice, we definitely wanted to try out this Rumson location.


It was a fairly quiet Sunday at the restaurant, and I'm not sure if that's always the case, but I'm going to assume we were just early. Complements of the chef, we were each served a soup spoon of some blueberry-granola-yogurt concoction that started off all the yumminess. I don't like blueberries or yogurt, but I ate the thing anyway =P We were so excited at the thought of a freebie, that it wasn't until our blueberry scones arrived that I started to get suspicious about the amount of extraneous blueberries they were stocking. Hmmm....? I never eat scones, but I ate this one - it was GOOD. It was soft and sweet, without an overbearing amount of blueberries.


I chose not to opt for the prix fixe special, but C did, and next on her plate was a HUGEmongous bowl of french onion soup! It was incredibly yummy, but impossible to finish - especially for an appetizer. We both ended up ordering the same main entree - french toast! (Surprise surprise :P) But as you can tell from the photo (way below), it was definitely not what you'd expect french toast to look like. I skipped over the cup-o-cream, but all else was so yummy that I almost finished it. (Oh and - do you see the blueberries there?! Further proving my suspicions...)





So half the reason I go to DB restaurants is for the dessert - and it's actually the reason I didn't go for the prix fixe this time =P I went for a "s'more" - campfire marshmallow atop a chocolate lava cake, accompanied by a dallop of refreshing ice cream. How can that not be yummy?!? To finish off her prix fixe, C ordered the carmelized banana tart - another yummy! I just don't know how else to describe it all XD


David Burke Fromagerie
26 Ridge Road
Rumson

Essex

I hadn't realized until I walked in the door that I'd been here once before - Only it was for a birthday party in the wee hours of the night/morning, rather than brunch time.

It's about time I try something new, but...not today. In a rush decision, I chose the Challah French Toast w/bananas foster sauce & fresh fruit. Tastewise, it was all quite YUMMY, though the toast was on the soggy side. Given the list of other yummy-looking items on the menu, I probably won't be ordering this again. Like Cornelia's, they offer complementary OJ or coffee, and mimosas with your meal :) The service is pretty quick and friendly, and the space is tight, but not too tight. It was a great choice location to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in forever.

Essex
120 Essex St
@Rivington

Cornelia Street Cafe

A little late for a "brunch", but I guess it's the food that matters. And I wasn't all that impressed. For our private bachelorette party, we were given personalized menus - that was probably the best part about the place. A bread basket set on each table included various types, including the chocolate bread that I found delish! For my main course, I had their French Toast, and it was nothing special to say least (though it does look yummy, doesn't it?). Some other girls ordered the Eggs Benedict or the Mussels - I didn't try either, but heard both were unyummy. T__T

I believe we had a dedicated waitress, and yet the service was quite slow. Aside from the fun we made, I had no good memories of this place and would not go back - nor would I recommend it to anyone.

Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia St

Clinton Street Bakery Company

Since this is my second time going, I won't say much besides: GO WITH FRIENDS. This way you can try the Special, the famous Pancakes, and French Toast. Make sure the weather is nice, and be patient with the LONG wait. It's worth every second.

Clinton Street Baking Co
4 Clinton Street

Turning Point

We've been to Turning Point several times already. However, this time, using Father's Day as an excuse, we were able to try out their new menu (Finally! Yatta!).

A few fave items, like the Cuban-stuffed French Toast, were gone, but (don't fear!) they were replaced by equally delicious items and an entirely new Crepes section.

Pictured above is the Grande Huevos Rancheros-- eggs over easy. On the right is their NEW Pacific French Toast with pears, granola, and can-never-mess-up-with pear-reduction brown sugar syrup. Below is the Strawberry Shortcake Crepe. Other things on the menu we tried were the Fruit Market Crepe and the classic Western Omelet.

Most are rated a definite YUMMY! But the new, long-awaited Crepe section is unfortunately-- nothing special, but don't think we won't try their Crepes again in the future.

Turning Point
55 Route 9 South
Manalapan, NJ

The Smith

French toast avec caramelized bananas. It was indeed YUMMY.


And if I can recall correctly, the coffee was pretty good too.

The perfect morning meal before heading across the street to catch a movie :)

The Smith
55 3rd Ave

Clinton Street Baking Company

This Peaches & Cream Waffle Special is a definite YUMMY! The Clinton St Baking Co. is famous for its pancakes, but anything you order there is satisfyingly tasty-- especially if it comes with the brown-sugar maple syrup. Go with a small party to avoid the absurdly long wait.

Clinton Street Baking Co
4 Clinton Street