Restaurant Review: Sons of Essex

I had a great brunch experience with 6 of my gal pals at Sons of Essex. Cool place on the LES. Apparently a brunch hot spot, with dim lighting and a DJ spinning late 80s/early 90s hip hop. We got a fantastic deal from Gilt City that included 6 cocktails, 2 bottles of champagne, 6 entrees, 3 sides, and 2 desserts (oh and coffee/tea if we wanted it). So naturally, we ordered up a storm!

After popping the first bottle of champagne, we got our three sides - truffle tater tots, seasonal fruit, and truffle mac n cheese. They accidentally brought out a fruit parfait with housemade granola and greek yogurt, so we got to try that as well. Everything was great. The tots were crispy, the mac n cheese was creamy (and a generous portion), the fruit was fresh, and the yogurt parfait tasted really natural, creamy, and wholesome.

Truffle tater tots

Fruit and yogurt parfait

Truffle mac n cheese

We also ordered cocktails. Obviously I went with the Bloody Mary which was great, but could have been bigger. I also tasted some of the white sangria which was very fruity, tangy and pretty strong (not a bad thing).

Bloody Mary

Next came the entrees. We each ordered one thing, but ended up splitting and tasting everyone's. We got the lobster benedict, steak and huevos, Essex St omelette with egg whites, stuffed french toast, and 2 S.O.E. brunch pizzas. I didn't try the steak and huevos because it got eh reviews. Apparently the steak was a bit tough. I also didn't try the egg white omelette because who has time for that at a brunch like this.

Steak and huevos

Essex St. omelette (with egg whites)

I tasted the french toast that the menu says is made with cornflake crusted challah, maple marscapone, and homemade ricotta. I looked like red velvet to me, but either way it was fluffy, sweet, and delicious. I could only have one bite though since it was too sweet to eat a large portion of that. (sorry, no photo available).

The lobster benedict was pretty good, nothing crazy. The lobster flavor was definitely there, and there was a decent portion of lobster on top of an English muffin (I think). I asked for the hollandaise on the side so it didn't smother the dish. It also came with a little salad that I dabbled in, but it wasn't dressed (or wasn't dressed well), so I moved on.

Lobster benedict

The S.O.E. brunch pizza was huge and awesome. Scrambled eggs, aged cheddar, and Applewood smoked bacon on a crispy flat bread is a great combo, filling, and easy to share. I think we all were getting so full at that point so we didn't do serious damage, but this was one of my favorite dishes.

S.O.E. brunch pizza

For dessert we went with a chocolate cake and apple streusel. The chocolate cake was served warm with caramel. It was yummy, but nothing amazing. The apple streusel had a warm, crispy topping, but the filling was nothing to write home about. We also were busy with our second bottle of champagne and very full, so dessert was definitely an after thought at this point.

Apple streusel

Chocolate cake

We were finishing up around 3pm and all of a sudden we looked around and the scene had totally changed. The music was still bumpin, but now it was fuller and the crowd seemed to be really decked out, as if it were 11pm. The waitress told us that it can get pretty wild there and they always have bouncers on walkie at brunch time...totally normal.

So, if you are looking for a lively brunch spot with good food and good service, definitely check this place out. I would not recommend bringing your parents or a first date, but great for groups trying to party at brunch time.

Restaurant Review: Cafe El Presidente

A new Mexican restaurant, Cafe El Presidente, opened around the corner from my office and they were nice enough to invite some of our employees to special opening/tasting. Really smart idea if you ask me because my coworkers are always looking for a great after work spot. There was not an overwhelming turnout, which was fine because it was not overcrowded or too loud. The place is a huge open space that has "stations" for everything.

When you first walked in there was a drink station serving yummy sangria, margaritas, and another watermelon drink. Separately, they set up mini cups of grilled corn with some kind of aioli that was delicious (I had 2) and set out baskets of housemade chips with guac that was amazing.

Grilled corn with aioli

Housemade chips and guacamole

There was also a taco station where they were serving tacos made to order (which caused a bit of a back up) with a wide variety to choose from. A unique touch is that they make the tortillas right there in front of you at the "tortilla station" with a big machine exposing the process to the restaurant. The displayed machinery went with the warehouse feel of the decor.

To be honest, I didn't love my 2 tacos - grilled fish (it was too fishy) and pork (not enough flavor), but my coworkers seemed to enjoy theirs including steak, crispy fish, and chicken.

Pork taco

Grilled fish taco

Steak taco

Left: Chicken taco
Right: Crispy fish taco

I am definitely interested to come back and get more corn and chips and try some of the other menu items. I will be keeping this place in mind for after work drinks or even a group dinner.

Restaurant Review: Babbo

Jeremy wanted to celebrate his birthday at Babbo this year. We went two years ago and LOVED our meal, so we decided to go back and check out the pasta tasting menu. We had impeccable service and enjoyed a nice atmosphere with dim, intimate lighting...which is great for ambiance, not so much for photos. I apologize in advance.

The pasta tasting menu consists of 5 pasta dishes and 2 desserts, and we decided to add an appetizer to have something other than pasta for our meal. We also ordered some great red wine which is served generously in a mini carafe and ends up being almost 2 glasses.

The waiter came around with a chickpea salad on toast for amuse bouche. It was nice.

Chickpea salad on toast

Our first dish, not on the tasting menu, was the grilled octopus with borlotti marinati and spicy limoncello vinaigrette. It was a thicker piece and I think slightly overcooked, but I love lemon flavor with grilled octopus, and the spicy kick was a nice change of pace.

Grilled octopus

So, now for the first course of the tasting - black tagliatelle with peas and castelmagno cheese. The black pasta actually didn't have the normal squid ink flavor that you usually get from black pasta, likely because the peas and sauce flavors were pretty powerful. The peas were so sweet and delicious, it was as if they picked them minutes before serving them. Even if you don't like peas, you will like these. The dish was probably half peas though, so it was quite a bit of peas. Ok enough about the peas. This wasn't the best dish of the night, but it was good.

Black tagliatelle with peas and castelmagno cheese

Next course was Casunzei with poppy seeds. This dish was ravioli-like pockets of roasted beets with smoked ricotta and a butter scallion sauce topped with poppy seeds. We all know I love beets, so I really enjoyed this dish. The smokey flavor from the ricotta was potent, as if they smoked it immediately before serving. This flavor became the focal point, but everything came together really nicely.

Casunzei with poppy seeds

The third course was supposed to be the Garganelli with funghi trifolati, however Jeremy is not a fan of mushrooms. Apparently they allow just one substitution so we were able to order the beef cheek ravioli with crushed squab liver and black truffles. We had this the first time we went to Babbo and have been thinking about it ever since, and it was as amazing as we remembered. The beef cheeks were so flavorful and tender, and the liver and black truffles were identifiable, but definitely not overwhelming.

Beef cheek ravioli

The fourth tasting was Agnolotti al pomodoro. We were expecting bigger agnolotti, maybe 4 for the whole dish, but these were little baby agnolottis. They were yummy and the tomato sauce was very very sweet, which was different, but not my favorite. Also, the basil and parsley were so fresh and their flavors came through in every bite.

Agnolotti al pomodoro

The final pasta course was the best - Pappardelle bolognese. I wish this came first because I was getting so full, but this was an amazing dish. The pappardelle was perfectly cooked and the bolognese was just divine. The meat was plentiful and savory and the sauce was very complementary. The was the ultimate Italian dish done just right.

Pappardelle bolognese

The first dessert course was conveniently small, refreshing, and light. The Huckleberry yogurt coppetta came in a small dish and was still pretty frozen, however it softened quickly. The bottom layer was rich yogurt and it was topped with frozen huckleberry puree and then a few fresh huckleberries.

Huckleberry yogurt coppetta

The final dessert course was two different dishes - one was an olive oil cake with gelato and the other was the pastry chef's choice of the night, a pistachio and chocolate semifreddo. 

The olive oil cake was drizzled with EVOO as it was served and looked very pretty. I had high expectations for this cake, thinking that since it's made with oil it would be super moist, but it was just the opposite. Pretty disappointed with this one. The outside was lightly browned and crisp but the inside was so dry. However, the gelato was fantastic. So creamy and authentic tasting.

Olive oil cake

The semifreddo was unreal. The pistachio cream inside was literally perfection and the chocolate shell was so rich. There was espresso in there somewhere, and it was garnished with crushed pistachios. WOW. I was force feeding myself at this point because I was so full, but god was it worth it.

Pistachio and chocolate semifreddo

So that wraps another successful meal and Babbo. While it was a totally different experience the second time around, both trips were great and I highly recommend you try it.