I like brunch.

July 21, 2010

Jimmy’s Diner

Restaurant Information:

577 Union Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 218-7174

Get Directions

Service 9/15 or 60%

Hostess(N/A)

There wasn’t a hostess.

Promptness(3/5 points)

This is the kind of place that is quick to take your order once you get a seat, but after that, it’s a toss up in the air. My coffee came in a normal amount of time. My food was on the late side. A woman sitting next to me must have waited ten minutes longer than her friends for her food, which shouldn’t happen.

Alertness(3/5 points)

I would have given this a lower score, but it was clear what had happened: one guy made it to work on time and two stayed out late partying then stumbled in hungover. They became more alert as time passed, but it was bleak at the beginning.

Friendliness(3/5 points)

The people here were pretty friendly, but not overly so. Also, it seemed they were more engaged simply due to their own inability to handle more than one thing at a time. “Sorry, I’ll be right with you,” was muttered at least five times; it helped. I don’t know how long this place has been in business, but it’s still going through some growing pains.

Food and Drink 11/20 or 55%

Price(4/5 points)

You get a lot of food for your buck. The only thing that keeps this from getting a five is that the drinks weren’t worth half of what I paid.

Quality of Food(3/5 points)

The meal was started with a complimentary homemade donut. Unfortunately, my waiter had dropped the ball and served it the same time as my food. I ordered the “Big Boy” platter which consists of: two eggs, two pancakes, home fries or grits, bacon or sausage & cornbread. I ordered the eggs scrambled, grits, bacon. The eggs were served scrambled like real eggs, but with bits of charred food from whatever was previously in the pan. The bacon was rubbery. The grits had great consistency and flavor, but came off a little drier than I like. The cornbread was probably the best part of the meal and it was served in a triangle, a welcomed change of pace. They have some other promising dishes on the menu that I’d like to try if I ever return.

Quality of Beverage(1/5 points)

The coffee was okay at best. It wasn’t served with either milk or sugar, so I had to scavenge for those elsewhere in the restaurant. The woman next to me ordered orange juice and they handed her a small bottle of orange juice you’d get from any corner store and a glass. What taunts me is that one of their kitschy ads/decorations was for coffee that was probably much better than what was served.

Presentation(3/5 points)

They really didn’t try on the presentation. Everything was kind of where it should be with enough room here and there to maneuver your food. It didn’t look pretty, but then again I didn’t expect it.

Decor and Space 9/20 or 45%

Cleanliness(3/5 points)

Everything was about as clean as I would expect.

Theme(2/5 points)

This place kind of has a NYC kitch theme to it, but it’s very slapdash. A lot could be added to make this place more interesting visually.

Adequate Seating(2/5 points)

They used their table seating well and I’ll give them that. But, I sat at the bar and there were absolutely too many stools and not nearly enough room for all of them. A guy actually sat next to me, then promptly got back up and left the restaurant because he couldn’t fit in the open seat and he wasn’t going to wait for a table for one.

Location(2/5 points)

This place is about six blocks from both the Lorimer and Bedford stops on the L. It’s also across the street from a lovely unfinished condo building.

Bonus(5 points)

1 point for serving a donut as a appetizer.

Overall Score: 29/55, with bonus 30/55 or 54.54%

brooklyn

brunch

bad coffee

overall 50%

Penelope

Restaurant Information:

159 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10016-8154
Get Directions

(212) 481-3800

penelopenyc.com

Service 8/20 or 40%

Hostess(2/5 points)

There were two hostesses: one completely worthless, the other very helpful. The worthless one was the first one I interacted with and she told me that the wait time was going to be a hour and a half! I had her put my name down and went back out side to wait for my friend. I entered maybe fifteen minutes later and was told I could be seated immediately. Turn out, they hadn’t been maintaining their list very well.

Promptness(2/5 points)

We were asked almost immediately after sitting what we wanted to eat. Our food and drinks came in a timely manner. However, the waitress did forget to bring the side of bacon that was ordered.

Alertness(1/5 points)

This place is a mad house. They need either more waiters or more people working on refilling drinks. I think I got my water refilled once with out asking. Coffee I had to ask for another one.

Friendliness(3/5 points)

Every one we interacted with seemed fairly friendly. I wouldn’t say anything would push me to think otherwise in either direction.

Food and Drink 14/20 or 70%

Price(4/5 points)

This was going to get a normal 3/5, because their brunch pre-fix meal is about what I would expect. Then I remembered I ordered a side of bacon and what I got was a mini-mountain of bacon for $4.75.

Quality of Food(4/5 points)

We had the pumpkin waffles and the Nutella French toast with a side of bacon. The pumpkin waffles were like an autumn explosion in your mouth. The strawberries were probably some of the best I’ve ever had. I think the Nutella French toast didn’t wow me at first, then I realized they had put the Nutella IN the bread. I think the food here is definitely worth visiting again, but hopefully I forget about all the other negatives or get there early enough to enjoy the meal more.

Quality of Beverage(2/5 points)

The coffee tasted pretty bad. The OJ was fresh but served in a mini glass. I really think they should work on their coffee. The other beverages they served though looked quite tasty so this could be an issue of bad on the basics, but good on the extravagant.

Presentation(4/5 points)

The food was carefully positioned on each plate and decorated accordingly. Even the fruits were nicely arranged. The apple slices arranged on the waffles was a delightful touch.

Decor and Space 9/20 or 45%

Cleanliness(3/5 points)

Everything was about as clean as I would expect.

Theme(2/5 points)

I don’t think there really is a theme to this place. It just looked kind of blah to me. To add to the madness, it was loud. I have very good hearing and I couldn’t hear the person sitting across from me. If they worked on the acoustics of the place, it might be a more enjoyable meal. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to get out of here and on to the NYC streets where I could understand the conversation I was having.

Adequate Seating(2/5 points)

There are far too many tables and not enough space to handle it. We had to slide our table over several times to let people out of their spots.

Location(2/5 points)

It’s a few block from the 6 line, but this area is basically dead. You’re not going to really want to look out the windows to see anything but buildings. Additionally, the type of people that visit here looked to be mainly couples in their 40s wearing gym clothes, or groups of single girls trying to out dress each other but put no effort into hiding their hangovers.

Bonus(5 points)

None.

Total Score 31/60, or 51.67%

Bar Breton

Restaurant Information:

254 5th Ave

New York, NY 10001

(212) 213-4999

chefpiano.com

Map:
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Service 11/20 or 55%

Hostess(3/5 points)

The hostess was friendly and promptly sat me at a two person table. Her service was what I would expect but nothing more.

Promptness(3/5 points)

The food didn’t take too long to get to us nor did we wait forever to order. Everything was about average timing wise. Alertness was more of an issue, though.

Alertness(2/5 points)

The waiter was fairly cognizant of our need for water, which I appreciated, but other than that he was kind of oblivious. We asked for more milk for our coffee twice and it never got refilled. Also, we asked for more coffee and each of us got only half a cup. The next time I asked for coffee I got three fourths of a cup.

Friendliness(3/5 points)

The people there seemed to have good intentions just did a poor job of much of anything else. I don’t really see them as going out of their way for any customer in the near future as our service was barely acceptable when the restaurant wasn’t that busy.

Food and Drink 9/20 or 45%

Price(1/5 points)

I was going to give this a two, but then I remembered I was charged six dollars for the bacon that was advertised as being five dollars. Coffee was three dollars and worth maybe one. My “french toast” was ridiculously priced at twelve dollars. I left this place feeling like I was ripped off completely.

Quality of Food(2/5 points)

At no time during a brunching experience should I ever think, “I should have just paid five dollars at Dunkin Donuts,” but I did. My “french toast”—I’m using quotes because no part of it tasted/resembled french toast—really tasted like a icing filled donut. Also, there was really only one square of it. My bacon was slim, crumbly, and otherwise unremarkable. It’s truly sad when the best part of my dish was the fruit that garnished it. On the other hand, my friend’s Madison galette was a surprising mixture of flavors; I’d order one of their galettes if you find yourself stuck here in the future. Although I found it odd that a dessert menu was offered, the Nutella crepe was fairly tasty.

Quality of Beverage(2/5 points)

The coffee was kind of bad, which I’d normally just write off as having a bad cup. But then I had another cup and got coffee grounds at the bottom of my cup. Gross. It really wasn’t that good.

Presentation(4/5 points)

Everything did look quite wonderful when it was presented to us. However, I think only the Nutella crepe lived up to expectations; the rest was a total wash. Each piece of our meal was presented on an adequately sized dish, some more decorated than others.

Decor and Space 11/20 or 55%

Cleanliness(3/5 points)

All the tables, flatware, dishware, and glassware look as clean as I would expect, nothing out of the ordinary in either direction.

Theme(3/5 points)

I can’t really say this place had a theme. Maybe it was a wine bar, maybe it was a restaurant; I couldn’t tell. I liked the use of color but not the bench seating. It really felt like they had two totally different interior designers come in to work on the place: one for the walls and ceilings, etc. and the other for the tables and chairs.

Adequate Seating(2/5 points)

I’m 6’5” and my friend is 5’8” yet our knees kept bumping into one another at the incredibly uncomfortable booth we were seated in for our meal. I think they probably could have lost a table or two and easily made the seating far more enjoyable. By the end of the meal both of us had just swung our legs out to the aisle and leaned back against the wall as we talked.

Location(3/5 points)

It’s a very short walk from the subway in a very odd part of Manhattan. The neighborhood makes me feel like Chinatown tried to open a second section of town on 28th street, but made it even shadier.

Bonus(5 points)

No bonus points could be awarded.

Total score 31/60 or 51.67%

Gottino

Restaurant Information:

52 Greenwich Ave # B

New York, NY 10011-8309

(212) 633-2590

ilovegottino.com

Map:
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Service (10/20) or 50%

Hostess(2/5 points)

I’m not really sure if the woman that I spoke with was the hostess, a woman that was some how involved with the restaurant, or just a customer. Also, the time estimates were vastly inaccurate. When I first got there I asked how long it would be to get a table outside and I was told 30 minutes; fair, but what bothered me was I heard the same estimate given out repeatedly even though no one left in the time I was there.

Promptness(1/5 points)

I shouldn’t ever have to ask for my coffee twice. Also, it took near half a hour for our food to be presented. Our coffees actually got served at the same time our food did which spells major issue in streamlining to me. The waitstaff clearly had food assignments as well as their regular duties and I think in trying to balance out the two they ended up being sub-par in both which was disappointing.

Alertness(3/5 points)

I’d say the wait staff was about as alert as I’d expect, but then again they were right in front of me at the bar so there wasn’t much of a chance for them to miss anything.

Friendliness(4/5 points)

Every one I encountered there was quite friendly, almost surprisingly so, considering how mismanaged everything else was service-wise.

Food and Drink (14/20) or 70%

Price(2/5 points)

This almost got a one on price, but I decided that the coffee was worth far more than the three dollars I paid for it. I probably would have paid four dollars for it. But, the food was way overpriced. Expect to get about half the portion size of other places. I’m pretty sure that the dishes were served on saucers or at least small plates, so you get an idea of what I’m talking about here.

Quality of Food(5/5 points)

Amazing. The food was so flavorful. Clearly the focus of this establishment was the quality of their food and they nailed it. I had the over easy eggs with bacon, which might be the best bacon I’ve ever had. It was served with two small slices of bread that proved a bit tricky with the flatware I was using. Also, the food was incredibly rich. I wasn’t full when I was done eating, but it sat heavy in my stomach.

Quality of Beverage(4/5 points)

This would have gotten a five, but the water was served in essentially shot glasses. Also, the water bottle problem reared its ugly head here, but in the form of a giant bottle of water that was shared amongst several people at the bar. The coffee was probably the best cup I’ve had yet. It was rich, flavorful, with a hint of sweetness and bitterness, i.e. the way coffee should taste.

Presentation(3/5 points)

The waiter did an excellent job of presenting our food and drinks, but when I saw the small sized plates I instantly thought, “that’s it?” The small plates were overflowing and I think that contributed to make it look kind of a mess.

Decor and Space (10/20) or 50%

Cleanliness(3/5 points)

The place was as clean as I would expect. I didn’t notice anything especially clean or dirty.

Theme(4/5 points)

It’s a wine bar with a focus on fine food. Marble bar with wine stacked along one wall make it glaringly obvious what they’re after in their clientele.

Adequate Seating(1/5 points)

I’m pretty sure the bar takes up the vast majority of their seating area. Their indoor seating and outdoor seating looked cramped. I’m not exactly a fan of them asking us to sit at the bar after misquoting wait times to me. If you’re going to have that many people sitting at the bar at least give us stools that are comfortable to sit in while we’re there; I felt like I was sitting on a converted school desk. Also, they could have taken advantage of their large sidewalk space like their neighbors did and fit a few tables there, but they didn’t.

Location(2/5 points)

I was going to give this three, as it is about a medium walk from the subway, but it’s located on Greenwich which means 10th Street intersects 4th Street and things get wacky if you’re not careful. Also, it sits next to a restaurant that looked like it did a better job at seating and pricing items reasonably.

Bonus(5 points)

One point for playing Beethoven the entire time I was there.

Total score 34/60, with bonus 35/60 or 58.33%