Astor Bake Shop
12-23 Astoria Blvd, Astoria

I wrote a detailed review of our love for Astoria Bake Shop in January 2011, but I have found a new favorite item there that I have to share. Their cupcakes and more elaborate pastries are very good, but what the bakery really excels at are the more basic breads, both savory and sweet. The herb scones are delicious, but my new obsession are their *almond croissants*. I don’t usually crave danish or croissants, but this hybrid is making my mouth water just thinking about it. It is not puffy like a croissant, but is very flakey, yet not too airy. It is more substantial like a danish, yet with a light almond flavor. It is quite remarkable. The rest of Astor Bake Shop’s menu is very good as well. If you live nearby, you’d be a damn fool not to come here. That’s right.

Maureen’s Kitchen
Smithtown, NY

Today we are in Long Island for one of our breakfast favorites, the fantastic baked oatmeal ($6.95) at Maureen’s Kitchen.  I despised oatmeal as a child and can take it or leave it as an adult, but this dish is beyond oatmeal. The recipe is top secret and many have unsuccessfully tried to duplicate it. It’s a very fine oatmeal, almost like a Cream of Wheat, combined with apples, dried fruit, nuts, and baked until it is hot and crispy, much like a bread pudding. You pour the warmed milk over top for an extremely comforting morning dish. Maureen’s is also well-known for their unique pancakes, French toast, and egg creations. Everything is good here, so expect long waits, as it is one of Long Island’s favorite brunch spots.

B & W Bakery
614 Main St, Hackensack, NJ

B & W Bakery has, without a doubt, the best crumb cake I have ever had. This isn’t just my opinion, reviewers on Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Roadfood are nearly unanimous about the pride of this institution for over 25 years. Jersey has great blue collar food: pizza, subs, hot dogs, diner grub, and yes, crumb cake. You can enjoy fancy croissants and scones, but this crumb cake really satisfies. When I visited, I mistakenly asked for 2 pieces, and was met with 2 massive 10 inch square slabs of crumb cake! I didn’t realize that one piece actually serves about 8 people! Besides the quantity, the cake is moist, doughy and sweet, and loaded with crumbs. Grab a large coffee and feast on this breakfast treat. It’s only 20 minutes from Midtown.

Isn’t it just amazing when a popular place lives up to its hype? Egg has been near the top of my list of brunch places to try for about a year, and finally Spud and I got out of bed on a Sunday, got to Williamsburg early, and only had to wait for 30 minutes for a table at egg. The wait for kind of fun, with all the men in ultra-skinny jeans, and women in ripped tights – who probably woke up much earlier than us to get the proper shabby-chic look. On to the food!

Every mouthful was really just excellent. It started with the 2-cup French press coffee at the table. I’m not particular about my java, but this was gooood, especially since it was accompanied by little biscuits. Spud was in heaven – she loves her free starters. We shared the homemade chorizo and over-easy eggs with salsa verde, pickled jalapenos, and toast; and country ham on a biscuit with homemade fig jam, Grafton cheddar, and a side of grits. Every bite of both dishes was bursting with flavor: smokey chorizo, the egg perfection, the flaky yet chewy biscuit, the ham, the Grafton cheddar, oh the Grafton cheddar and the ridiculously creamy grits. There was not even an average mouthful the whole morning. This place has top-notch ingredients that are showcased in its preparations. We actually had this brunch weeks ago, and I can’t stop thinking about it. I can still taste all those flavors…is it getting hot in here…???

Yes, it gets a Golden Bonzone.

Clinton Street Baking Company
4 Clinton St (E. Houston/Stanton), LES

…and it was delicious! Clinton Street Baking Company is one of the most popular brunch destinations in the entire city. This little bakery & cafe has them lined up for their amazing baked goods and egg dishes. We just sauntered in (yes, we saunter!) at 7 pm on Friday night and enjoyed a heaping stack of their famous wild Maine blueberry pancakes. Their signature item is a pile of large fluffy discs cooked with so much butter, that the edges are slightly crispy. The blueberries from Maine make a difference and are super sweet. This ain’t no compote. We can honestly say they are the best we have ever consumed. We had complimentary doughy biscuits, and coffee to round out the brunch experience.

I couldn’t commit fully to brunch, so I had an excellent skirt steak with ramps and a fresh Asian flavor. What put the wife over-the-top with baked ecstasy was that the generous people of this fine establishment handed us an unassuming brown paper bag on the way out that contained a perfect breakfast in bed for the next morning. It was the surplus goods from the day what included an herb & cheese scone, cranberry scone and crumb muffin! If there is one thing Spud loves better than her cravings, it’s free baked goods! So, as she likes to say: “Hustle your buns people!” over to Clinton Street Baking Company. Whether it’s brunch, lunch, dinner or snack, you won’t be disappointed with this true winner.

Soul Flavors
354 Grove Street, Jersey City

Soul Flavors is a Jamaican eatery right on Grove Street with a great menu. All the comfort foods are here: fried chicken, bbq chicken, chicken & dumplings, mac & cheese, ribs, and chicken & waffles, but only on Saturday & Sunday. It’s BYOB so four of us marched in there with the jug size of Carlo Rossi Rosé Zinfandel – pure class all the way. We ordered the jerk chicken, chicken & dumplings, crab cakes, with mac & cheese and mango/carrot slaw as sides. The mini biscuits and corn bread as starters are a must. Everything was down-home good and satisfying, although no one expected the weather to be so warm, as it was one of the first hot days of the season. Luckily, the Carlo cooled us off and we had a blast. I would definitely return on a weekend for chicken & waffle brunch.

Brownstone Diner and Pancake Factory
426 Jersey Avenue, Jersey City

I usually don’t include diners in this blog since my other blog, Diner Cakes, is solely devoted to the subject, but this diner is exceptional – and in Jersey. We had two of their specialty pancake wraps: Country Breakfast Wrap = Scrambled eggs, pork sausage, potatoes and american chz rolled into a large pancake and Downtown Pancake Wrap = Scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and sour cream stuffed into an over-sized pancake. They were delicious, especially the Downtown whose creaminess perfectly balanced the doughy pancakes. Considering that the Brownstone’s motto is “need pancakes!”, we also tried the German with apple compote and the and the Honky Tonk with peanut butter chunks and bananas, which were of course very good. While we only had pancakes (and grits), you could just tell that the other items on the book-size menu were going to be interesting and delicious. This place is a great find, and if you don’t believe me, you can ask Guy Fieri, because he visited here on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
No pics, but check out the video clips.

Taqueria Downtown
236 Grove Street, Jersey City

It’s easy to miss this little converted house on the corner, but you’d be skipping out on some great, cheap authentic Mexican food. Taqueria Downtown offers all the standards: tacos, tamales, tortas, enchiladas, as well as a weekend brunch. The decor is East Village kitch with old books and I even saw the old 1970′s white handheld football video game I used to have. Order at the counter and they bring the food over in the dining area or back patio. We had awesome fish tacos ($3 each!) and pork tamales ($2.50 each!). The fish, probably tillapia, was pan fried and moist with all the authentic toppings. The tamales were rich and smoky. If this place was across the East River from Manhattan, we’d be here weekly… at least.