Brunch is my favorite meals of the week for two reasons. First, unlike breakfast, lunch, or dinner that occurs every day, brunch typically happens only once a week, usually on a Sunday morning. The rarity of its occurrence definitely makes it special. Second, I stay up late on Saturday nights and sleep in on Sundays, so I am often very hungry when I wake up. Arguably, food tastes so much better when you are hungry.
Just a couple blocks from where I am living in Midtown, there is a restaurant called The Smith, a casual American Brasserie serving brunch, lunch, and dinner that transforms into a bustling bar at nights. The restaurant was completely packed when we got there around noon for brunch. We were seated about 20 minutes later. One thing I realized is that The Smith is definitely not the place to be if you are seeking a place to have a quiet brunch because it is extremely loud...to the point you cannot hear the music playing in the background or the people you are having conversation with.
The Smith was serving items from both the brunch and the lunch menus. The Lobster Roll ($25), served with a side of French fries, had a huge portion. The generous serving of fresh, plump lobster meat was mixed in with spiced aioli, diced tomato, scallions, and arugula. The bun was lightly buttered and then toasted. The French fries were very skinny.
As the name suggests, the Simple Scramble ($15) was a classic brunch menu with home fries, three pieces of apple smoked bacons, and egg white scrambles. I tried a little bit of the home fries, which had some spices and tangy seasonings.
I didn't want to start the day with a full stomach, so I ordered the Shrimp Salad ($21) with basil viniagrette on the side. The salad was served in a huge bowl full of avocado, fennel, tangerine slices, frisée, and plump shrimp. I liked the variety flavors in frisée (bitter, sweet, etc.). The salad had too much pepper in it though because it was really salty.
Because we enjoyed our first time at The Smith, we decided to check it out two weeks later. The Roasted Chicken Salad ($19) wasn't as colorful as the other one. It had arugula, apple, walnut, brie, and grilled onion.
I decided to have another classic brunch entree: Smoked Salmon Benedict ($19), which was served with home fries on the side. I knew the hollandais sauce would upset my stomach, so I asked the waitress to skip it.
The eggs benedict was served on a lightly toasted English muffin. It had an ample load of smokey smoked salmon, poached egg, and a sprinkle of basil.
I used to dislike egg yolk, but I really like it now especially in poached eggs. The way the egg yolk "pop" and seeps into the cracks in the English muffin is quite amusing. I am glad I didn't get the hollandais sauce because the egg yolk itself was rich enough.
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