Drunch: The Redux

Rockstar, Thighs and myself, known to some as "The Trinity", gathered on Sunday for a drunch at Il Bastardo. Dunch is a drunken brunch for those who are not-in-the-know. Previous drunches have been held at Sette, the restaurant next door, which shares a kitchen with Il Bastardo. Now it seems the owners are reinventing Sette as another establishment but I'm not exactly sure what the story is there.

Since our last visit, it seems that drunch has become more popular and the new found popularity is reflected in the prices. The previous deal of an $8 all you can drink Bloody Mary, Mimosas or Screwdrivers has been replaced with a $15 deal. Still a deal even though the glasses are smaller and the refills less frequent.

The portions have decreased as well but the food still fares well. After some internal debate, I decided on the frittata with parmigiano and mixed vegetables. The eggs came with a small side of potatoes with some peppers and eggs and without the usual accompaniment of toast. At least the mini muffins that are served when you first sit down are still part of the service.

On a more positive note, I chose to polish off the meal with a surprisingly delicious ricotta cheesecake, complete with fresh fruit. I usually skip dessert and decided to treat myself this go around and it was well worth it.

So while Il Bastardo might have fallen a bit off the mark, it's still a decent deal in the city of over priced over crowded brunches. And after a few Bloody Mary's, does it really matter?

DRUNCH!

Sunday afternoon, I met up with Mother Jugs & the Marathon Man for drunch which I quickly found out means "drunken brunch". We had been to brunch at Il Bastardo with the publishing gals and found the service & food enjoyable. MJ & MM have been back on a few occassions since, taking advantage of the $8 all-you-can-drink Bloody Mary's, Mimosas and Champagne deal.

Il Bastardo was closed for a private party so we went to Sette, the restaurant next door which shares a kitchen with Il Bastardo. After much debate, I decided on the Eggs Benedict with Maryland crabcakes (although they only serve one crabcake) on MJ's recommendation from a previous visit with a friend.

MJ suggested I cut the crabcake in half and put on top of each poached egg and I am certainly not one to argue with a culinary school grad. The crabcake was crispy on the outside and moist inside with just the right amount of crabmeat and light on the breading. The eggs were cooked through just the way I like it. I did the occassional dip in the Hollandaise, but the dish really didn't need any additional sauce.

The highlight of our meal was probably the sideshow... the lady who was living out of her car on Seventh Ave and the sidewalk patron who thought she could communicate with the dragonfly that landed on the table next to her. Either that or things just got more amusing as the alcohol kept flowing.

After quite a few bloody mary's & champagne for MJ, MM opted out of our post-brunch excursion to Loehmann's (go figure!) and as of tonight I am still not sure what I bought.

My first drunk shopping experience... guess there are worse ways to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon!