Deborah: A (for brunch)

I've been having a love affair with Deborah's brunch ever since I passed it on the way to another restaurant and decided to be spontaneous and give it a try. I am so glad that I did; there must have been something in the air that lead me to Deborah that morning. Because there are so many quaint restaurants on beautiful tree-lined streets in the West Village, I never would have tried Deborah out on appearances alone. It's located on Carmine street, one of the more busy/less cutesy streets of the village, down the street from Grey Dog's coffee. It's absolutely nothing special from the outside and someone with refined taste might even find the location and appearance a bit tacky. And that's fine with me - I've never once waited for a table during prime Sunday brunch hour and I can attest to the fact that Deborah's brunch merits an hour wait easily. My point is, I don't know exactly what drew me to Deborah that morning long ago but my standards for brunch are forever changed because of it.

I've enjoyed brunch at Deborah's a handful of times but only snapped up a couple of pictures the last time I brunched there. On this particular morning, my table ordered the Challah French toast with carmalized bananas (and no I did not order this as anyone who knows me well knows that I don't eat fruit) and the Shirred Eggs. Although I didn't enjoy the complete Challah french toast experience, since I could not partake in the carmalized bananas, what I did taste of the french toast itself was excellent: sweet, rich, dense, just enough fluff and just enough sogginess to make a divine bite. And Justin, who devoured the entire plate, can attest that if you like bananas, the caramalized bananas add a heavenly touch.



I've had the Shirred Eggs multiple times, not because the rest of the menu isn't fabulous, but because the Shirred Eggs are so good that it becomes difficult to order anything else once you've tasted this dish (although I could say the same thing about the Ranchero Eggs as well, but that will have to be another post..): " roasted potatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon, scallion, topped with eggs, married in the oven." The flavors truly burst, making this dish feel almost too complex, too flavorful, to be just...eggs. But obviously this is so much more than eggs and each ingredient compliments the ingredient next to it so that I literally had to take a figurative step back after every bite, just to enjoy the medley of flavors in my mouth.



If I haven't convinced you to try Deborah's at this point, then perhaps I should add that the waitstaff is the nicest, most cheerful bunch I ever seen in all of nyc. I'm so glad it's Friday - I'll see you at Deborah's this weekend!!