RESTAURANT: Hail Mary - Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Go for the Fried Burrata, stay for the Cinnamon Roll and Bottomless Mimosas!
I'm sure everyone knows that Brunch is a popular event in New York. Typically I consider brunch time to start around 2 or 3, which I know leans heavily on the lunch side, but everything starts late here. Today, however, I met up with two friends at 11:30 (yawn) for our "mini" book club. (Three people can make up a book club right?) And as most book clubs go, we discussed the book for about two seconds (because one of us hadn't read it yet) and got to drinking, eating and laughing.
I'm sure everyone knows that Brunch is a popular event in New York. Typically I consider brunch time to start around 2 or 3, which I know leans heavily on the lunch side, but everything starts late here. Today, however, I met up with two friends at 11:30 (yawn) for our "mini" book club. (Three people can make up a book club right?) And as most book clubs go, we discussed the book for about two seconds (because one of us hadn't read it yet) and got to drinking, eating and laughing.
But let's go back a little bit - we met at Hail Mary in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. One of the girls heard about the fried burrata and insisted we try this place. Couldn't disagree with her - fried cheese? Yes, please! This place is cuuuuuuute! (The picture below doesn't do it justice - I'll have to work on my photography skills.)
Very retro feel and pumping '80s music the entire time. LOVE! They also had some funny names for their cocktails (Apple Bottom Jeans, A Trick is Something a Whore Does for Money, You Ignorant Slut, No Hombre Left Behind, The Dude Abides, etc.):
If you order No Hombre Left Behind, part of the proceeds are donated to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is pretty cool. (We didn't - I mean, they had $20 bottomless mimosas! You would've done the same, don't lie!)
We all staggered in at different times (the MTA had a lot of crap going on and we were coming from all directions). There was no wait and I came in second. We were seated and waited for the third of our party to arrive. The waitress asked if I wanted coffee, which I did and she brought it to me... without a saucer or a spoon but with some cream/milk - so that was a plus. I asked for sugar and she didn't respond vocally with a yes or no but curtly nodded and went to the table next to me to get their order. I reminded her about my sugar about 10 minutes later to which she brought me about a teaspoon full of it (still no spoon) and walked away without a peep. (Thank goodness for the cream and sugar, otherwise the coffee flavored water would've really sucked - don't come here for the coffee folks!) Our third party arrived and she came by and took our drink order (bottomless mimosas all the way please). When she came back with our drinks and was in the middle of taking our order, the table next to us got this drool worthy looking HUGE cinnamon roll. "Excuse me - where is that on the menu?" "Uh, it's not, the girl told you about it when you walked in." "No, no she didn't - we all came in separately." "Oh, well yeah, it's good, you should get it." Well with that kind of sell, how could we not?!
We came for the fried burrata and stayed for the cinnamon roll. Holy nom everybody - just LOOK!
Seriously - these two items are worth coming here for brunch! Delicious! While the waitress never smiled and was lackluster in her service, we were never hurried and she continually filled up our mimosa glasses. There was no rushing us out the door like some brunch places do. (They weren't that busy though so that may have been key.) I will say that they are very serious about their "No Substitutions, No Modifications" rule. No, you cannot make your poached eggs scrambled (yes, my friend actually tried to request this). No, you cannot leave off anything on your cheeseburger. No, you cannot have your eggs on the side since we can't scramble them for you. No. No. No! But this isn't too uncommon for brunch - though usually it's because it's super busy in places and some things are prepped beforehand. The rest of our brunch was decent. I did get the cheeseburger but the taste of mustard (which I abhor) kept me from liking it (I did NOT know it was going to be on there, but even if I did, I couldn't ask them to 86 it either...).
It's a bit off the beaten path but if you walk a block or two, you get into the main part of Greenpoint, which is a beautiful neighborhood.
Take a gander at their website: http://www.hailmarybk.com/ and if you happen to be around 68 Greenpoint Avenue - take a peek inside. Maybe try a piece of their Funfetti Cake and enjoy the music! (Just don't get the coffee.)
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