A New York State of Brunch

Late Saturday morning, a craving for an unspecified something sweet and fabulous, but too lazy to deal with the NYC brunch crowd. What’s a girl to do?

It seems that hordes of New Yorkers have officially adopted brunch as the only meal meant to be eaten on weekends. An occasional late-riser, I wholeheartedly embrace any meal service that offers both breakfast and lunch options well into late afternoon.

Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant They've expanded, but the wait is still upwards of an hour.

Good Enough To Eat
Would I head to the Upper West Side without a guaranteed seat? Unlikely.

While this popularity surge has inspired shrewd restaurateurs to proffer a myriad of unique, must-try brunch dishes, it also leads to incredibly long wait times.

Can't say I blame them: leisure-time (weekends), exclusivity (small venue, few seats) and scarcity (no reservations, brunch-only) combined with the general populous' desire for status can add up to a tidy profit.

However, I’m not someone who consistently values exclusive status. No matter how lauded, I generally won’t wait 2 hours for a dish I could recreate in 30 minutes or less. If a certain dish employs techniques far out of my reach, I might wait for an hour or so, but only if I can sit and wait at the bar (or any nearby bar, truth be told).

Besides, being surrounded by crowds of hungover late-night neophytes and selfie-shooting tourists toting the often-surly contents of strollers is not something I like to experience before I’ve had my morning coffee.

For me, time wasted at brunch needs to feel like time well-spent:

Step 1: Assemble bottomless mimosa pitcher; pour in glass.
Step 2: Peruse a few books.
Step 3: Assess leftovers in the fridge.
Step 4: Have another mimosa.
Step 5: Make a glorious brunch for one.

All this while cheerfully remaining in my pajamas. Stay tuned for the recipe.