De Santos

139 W 10th St.  New York, NY
www.desantosnyc.com

Price: $$$-All of the dishes and drinks are a bit pricey.
Favorite dish: Banana pancakes

This weekend has to have been one of the best and most exciting weekends ever! After arriving at Times Square to see the Project Runway 10th Anniversary season premiere taping, squeezing our way to the front, and above all, getting interviewed to be on the show, this weekend definitely deserved an eating celebration. On Sunday morning, Arleigh, Frankie, and I wanted to go out for a delicious brunch, and Arleigh suggested De Santos, a restaurant she and her brother used to eat at when he was living in the West Village. De Santos is located in a historic brownstone, with a homey, rustic, and candlelit interior, and a beautiful garden patio outside. In fact, this unique space used to be home to famous New York musicians, including Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan. How neat!!

Here's what we ordered:

Arleigh ordered the french toast, lightly filled with berry compote, served with fresh fruit, and maple syrup. By the final look of Arleigh's plate, I can assure you that she had no complaints about this dish.

Out of sheer excitement, Frankie and I dug into our pancakes without photographing (I broke my own rule!!!) Frankie and I both ordered the banana pancakes, served with fresh berries, and maple syrup. The pancakes were extremely light and fluffy, warm, and perfectly filled with fresh banana. They were so delicate and delicious.

As you can tell I really liked my pancakes...

A preview of De Santos's enclosed outdoor garden seating area.

When I came home after brunch, I went online to take a look at their dinner menu, and despite how much I had just eaten, I was still drooling and trying to figure out when I could go back for another meal. Although the prices are not the cheapest, the traditional American menu is sure to impress.

XOXO,
Danielle

Fig & Olive

420 W. 13th Street.   New York, NY
**there are several locations**
www.figandolive.com

Price: $$$-- Although the items on the brunch menu weren't way too pricey, the dinner menu becomes a bit more expensive. However, not too unreasonable.
Best dish from this meal: Fig and Walnut Pancakes


After searching the web for a great place for brunch with my family and our good family friend, Sami, I stumbled upon Fig & Olive. I knew this name seemed familiar, and it turns out its one of my best friend's favorite restaurants (shoutout Arleigh). The menu seemed absolutely amazing and right up our alley, with all the great flavor combinations and interesting dishes that are offered. The brunch menu looked so good that I was reading through the lunch and dinner menus, already trying to figure out the next time I could come by and try it out without having even trying it yet. Turns it out was just as good as I was hoping!

Here's what we ordered:

My dad's (half eaten) housemade granola bowl with fresh fruit and mint, served with yogurt (or milk, if you prefer). Simple, but delicious.

My mom and I both ordered the "South of France" poached eggs with salmon. The eggs were served inside a toasted olive oil bread "bowl," with marinated salmon on the inside, and oranges. It also came with ricotta cheese, avocado, scallions, tomato, and potato wedges. AKA the perfect breakfast combo. The eggs were poached perfectly with a runny yolk, which was great with the bread, and a bit of everything on the plate. I really enjoyed this dish!  

My dad's truffle mushroom fontina scrambled eggs, with cremini and black trumpet mushrooms, mascarpone cheese, fontina, scallions, and white truffle oil. YUM. 

Sami's fig and walnut pancakes. I have to say, she definitely ordered the best dish out of all of us. These pancakes had to be some of the thickest, fluffiest looking pancakes I had ever seen before, and they tasted just as fluffy. They were filled with walnut and fig pieces, topped with a perfect coating of powdered sugar, and of course, more figs. Even the syrup was fig-infused (what else can you expect from a restaurant called Fig & Olive?) I couldn't help myself and I just had to try them, and they were so good...

Jaynie's goat cheese gnocchi with poached eggs. The gnocchi was mixed with chives,  gorgonzola fontina cheese, and covered with poached eggs. I was debating ordering this too, so I was so glad Jaynie ordered it. I loved the concept of having gnocchi served with an egg on top, so I definitely had to try it. I thought it was really good, however I think the gnocchi could have gone a little lighter on the gorgonzola and a little heavier on the goat cheese.

I cannot WAIT to head back to Fig and Olive in the future. There are so many dishes on their menu that sound unreal, so I am looking forward for my next excuse to eat here. I highly recommend this restaurant!

XOXO,
Danielle