(between 24th and 23rd
Streets)
A friend called at the last minute about getting together
for a Saturday brunch.
Had always wanted to try the brunch at The Red Cat, so
decided this would be a good opportunity to go as it is not one of those
Chelsea “brunch hotspots” where you go for bottomless drink specials, and
therefore a good place to go if you’re looking for someplace where you can have
a long, civilized chat with a friend.
Helpful Hint: Do make a reservation. I believe it was because I
made a reservation that I was seated at a corner booth.
The dining room ambience is bright and open and airy, and I
loved the lanterns on the ceiling. Must be lovely at night!
For our cocktails, my friend had ordered the pineapple
ginger fizz (you might be able to see a bit of in the photo below--it is the yellow drink on the left), which she was not a fan of—it tasted like medicine to me. Luckily,
I had ordered the fragola—macerated strawberries with sparkling wine. So I gave
her my drink and our waiter kindly did not charge her for the ginger fizz.
Classy!
I ordered a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc de Sant-Bris 2012. You
know you’re in a classy brunch joint when you order a glass of wine and your
waiter arrives with the bottle so that you may taste it before he pours you the
entire glass. I confess that I did end up saying no to a glass of red to
accompany dessert, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
The Sauvignon Blanc was perfect for a hot, humid summer day.
Citrusy, light and crispy, and absolutely refreshing!
For appetizers we ordered their signature appetizer
dish—light tempura of green beans. My friend found them rather tasteless and
she had to add salt (which they have in a small dish on the table so that the
customer could flavor their dish to their personal taste), but I found it to be
perfect paired with a honey-mustard dipping sauce. It was sort of like eating
fried edamame. Sadly my photo is a bit out-of-focus, but thought I would
include anyway.
We also ordered a side of their sautéed corn (another touted
customer favorite), which was really good and buttery!
As well as a side of herbed fries, which came with a Dijon
mustard-type dipping sauce. With that we definitely satisfied our salt fix!
We both ordered the schmaltz fried egg for our entrée, which
was served atop a potato pancake, brisket, spinach, and maple jus. Everything
tasted super fresh and the fried egg was cooked perfectly.
Loved mixing in the yolk with the potato pancake. Awesome!
Only complaint is that the maple jus made the dish a bit too sweet for my liking.
For dessert we ordered the peach crostada with blueberry ice
cream and ginger sauce. Lovely presentation, and the perfect light and flaky
dessert to have on a summer afternoon.
As I had earlier mentioned, the red wine that I originally
chose to accompany our dessert, I ended up rejecting (so the waiter offering a
tasting really does pay off!). Instead, after hearing that I wanted a
non-tannic wine, our waiter suggested that I try the Pinot Noir from the Becker
Estate. Smooth!
Final Thoughts
It is a definitely a dining experience. So it’s a perfect
place to go to if you’re looking for someplace special to catch up with a
friend you don’t normally see of if you’re celebrating a special event. But it
is a bit pricey to go on a regular basis.
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