Our friend Moses was in town this weekend, which was awesome. We really miss him being all the way in Portland and all. Wanting to spend some time at brunch this morning, we hung out in his old neck of the woods, near the 34th/35th Avenue area, and decided to go to Locale.
We went on the early side, which was great since it wasn't yet crowded. However, an hour into our meal, it was packed, which is testament to its popularity. Although I've been for brunch before, here are some new things we tried:
Locale Burger - I wanted something different than eggs, so I went for the burger. And besides, I've never had it here before, so I wanted to see how it'd measure up to others in the nabe. Overall, it looked mighty impressive, boasting a big, fluffy bun with two pickle slices on top. The meat was pretty good and juicy, but I had higher expectations for a grass fed product. Maybe it was too greasy, but something was detracting from it being outstanding. Maybe it needed some spice (in the form of a sauce) and an earthier bun to bring up its level of sophistication.
Poached Eggs with Buttermilk Biscuits and Gravy - This was Dan's dish and he really liked it. Not all of it was stellar, as he mentioned the biscuits were kind of dry and not particularly flaky, but he said the eggs were perfectly cooked. They were beautifully runny and the gravy definitely made the mediocre biscuits a lot tastier. At the end though, he was a part of the clean plate club.
Texas Toast Stuffed with Nutella - This was Moses' entree of course, as he's a total Nutella freak. He even asked for extra Nutella on the side if you can believe it. Praising it to the heavens, he loved the Nutella aspect as well as the texture of the French Toast, which was crunchy and lovely - but also very rich.
Southern Omelet with Grilled Chicken - Since Paul is super serious about staying in shape, he ordered this with egg whites and sans cheese, due to his dietary restrictions. He really enjoyed it, along with the crispy, well done hash browns on the side. It was nice to see that a healthier version of any egg dish can be accommodated.
I was a bit disappointed in the coffee offering, as they didn't have basic skim milk or any other kind of alternative creamer. It was all full fat, heavy stuff that quite frankly would've upset my stomach, so I drank the coffee black.
Service and Cost:
The servers were really nice and you can tell they were hustling on this busy morning. Even though it took a little longer than usual to get the food out to us, our glasses of water and coffee were always refreshed.
Costs are reasonable and for the above mentioned meal, including coffee and some morning cocktails too, we paid about $23/person including tax and tip.
2 Mmmms
Locale - 33-02 34th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11106
718.729.9080
N/Q Train to Broadway
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