Lunch at The Breslin

I get out of work on the early side Fridays which is a nice way to start off the weekend for sure. This past Friday I had such a busy day that I never got around to having lunch. Walking out of my building I realized I was absolutely starving! I was in the city for work today so I decided to wander over to the Ace Hotel and have lunch at the newly opened Breslin.

The Breslin is so new that it currently only serves lunch and brunch. Luckily I got there right around 3:30 and snuck in before closing time. For those of you that don’t know The Breslin is owned by Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield, the same people behind The Spotted Pig. These people know their food so I was really excited for a delicious meal.

I walked though the crowded, cramped tables in the front of the restaurant and into the bar room which was much more to my comfort zone. I took a seat at the copper bar right in front of a huge window that was perfect for people watching as I dined.

Since it was Friday, I figured I’d start lunch off with a cocktail.



So per my waitress’s recommendation I ordered the 23 Skidoo.



I’m not really sure how I feel about this cocktail. It really didn’t have much flavor at all to me. I was happy it wasn’t overpowering, sometimes tequila drinks can be too strong, but it just wasn’t very interesting. I guess I was just expecting a little bit more from the drink since it came so highly recommended.

Onto the lunch menu.



The Spotted Pig has one of my favorite burgers in the city so I decided to check out their version here- The Lamb Burger.



First of all, talk about presentation. I loved how it came out on a wooden cutting board with a nice big steak knife ready to do some damage. I split to burger down the middle and went to town.

First off, I didn’t care very much for the bun. The outside was really chewy and the inside was a little dry. I ended up taking it off the top and eating the meat sans bun.



The burger itself however was absolutely delicious. The char grilled meat was incredibly juicy and the feta onion topping was a perfect complement to the rich, earthy flavor of the lamb. It came with a nice cumin mayo sauce on the side which I used sparingly. The burger had so much flavor on its own I didn’t even need the addition of sauce.

After me raving about how delicious the lamb burger was, you would think it was the star of the show right? Wrong. The real star of my lunch was its’ accompaniment, the thrice cooked chips.

OMG- the moment I saw these things I was immediately reminded of the fries I had back in London at St. John’s Bread and Wine. Remember those ?



While these chips weren’t quite up to par with those (they weren’t fried in ox heart fat) they were absolutely amazing.

They were cut slightly thicker than I usually like but the way they were cooked it didn’t matter. The entire outside was just a big crunchy delicious shell housing some warm potato goodness and then dusted liberally with big chunks of sea salt goodness. Thrice Cooked? You don’t have to ask me twice. Yes Please!! These just might be the best french fries in the city.

Overall I thought the Breslin was great. It’s not cheap- let me say that. My lunch ended up costing $30 not including tax or tip. But the food was excellent and they have a nice selection of beers on tap including two cask ales. I will be going back for the fries alone!

Oh and you know what I just heard? They open for dinner starting today. Hooray!

The Breslin