• Penelope (New York)

Having arrived in the big city of NYC, I was eager to try some of its raved-about restaurants.  Accordingly I searched for the best and closest brunch place and found myself at Penelope.
Laid out with natural wood and worn floors, the café was fittingly filled with assumed young uni students and yuppies.

The brunch menu includes the usual suspects such as eggs, waffles, French toast and muesli.  I ordered an omelette with (selected from a list of many) mushrooms, peppers and goats’ cheese.  Instead of having these three mixed in, the eggs had been cooked separately and then folded over my chosen ingredients.  It came with home fries and toast (out of seven grain or sourdough I had gone with the former).  The home fries were crunchy and lightly spiced with paprika.


The butter in the US is so much better than the butter back home; creamy white and fresh – as butter is meant to be.

American coffee is bottomless = as many refills as you like = dangerous for someone like me who loves coffee but can only drink one cup otherwise suffering a headache and nausea.  My sense of will power is never strong when it comes to some things, including food.

Penelope’s brunch was decent, but I would hope that it is not the best in New York as some claim.  Whilst the ingredients and quality and fresh, the menu is basic, lacking imagination and sophistication.  Sometimes simple food is all that is needed.

Penelope
159 Lexington Avenue (at 30th Street)
New York, NY 10016
(212) 481 3800
www.penelopenyc.com

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