prune

feeling ravenous on saturday afternoon, the boy and i decided it would be a good time to test out TONY's list of best burgers.

after making a couple calls to see which restaurants would still be open around 3PM, we setled on prune in the east village. i was excited- prune has been on my mental "to try" list of restaurants for quite some time and i'd only heard positive things about it. so we headed downtown and arrived around 3:15, 15 minutes before their kitchen stopped serving brunch, but luckily with enough time to be guaranteed a table.

prune is a cozy, nook of a restaurant with small tables closely spaced together, an open kitchen in the rear, and a small wooden bar on the east side of the room. the atmosphere carried an unmistakeable european undertone. standing inside, one could just as easily be in a bistro in paris or cafe in florence. apparently, the other guests felt similarly as i heard just as many european accents than american ones.

when we finally sat down, we were given brunch menus and a list of beverages including several variations on bloody mary's, a weakness of mine. i asked the server if we could order off the lunch menu and were politely told no. i was heartily disappointed that my second attempt to test out the TONY list was again thwarted. however, an order of monte crisco and a southwestern style bloody mary provided all the comfort i needed- plus an excuse to return to prune for lunch!

it was only the second ever monte crisco that i have had (i shouldn't even count the horrible excuse for a monte crisco that was essentially an over swiss cheesied french toast concoction that i had at some UES diner at 3AM) and i have no qualms about calling the best in nyc. the sandwich was comprised of three slices of bread layered with ham, turkey, and swiss cheese lightly battered and perfectly fried. the monte crisco was lightly dusted with powdered sugar and served with currant jelly and a side of fried eggs. presentation was beautiful and the elements were perfectly balanced with no one ingredient overwhelming the other.

while savoring our delicious food, the boy and i took note of the little details that make prune distinct- the antique brassy looking pepper mill, the alkaseltzer in a small white bowl sitting on the bar for customers recovering from a late night of carousing, the never ending george michael playlist, the great stemware (where can i find those double old fashioned glasses?). . . i'm looking forward to trying out their lunch and dinner- prune just may have made my top 10 ny restaurant list.