NYC Blog

My friend AM is a flight attendant, and it turned out, she had a layover in New York City during the time I was there. We had not seen each other for a long time, so of course we had to meet for brunch.

AM told me to pick a place, so I suggested that we met at The Butcher’s Daughter in West Village. I usually go to The Butcher’s Daughter on Kenmare Street, but the two branches are very similar and the menus are the same, as far as I’m concerned.

I got the Rice Flour Pancakes with coconut drizzle and berry sauce and AM had the Cashew Ricotta Toast. Both dishes were ok, but not as jaw droppingly delicious that many of the other dishes at The Butcher’s Daughter are. I usually order one of the bowls, and they’re gorgeous, and definitely what you should order, if you are going.

The coffee at Butcher’s Daughter is always good, and another thing I often get is their Brass Monkey smoothie with banana and peanut/almond butter. It tastes like liquid snickers, and it’s really tasty, but also very filling, so it is almost a meal in itself.

Read my blog post about my favorite breakfast spots in New York City >>

Park Slope in ​​Brooklyn has a great selection of restaurants, so when Sue and I were planning our night out last month, we decided to go to Haenyeo, which is one of her old favorites in that area. On the subway, on my way to Haenyeo, there was a signal error, so I was late. I ran the short stretch from Union St. station, and got to the restaurant 10 minutes late, and rather short of breath.

Haenyeo is a Korean restaurant with an interesting mix of traditional Korean dishes and modern Korean food side by side in the menu. Even though it was just an ordinary Tuesday, the restaurant was completely full that evening. Haenyeo is known for good cocktails, so Sue suggested that I tried her favorite, The Squid and the Whale, with shochu, egg white and sesame oil. It may sound like a weird mix, but it was really good.

Sue also suggested that we ordered the grilled oysters with seaweed butter on brioche toast. It is one of Haenyeo’s signature dishes, and it was amazing. I usually prefer to eat oysters raw, but the grilled ones at Haenyeo were excellent. I was in the mood for kimchi chigae, which is a traditional Korean soup with kimchi and tofu, and which Haenyeo made to perfection.

When I was younger, a night out often meant dinner at a restaurant, followed by drinks at a bar and then clubbing until the wee hours, but now when I’m older, I prefer to stay at the same place the entire evening. I also don’t want to stay out too late, so a late dinner at a restaurant like Haenyeo, which also serves good cocktails, is a perfect night out for me.

Haenyeo, 239 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York

In New York, I had brunch with Alejandra (@lemontwist_nyc). We have been friends on Instagram for a long time, and I have sold some of her beautiful handmade products (@lemonymx) at my online shop, but it was only now that we finally managed to meet in the real world.

We found out that we both love Jack’s Wife Freda, so finding a place for brunch was a no-brainer. I love the Mediterranean food at Jack’s Wife Freda, and everything I have tried from the menu has been amazing. However, the portions are not the largest in the world, so if you are as hungry as I am in the morning, one dish might not be enoughl. I can recommend the yogurt with grapefruit and granola, if you need a little top up, -it is really delicious.

For the main course, I had the green shakshuka, and out of habit, I said that I wanted the eggs runny, because that’s how I usually prefer my eggs, except for in shakshuka, where I prefer the eggs to be hard-boiled (baked). Though the shakshuka with runny eggs was still very tasty, and I made sure to scoop up every single drop of egg and green sauce with the accompanying bread.

I hadn’t tried Jack’s Wife Freda’s cocktail menu before, but Ale recommended the Cantaloupe Mimosa, which is a really nice mix of Prosecco and fresh cantaloupe melon. A perfect drink for brunch.

There are several branches of Jack’s Wife Freda in New York, but the one on Lafayette Street and the one on Carmine Street (where we were) are probably the most wellknown (and the busiest), so right after we had finished our food and our drinks, the bill was discreetly placed on our table, to signal that it was time for us to find somewhere else to chat 🙂

Jack’s Wife Freda, 50 Carmine St, New York