Two Hot Brunch Restaurants on the Lower East Side and the East Village
Recently, we had the opportunity to sample the newest menus from Ariel’s Latin Bistro and Drexler’s. We are super excited to report that both of them should be on your destination list for Summer 2016 for group brunches or even more intimate meet-ups.
First up is Ariel’s Latin Bistro, located at 293 East Houston Street, right in the heart of all that Lower East Side has to offer. We were invited to check out the new and improved menu that Ariel and his team were introducing, including new brunch options. We sampled veggie tacos, yucca fries flavored with a bit of garlic oil, spinach and cheese empanadas, which were all tasty and decent sized portions. However, the favorites of the evening were the potato croquettes with applewood bacon pieces, mozzarella, and parsley, which was served with a mayo infused ketchup that was delicious on its own. The que lo shrimp quesadillas were flavored with garlic, white wine and butter. The shrimp dumplings were my particular favorites, they were deep friend in wonton form and served with a an apple-orange dipping sauce that was delicious. If you plan on going with friends, get the shrimp dumplings, brussel sprouts with siracha sauce, steak tacos, potato croquette’s and two mojitos or two Dark ‘n’ Stormy’s and you will be good!
Lastly, they have introduced a brunch that is $22.95 per person and includes 90 minutes of mimosas and one entrée. Make sure to reserve at least one week in advance. The staff at Ariel’s Latin Bistro were very warm during our tasting.
They made excellent recommendations and kept our drinks filled with different libations.
Our next stop was Drexler’s. They feature live music during weekend brunches, classic cocktails and shareable bites. Note: this is not a boozy brunch situation- you come here to have really, really amazing cocktails and catch up with the crew or your better half. Try the Beat Surrender or Colonial Upside- $7.00 during Happy Hour.
On the day we went to check out the brunch, we had bites provided by Black Seed Bagels – the lox and cream cheese were fresh and amazing and if you’ve had Black Seed bagels before, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Next up was a beermosa with pilsner specially brewed for Drexler’s by Brooklyn based KelSo brewery.
The beermosa was certainly tasty, but my favorite brunch cocktail was the Mediterranean Bloody Mary, which was garnished with coppa calabrese, mozzarella and cherry tomato.
I paired the bloody mary with the Gumbo Bro’s gumbo which delicious and served with a bed of rice. This was an experience and I will most definitely have the Mediterranean Bloody Mary again on my next visit.
Author
