Brunching at Hundred Acres

Poached Eggs with Goat Cheese Thyme Bread Pudding

So after professing my aversion to all things brunch, Hundred Acres COMPLETELY altered these  staunch feelings. This alteration primarily due to the fact that my boyfriend and I were happily strolling through west Soho one Sunday afternoon and passed by Hundred Acres. The poached eggs and thin cut french fries glistened through the wooden windows with such a Wintry appeal that I was suddenly drawn. That week, all I could think about was how I needed to have brunch the following Sunday. I needed those eggs! And french fries! How is it that one beautifully presented plate of poached eggs served in a rustic and Wintry atmosphere could SUCK out all my negative feelings and send me through anxiety driven loops of brunch needs that needed immediate satisfaction?!

And so, I officially caved. And now, am an avid brunch goer, brunch lover, brunch dreamer. You name it, I'm there.

The Food at Hundred Acres

It's like a Bubby's type but A LOT better and with more options. There are peanut butter tartines, poached eggs with brioche bread pudding toasts, huevos rancheros, french fries seasoned with herbs, waffles and bloody mary's. All of the brunch options are sophisticated and quite tasteful. Listen, this isn't the best brunch in the world, but I'd go back any day. There are loads of options that can satisfy the vegetarians, meat lovers, kids and parents. It's a large restaurant and can accomodate large parties which is tough to find downtown.

Huevos Rancheros

Bloody Mary

Peanut Butter, Banana & Raisin Tartines 

Peanut Butter & Banana Tartines, Kale Salad with Warm Goat Cheese 

Corn Bread (which was just like a corn muffin with an added crunch) & Poached Eggs

The Atmosphere

It's a tad noisy and overcrowded with customers waiting to be seated even though it is quite a large space.

The Bar

Back Area of Hundred Acres

The Wait & Resos

Funnily enough, no one makes reservations on Open Table, they just show up and then wait 45 minutes to be seated. We arrived, put our names down at 1pm for a 45 min - 1 hour wait and then logged into Open Table on my phone only to discover that there were available reservations for 1:15pm. How interesting, no? Now you know the secret to beating the system! MAKE A RESERVATION and you won't have to wait behind an hour's worth of walk-ins!

Good For: Large parties, small parties, brunch with friends or family

Hundred Acres

38 MacDougal St. 

http://hundredacresnyc.com/

212-475-7500

Menu changes a bit each Sunday

Obnoxious People & Good Food, Balaboosta

Image via NY Mag

Great food and obnoxious staff yields quite the irritating combination. Does one boycott the establishment because the staff are so rude? Or ignore and get over it because the food, the vibe and the location are great?

You can be the judge. I've already tried it a couple of times and have formulated my own conclusions. 

Balaboosta is the sister restaurant of Taim and Taim mobile. The second Taim has now opened  its second location two storefronts down from Balaboosta. I've been to Balaboosta twice for lunch, once for breakfast and once for dinner. Meaning all three meals of a day have been experienced at this eatery. In all of my experiences, the hosts were obnoxious as hell in person as well as on the phone and if you can get past this, as I was quite put off at first, then take the plunge and make the reservation. 

The Food

Mediterranean

Well, this very category is what had me coming back for more, (along with the fact that I lived around the corner), although I did not need to drag my family here for graduation brunch or my grandmother for Mother's Day lunch if the food and atmosphere weren't appropriate and impressive.
Balaboosta's food is super tasty, light and fresh. Yes, as are most quality places in this city. At this point, if a restaurant's food cannot be described by those three latter adjectives then it is NOT worth the bother(ahem ilili). And, more than anything, it is doubtful whether anyone is interested in leaving  a restaurant feeling too full or heavy either. At Balaboosta the latter is something one does not need to worry about. 

They say, the lamb burger at Balaboosta is the best dish and its been raved about by the reviewers left and right. Sadly enough for you carnivores (although not for myself of course), it isn't something I'll ever be ordering but I do recommend it as everything else is great, and would only expect the most sought after dish to be just as fabulous.
One thing to skip is the zaatar potatoes. Each time I expected them to be crunchy and zesty and each time I remembered that they never really live up to either. The cauliflower salad, fried olives and mortar and pestle chummus (don't make fun, I love saying chummus with the chhhhh), are all FAB and I definitely recommend the carrot puree pizza as an entree as well. Most importantly if you're there for brunch go for the shakshuka. Yes, I said it a thousand times, I hate brunch food, but kids, I LOVE SHAKSHUKA and this is some good shakshuka! 

Fried Cauliflower

Mortar & Pestle Chummus 

Image via Google Images
Carrot Puree Pizza

Image via Google Images
Shakshuka

The grilled whole Branzino and the Red Snapper are filling and tasteful entree options.
Finally, you MUST MUST MUST, order the chocolate mousse dessert. Its served with crunchy pieces of milk chocolate at the bottom and the perfect combination of thick and thin chocolate mousse on top. It's a unique type of chocolate mousse that isn't as fluffy as the usual mousses one may have tried. Regardless, the taste and the consistency are too difficult to pass up tasting so make sure to save room for dessert. I embarrassingly wipe the cylinder clean every single time!

Wait Time & Resos

THEY ARE SO OBNOXIOUS, as has been mentioned multiple times in this post already. I've been here a number of times and their obnoxiousness is continuous  If you don't make reservations then don't bother. They wont even attempt to seat you at the bar. Actually, they might. They've lightened up a bit recently. Oh! and once you arrive with a reservation the hosts still make your party wait. Honestly, if the food, vibe and location weren't all that great then I wouldn't have come back so many times. Oh, I will admit that I did show up with my mother, sister and grandmother at 4pm on Mother's Day and it was pretty empty and so they were obviously "forced" to seat us immediately. Because, quite obviously, who would EVER want to ever have an empty restaurant in Soho on a Sunday, or at any hour for that matter?
It's terribly bad for business.
Otherwise, it's hopeless without a reservation. 

Ambiance

Downtown, casual and chilled is how I would describe the atmosphere. 

The scene is young to middle aged. I'd say there is a mix of bobos, carnivores who are there to sample the lamb burger and neighborhood locals. It's in Soho, what else would you expect?
Overall, it's not too scenie and you don't need to be all too dressed up to eat here without feeling out of place.

Image via Google Images

If you're looking for something downtown and quality Mediterranean food, I'd try it out. 

Good For: Groups, vegetarians, brunch, lunch, dinner. I wouldn't recommend coming here on a date, unless you've been dating for a while. The lighting is weird and the vibe is a tad too casual, unless its a day-date. 

Location:

Balaboosta

Mulberry St

(between Prince & Spring)

http://balaboostanyc.com/

Jack's Wife Freda

I've come here a couple of times and since its opening and they've changed around the menu a bit only to improve it for the better (they got rid of some items that really weren't all that great. A definite good sign of a restaurant looking to succeed). Its Israeli owned and has a cosmopolitan Tel-Aviv x French Bistro vibe. I've alway ended up here on a chilly Sunday afternoon and never regretted it.

Food

The food tastes home cooked. Buuuuut.... imagine it's a home cooked meal by a friend or family member that you can always rely on to make really tasty foods that is fresh, light, very simple but also quite flavorful. Other than the french fries which are pretty standard, I had green shakshuka, made with green tomatoes, (yes I'll eat sunny side up eggs in a shakshuka ANY DAY), an amazing tuna salad of Italian tuna mixed with avocado, mushrooms and arugala and an amazing sweet vinaigrette and a Cafe Gitane style avocado toast that was served on a whole grain sourdough type of bread and was not nearly as bland or tasteless as Gitane's. It was served with a sweet tomato sauce on top that the perfect final touch. I'd also recommend the kale salad and the eggplant sandwich.

Ambiance

As I've already mentioned, its got a bit of a warm French bistro/cafe vibe and can feel really intimate.

Its casual and trendy and a no reservation type of spot.

Wait Time

I've never had to wait, but I've also never gone at peek hours. I hear it gets busy though.

Good For: Lunch with friends, casual date, Brunch, casual and trendy

Jack's Wife Freda

224 Lafayette St.

(212) 510-8550

http://jackswifefreda.com/

Rubirosa

I cannot count how many times I've hit up this joint. Yes, I do admit that it was partially due to its locality while I was living in the neighborhood but more importantly due to its reliability. Rubirosa has never failed. I have even had a fresh Rubirosa pie at a food fair last week, made in a portable brick oven, and it was still good quality. At the actual restaurant the staff were friendly and the food is always light and fresh.

Food

Pizza/Pasta/Italiano

I'll get right to it!

Their salads are all great. I always go for the fennel salad that has thin shavings of the tastiest pecorino cheese. The Rubirosa and all their other salads are just as good although I'd go for anything with parmesan (or pecorino) shavings. The mozerella sticks are to die for and so unbelievably fresh! The cheese literally oozes out of the freshly fried stick, you just cannot get enough! The pastas are made fresh and the whole wheat fettuccine is my #1 rec. Rubirosa tomato sauce (served with the mozz sticks, on the pizza and with the pastas) is unique to their establishment. It's fresh, flavorful, so light and so airy. It's one of the things that keeps me coming back for more.

And of course, we can't forget about the pizzas. I must preface by saying that we are currently living in a city busting with specialty pizza joints and no, Rubirosa is not the top of the line pizza out there, and it is not the place to seek out if you are a pizza connoisseur who only stands for the best. However, if you are looking for more of a good night out with friends/family or whoever and good food to go along with that then the pizzas will serve their purpose. No one will be dissatisfied. The pizzas are good, tasty and nothing to complain about. They are all thin crust (they've progressively gotten thinner since their opening) and I am a big fan of the Margareta and the Pesto pies. (you can also do a splitsky of half marg and half pesto).

Ambiance

Dark lighting and pretty cool scene. No one is ever over dressed but everyone looks good and is, for the most part, pretty cool. I've gone in jeans and simple heels and I've showed up straight from work. I've come here with my parents, with friends, with cousins and on a date. Every single time it has never failed me and there were positive and some raving (my extremely food-pretentious dad) feedback along with it.

Wait Time & Resos

You need resos for the evening but early dinner is usually ok without. There is no need for a lunch resos either. Just dinner.

Good for: Dinner, Lunch, Cool and Casual, Trendy, Picky Eaters, Intimate Date, Not Too Fancy,

Rubirosa

235 Mulberry St

(212) 965-0500 http://rubirosanyc.com