NYC: The Barn at Bedford Post Inn (Brunch)

Janet:

I've had my eye on Bedford Post Inn for some time now and finally, Yumi and I booked a morning of Yoga followed by Brunch in the Barn. I really wanted to spend the night at the Inn, but at $400 a night, it's a bit out of my price range. It was a beautiful 50 degree, blue sky day. Yoga in the morning was a great way start to the day. The class we took was called Iyengar yoga...I don't do yoga enough to really know the difference between all of the yoga styles, but it was really good and I can't wait to go again. Bedford Post is only about 45 minutes from Manhattan.

The Barn was really quaint and rustic. It's still a bit too cold to be eating outside, but that's why we need to go back there so we can enjoy it all over again once the weather is a bit warmer. I ordered the spicy grilled chicken sandwich with a side of applewood smoked bacon. Yumi and I shared a side of herbed french fries. The fries were NOT that good. They weren't soggy, but they weren't really crunchy either and they just missed flavor.

Dessert...yes, we ordered dessert after brunch, we shared a warm chocolate brownie with stracciatella gelato.

Yumi:

I had the poached eggs with polenta, which was really good, but really rich so I couldn't finish it. The best part of the visit was the snacks that we picked up after brunch. I got the vanilla cupcake and an apple strudel. The cupcake was moist with just the right ratio of cake to frosting, and the apple strudel was just sheer bliss. The apples were cooked to perfection with a hint of lemon.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Warm Brownie sunday with Stracciatella Gelato

Here are some other pastries from the Barn:

Bedford Post Inn

954 Old Post Road (map)

Bedford, NY 10506

NYC: New Leaf Cafe

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I had to get out of the apartment.  Ethan (husband) and I went for a walk to the Cloisters, then grabbed brunch at the New Leaf Cafe.  I've been here once before with a couple friends and the only thing I remember was that it took way too long for us to get our food.  This time around the service was very fast and I was quite pleased with the food (at least my food), maybe because it was just the two of us.  There is an outdoor area which is a great place to sit on warmer days.

Brunch came with a complimentary glass of fresh squeezed orange juice or grapefruit juice.  I ordered the Croque Monsieur smoked ham, gruyere, brioche, bechamel sauce with two eggs sunnyside up.  It was good and filling...I probably didn't need to get the two eggs since I'm sure the sandwich alone would have been more than enough.  Ethan ordered the German Style Baked Apple Pancake with Vermont Maple Syrup. The pancake looked pretty but didn't really have much umph.  It looked like they forgot to fill in the pancake with....food.  For $18, it's definitely not something to get again.  Luckily I was feeling generous, so I shared my sandwich.

Aside from the food, I really enjoyed the photographs of squash all over the restaurant.  It wasn't until we were walking out, that I noticed they displayed the book which all of the photos were based.  The book is called "The Compleat Squash: The Passionate Growers Guide to Pumpkins, Squashes, and Gourds".

The New Leaf Cafe

German Style Baked Apple Pancake

Croque Monsieur with two eggs sunnyside up

The New Leaf Cafe (map)

1 Margaret Corbin Drive

212-568-5323