Sunday, November 29, 2015

NYC's Artisanal Bistro is a brilliant brunch (11-28-15)

On our last day in NYC we headed to an early brunch before our flight home and joined two dear friends/clients and their 15-year old daughter, who has really grown in a beautiful young teenager.
I chose Artisanal Bistro (artisanalbistro.com) at 2 Park Avenue(entrance on 32nd St,) for several reasons: the amazing cheese menu, the great brunch choices with a bit of French flair, its convenience to the Queens Midtown Tunnel so we could easily be at LaGuardia within 15 minutes and maximize time with our friends.
We arrived and I noticed the little menu box stating $20 unlimited Bellinis, Mimosas, Bloody Marys, Beer and sparkling wine. Well after 5 drinks (that's $4 each) I was really happy. The Bloody Marys are spicy with little gherkins and large caperberries skewered on top. The Mimosas are nice and since they were out of Peach liqueur, they offered up tasty Lychee flavored Sparkling, which I had for my dessert!

Our server Andre was helpful (always refilling the drinks quickly as three of us did the unlimited package) and when you order their amazing burgers you also get a bowl of soup and either a salad or frites.
Will went with the tuna burger with Sweet Aioli Mayo and Radishes, but four of us had the Artisanal Signature Blend Beef Burger with a tasty housemade Burger Sauce (kicky 1000 Island-type) as well as Tomato, & Red Onion (many of us skipped the onions). There were 19 artisanal cheeses to choose for toppings (all for a charge, of course) but those of us that had the Truffle Tremor choose a gooey intense flavorful truffle cheese that melted on the burgers so excellently it was like a bite of heaven. The burgers were all cooked to perfection and really won us over.
The Pumpkin Soup that accompanied them was slightly spicy and just the right small portion for a snack before. The salad was okay and the fries were superb in traditional paper cones.
Our friend had the Croque Madame which also got raves for its excellent gooey cheese and perfectly fried egg on top.

It was a win win brunch and we did make it to the airport in 15 minutes with 55 minutes to spare before for our flight was to take off. Luckily that platinum level got us right to the baggage check, and global entry had us through security in under 5 minutes, so that when we got to the gate it was just time for elite boarding, and we pulled away from the gate 13 minutes early making it back to DC way before the scheduled arrival.