Birthday Brunching at Root & Bone
Okay, I promise this will be my last 30th birthday-related post. For a while, at least. (Random celebrations keep popping up all over the place.)
The weekend after my b-day party, one of my bffs (Rae) took me out for a one-on-one brunch so we could catch up, rant about anything pissing us off, pig out on good food, and drink. I don’t do the brunch scene that often, but hanging out with Rae on a weekend afternoon is my favorite way to discover new restaurants around NYC. This time, she chose a spot neither of us had ever been to – Root & Bone in Alphabet City.
Root & Bone is southern food taken up a notch and served in a rustic, farm-to-table setting. Although it was a wee bit cramped (just like most NYC restaurants), the lack of space didn’t bother us at all once the food came. Oh… my… days… it was so good. Rae loved it as well, and she’s originally from Texas – aka she has high standards for southern food.
We started off with a round of cocktails – the Ruby Mae – which included vodka, some carrot/beet concoction, blood orange, and soda. They were crazy strong, but we were soon eating enough to sop up all the alcohol in our systems.
Grandma Daisy’s Angel Biscuits
As you can see, Rae started eating these before I could take a proper photo. Looking at these biscuits, I was expecting something more of a dinner roll; but nooooooooooooope. They were buttery, rich, flaky, and absolutely the type of biscuits I’d expect from a legit southern comfort restaurant.
Drunken Deviled Eggs
I’m not even exaggerating – these are absolutely the best deviled eggs I have ever eaten. The filling was creamy and perfectly seasoned, and using beets to color the egg whites was a fabulous touch (especially since I love all things pink). I totally could have wolfed down at least a dozen of these.
Fried Chicken and Waffle Sandwich
Rae and I both ordered the fried chicken and waffle sandwich, because duh. Even though there was a pitcher of syrup on the table, I didn’t need to add a thing to this. The waffles were light, the green tomato added a nice acidity, and the fried chicken was SO moist. After eating my fair share of dried out chicken around the city, I was pleasantly surprised.
Aside from being delicious, can I just point out how adorable Root & Bone’s presentation is?! The mismatched plates were absolutely charming and made me feel as if I was back in grandma’s kitchen – even though my grandma was a Chinese lady who lived in Minnesota. I didn’t even order a second round of cocktails because I was THAT into the food, ambiance, and girl talk time I was having with one of my besties. Seriously, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday brunch experience.
Root & Bone has officially become my new favorite brunch spot, and you should definitely pay them a visit if you’re going to be brunching downtown. But don’t forget to make reservations first.
*Root & Bone is located at 200 East 3rd Street.
P.S. After our nice little afternoon, Rae and I went to Fish Bar and somehow ended up drinking, dancing, and causing hell until 6am. But that’s another story.
