A few months ago, I walked past an interesting looking restaurant called Nisos. It is a Greek restaurant, covered in stone, on the corner of 19th street and 8th avenue. It looked so pretty and kind of fancy. The menu offers a $13 prix-fixe brunch, with several frittata options, a drink included, and my favorite - the basket of breakfast breads. I never actually need all of that extra bread, but I enjoy the little muffins. This deal seemed like a steal (and is on opentable) so I decided to try it out.
I had an 11 a.m. reservation this past Sunday. The restaurant was about half full. The hostess tried to squeeze us in between two tables, even though there were a bunch more spacious tables available. I asked if we could sit somewhere else, and she obliged. I looked around. Hm. Well this place was definitely not fancy, as I thought it would be. It had a hint of diner feel (but in that awesome suburb diner kind of way). But it also looked Greek. It was some weird combination of Greek/diner/not fancy/kind of kitchy place.
Great choices on the menu - lots of great lunch options, and several egg dishes. In addition to the dish, the muffins, and the cocktail, we had a choice of coffee or tea. It seemed like a lot for $13.00. I ordered the X-TREEME omelette - six egg whites, grilled chicken breast, sauteed spinach, with 7 grain bread. I thought something healthy would be good since I was going to supplement it with lots of bread. My friend ordered the Nisos Burger - with mozzarella, tomato, bacon, arugula, on a toasted bun, with oregano, and parmesan dusted fries and greens.
I also ordered my Mimosa. The waiter said "Sorry, we don't sell alcohol before 12. It is the law. Do you want juice instead? Or you can wait until 12 for your mimosa." BOO. And, that is true. On SUNDAYS, you are not supposed to serve alcohol before 12. Some brunch places do not even open until 12. And by the time people get to brunch and order, it is 12 o'clock drinking time. But, not today. I was at a restaurant. It was 11 a.m. And I was not going to get a mimosa. And I didn't want to wait until 12 p.m. because I knew I would be ready to leave the restaurant by then. I went to a different brunch place once that broke the law and served me an 11 a.m. Sunday mimosa. I now love that place.
So this is the law, and some restaurants follow it, and I guess I can't be mad. But I was totally mad. I wanted my damn Mimosa. And I did not want juice! Ok - all the egg whites, the mini muffins, the tea would still be good for a $13 deal. But I like to squeeze the heck out of these deals, so I somehow felt cheated.
The omelette and burger arrive. No muffins. We request the muffins and the waiter said "let me go see if they are ready." Um sir, they better be ready. If I am not getting a mimosa, I better be getting some damn muffins. Thank goodness, the muffins arrived. There were five muffins - 2 berry muffins and 3 bran muffins (one consumed pre-photo). I am not one for berries, so I had two of the bran type muffins, and they were fabulous. They were the best part of the meal.
The omelette was fine. It should not have been a surprise to me that the ingredients in it were somewhat similar to what I put into omelette's at home. It didn't feel special. It was (1) something I could make at home and (2) Even if I can make something at home, it is even better when you get it out and it ends up being amazing, but this was not amazing. O well. Moving on. Potatoes were pretty good. The bread was great. Overall, not bad. (Sorry the picture is so BRIGHT! That egg white omelette is so damn white). So far, the bread is what this place has going for it.
The burger was great. The mozzarella cheese was such a great addition to the hamburger. The french fries were a little too potatoe-y, but still really good. The side salad was really nice. And the meal itself was really big.
Look at it. It looks beautiful right? It was. We asked for the check right around noon, and I decided to pass on the mimosa.
All in all, it was decent. I was full. I was not disgusted. And three valuable things happened:
1. I got opentable points! Hurray!
2. I brushed up on my Sunday drinking laws, and now know that if my desire to drink mimosas on Sunday before 12 is so great, I must find a place that will break the law to meet my need (or bring a flask of champagne, of course).
3. The outside of a restaurant may not tell you the story of what is inside. Some place that looks fancy might be a hole in the wall. A place that looks like a hole in the wall may have a crystal chandelier behind that wall. Don't hesitate to walk inside a restaurant to look at a menu, before you log it into your brain as "must return to this restaurant."
Have a delicious day!
NYCMenuGirl
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