This was a place I had read about many times over the years but somehow had not visited yet. New Year’s weekend seemed like a good time to try!

It’s right on 7th Ave in the West Village, and much bigger inside than you would expect. A casual place, however the music is a little on the loud side so if that’s not your thing it may not be the place for you. It is a Mexican place so many of the brunch dishes have a Mexican flair to them.  For drinks you can choose from mimosas, wine and margaritas (on the rocks or frozen). One of the nice things about Agave is they allow you to switch drinks if you wanted to try something new during your brunch, as not all places allow that.  Two of us ordered mimosas and one a marg on the rocks. Drinks were great, a glass of champs with a splash of OJ, not a glass of OJ with a splash of champs as many unlimited brunch places do. And Lucy’s marg was strong and tasty. They were great about coming by with refills without us having to ask throughout our meal, also something not all unlimited brunch places are so good at.

For food, I went basic and ordered and omelette with spinach, cheese and bacon, which came with a side of breakfast potatoes. My friends ordered Eggs Benedict and a poached eggs hash with potatoes. The food was good and portion size was perfect for a brunch.

Overall I liked Agave and I think that it is a great deal for the money. Also the location is great to explore the village and have more cocktails after you finish!

Brunch #2 – Hotel Chantelle
Lower East Side
French
Rating:  5 / 5 stars 

A friend from work recommended Hotel Chantelle (thanks Kelly!) and I was sold after she said rooftop and $0.92 drinks.  I made the reservation about 3 weeks in advance and I’d recommend at least that if you have a decent amount of people in your group.  The rooftop is adorable, decorated like a Parisian park, with plants and lamp posts and park benches to sit on.Now lets talk about the cocktails.  I tasted my friend Sara’s drink, the Easy Passage, which is vodka, lemon juice and prosecco.  It was tart but tasty.  Instead I decided to order the Strawberry-Lime Rickey, which was vodka, strawberry puree and soda.  One sip of these and I didn’t look back.  One of the best drinks I’ve ever had, for no joke, $0.92.  We had a few cocktails at the bar before being seated and ordering food.  Once we were seated we decided to go ahead and order a pitcher of strawberry lime rickey’s for $8 (literally the best deal ever) for the table.  

The menu at Hotel Chantelle is ahhhmazing.  We ordered apps for the table to get started, gourmet deviled eggs (bacon and jalepeno, summer truffle, and lobster caviar) and avocado toast with poached eggs.  Then for our meal we ordered the Banana Foster waffles, breakfast pizza, truffle tots, pomme frites and maple bacon.  We shared everything and everything was delicious.  And not only did it taste great, but the presentation was fantastic.  

After we finished eating, we decided to stay and head back to the bar area for another $8 pitcher of strawberry-lime rickey’s.  It was a cold, snowy Saturday in NYC, we needed to stay warm and more drinks seemed like the best way to make that happen before heading back outside.  I don’t know how it took me living in New York almost 6 years to discover Hotel Chantelle.  I can safely say that it is in my top 3 fav brunch spots.  Definitely check it out asap, you won’t regret it!

This is the one place I have been before, but it had to make the list for boozy brunches. Also I made the reservation with my roommates 2 months before I had even decided to do this post, so it was kind of my inspiration for boozy January.  Calle Ocho is a New York City brunch gem. No where else that I’m aware of gives you FREE drinks for brunch. And not just crappy weak drinks, they give you your choice of 8 delicious (and potent) sangrias for as long as you are eating.  But…as soon as they take away your plates they stop bringing you sangria, so eat slowly.

The sangria is delicious.  They offer 4 whites and 4 reds from which to choose.  I recommend the blanca (white) and the roja (red).  They seem to be the strongest of the sangrias and they are tasty.  They only let you have one drink at a time on the table, so you’ll have to chug each time they come by in order to get a new one.

All the food options on the menu are good.  The Pollo Ranchero used to be my go-to, until I learned about the Gallitos.  The Gallitos are chorizo breakfast tacos for 2.  They bring you a giant platter with all the fixings to make your own tacos.  They take a while to eat and there is tons and will be left overs.  The secret is to tell the wait staff you are still picking at the left overs while you continue to order more cocktails.  Then when you are finished drinking, you can tell them you are also finished eating.

You will leave Calle Ocho with a definite buzz, more likely a little bit drunk.  In nice weather you can wander into Central Park and take a little nap or head in and explore the Museum of Natural History in cooler weather.  Call now and get a reservation, and at this point you will be enjoying a Calle Ocho brunch come Spring!

Brunch #4 – Maya

Midtown East

Mexican tapas
Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Maya offers an all you can eat AND drink brunch for $45.  Seems a little pricey at first, but when you see the amount of food and drinks you have, it is most definitely a bargain.  The menu offers a variety of items, breakfast items, both sweet and savory, as well as traditional Mexican type foods.  The food is tapas style small plates, but believe me, you will have more than enough to eat by the end of the 2 hours.  You can order as much as you want of anything, food or drinks.  The service was great and they came back often to see if we wanted another round of drinks or if there was anything specific we wanted to order again.They offer several choices for drinks on the bunch menu, margaritas, sangrias, and of course, many different types of mimosas.  I tried the Maya sparkling sangria and the guava, blueberry-pomegranate and Maya mimosas.  All were great, but decided that my favorite was the Maya sparkling sangria, light and refreshing and not too sweet.  I’m not a tequila fan, but my friend Lucy also really loved the margarita if you’re not a wine or champagne person.

For food, we decided to have them bring us the entire menu, and if we really liked something we would order it again.  This was definitely the way to go because some of the things I’m not sure I would have ordered, wound up being my favorite.  Some of my them were the Pan Dulce, Agave Pancake, Squash Blossom Quesadilla, Poblano Chile Breakfast Potatoes and the Maya Dog.

Go to Maya starving because you will eat enough for the entire day, and probably more. The food is delicious and drinks are strong.  I think Maya would be the perfect brunch spot for a large group because of the shared plates and unlimited, pre-fixe menu.  Everyone will leave stuffed and happy and ready to schedule another Mayan brunch.

Brunch #5 – Bagatelle
Meatpacking District
French
Rating:  4.5 / 5 stars