Brrrrrrrrunch! Yay! We recently had a shmancy brunch at Creo and it was divine. What makes Creo shmancy in my opinion is its cool copper-y tables, open kitchen, modern decor, large space, careful service/plating (including cleaning shmears off of the outside of the plate), aaaand the fact that we didn't wait in a crowded vestibule for 40 minutes. In fact, we made a reservation on this new-fangled city slicker contraption called
OpenTable.
Look at the size of that coffee cup. And that cute little mini muffin - there were 3 in a basket that was meant to hold 10. I appreciate free food, regardless of its presentation.
I faced the pretty open kitchen and the hottt pizza oven while J faced the rest of the cavernous restaurant.
Look at that monster. It's freshly cut roast beef (think more like sliced prime rib than the deli stuff), tomatoes, over easy eggs, crispy prosciutto, and Swiss. It's insane. That bread is toasted ciabatta, by the by. It's innocuous name is "egg sandwich," but really it is
so much more. It may be one of the most ridonculous brunch item I've ever enjoyed, along with the likes of the
ropa bennie at New World or the
brisket hash in Austin. But, it's a close call, and NWBB is way closer to our digs. Walking distance in a town where walking is practically verboten.
Another angle, half eaten. Seriously, with the sauce and the egg yolk making friends with the crispy bread...
J had a slice of charred bread with his duck confit hash and poached eggs. His hash a little more shine than Ii'd like, and I wasn't really getting much duck. There was a vaguely Asian flavor to it that I enjoyed in my few bites, but it seemed too potato-y to me. I'm such a hater these days (of potatoes). J agreed that I had clearly won in the
Battle of the Order, even though his sounded superb on paper.
We'll be back to Creo. Even if it's for drinks and
apps--the bar is nice, and it's away from the main dining room (which probably makes weekday dinners less noisy). I'd also like the breakfast pizza or the bananas Foster pancakes--the latter would be ideal for after a nice run.
Delmar Dash perhaps? Or maybe we'll go
somewhere closer to the neighborhood.
Creo Restaurant
1475 Western Avenue (Stuyvesant Plaza)
Albany, NY
That sandwich looks fantastic. I've heard bad (read: generic) things about Creo so I've avoided it so far. However, it looks like a brunch-trip might be worth my while.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the story behind the Jake Moon place? I'm intrigued.
The Albany YMCA is putting on a 5K in Washington Park on April 30th. You should run that and then go to the Wine Bar & Bistro to try their brunch!
Alas, I'm not around April 30. The sandwich WAS great - who knows, maybe it's a one-dish wonder? (Or more likely, a several dish wonder.) I've heard some stuff about Jake Moon, and I'd like to give it a try sometime soon. Didn't mean to rhyme...
ReplyDelete