Last weekend, Marcus and I made another brunch date (seems like it may turn into a regular thing! :P) at August, another gratuitous recommendation from Kris for its brunch food and outdoor patio with a glasshouse roof.
August offers pan-European cuisine, with "influences spanning from the Mediterranean to northern Europe" and "an emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients."
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View of August's wood-fired oven and grill as well as its outdoor patio in the back.
Not only does the restaurant's name share the same name as the month, it also means "respected and impressive" as well as "stately, grand, majestic, and lofty." The restaurant sets your expectations before you're even seated!
Inside the outdoor patio -- look at the generous pour of natural light!
Marcus had the grilled steak and eggs -- skirt steak with two fried eggs, salsa verde, and toast. Runny eggs, flavorful cuts of steak, and toast to sweep it all up -- very simple, and the usual steak-and-eggs dish. Only thing we would say about this dish is that there needs to be a little more skirt steak.
I had the wood oven-baked eggs en cocette, Alsatian-style with bacon, onion, and crème fraîche. Just like the tarte flambée (i.e., an Alsatian thin crust tart with crème fraîche, onion, and Applewood-smoked bacon) I had at The Modern: Bar Room, these baked eggs essentially had the same "Alsatian" ingredients only with eggs obviously in breakfast form. Definitely one of the best combinations in an egg-centric brunch dish that I've ever had, and eating it all up over two slices of thick artisan toast made it even more delicious. Aside from the Alsatian-style, August also offers a Roman-style (i.e., tomato and mozzarella) and an Andalusian-style (i.e., chorizo and blistered peppers) -- all part of its pan-European cuisine, of course.
Findings: As far as brunch is concerned, August is a wonderful place to go if you're looking for a simple brunch spot that serves really good fare. The wood oven-baked eggs are especially noteworthy as the restaurant really does have a wood-fired oven in which these eggs are baked. On top of the good food is the ambiance. It is very laid-back and relaxed -- not the kind of overpretentious, scene-y brunches for which New York City is almost famous -- and the crowd there is very unassuming. Plus, you have the option of dining "outside" in the restaurant's outdoor glasshouse patio where you get the fantastic illusion of "dining al fresco" without the pounding heat, wind, or mosquitoes.
August is already on my list of regular places to brunch now, so go check it out! Thanks again to Kris for the great rec!
Price point: $12-19 for each brunch main course.
--July 14, 2012
August
359 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
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