This past weekend I was in New York City to celebrate Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) with my family. My sister and brother-in-law live in Harlem and my parents flew up from Miami, FL so we could all be together.
I got into town on Friday night and I spent all day Saturday visiting some of my best friends from childhood. My first stop was a friend's new apartment (she just moved in with her boyfriend). From their new place at 72nd and Columbus we walked up a few streets for brunch.
We snagged a table outside on the patio at Isabella's. The restaurant is located steps from the Museum of Natural History and right across the street for Shake Shack (the first Shack I ever ate at!).
The brunch menu was quite large, with something for everyone.
I was chuckling at some of the brunch cocktail names like "That's My Jam" featuring gin, blueberry jam and sage leaves.
We tried to order cocktails, but it was only 11:15am and apparently they aren't allowed to serve booze until 12:00pm. Oh well.
Instead we ordered two virgin drinks, an ice tea for her and a strawberry basil lemonade for me.
The strawberry basil lemonade was excellent. It tasted like real, pureed strawberries. As I was sipping, I couldn't help but think how refreshing it would taste frozen as a popsicle.
I was having a tough time deciding what to order because a lot of the sweet items were appealing to me. Things like the blueberry and yogurt waffle with thyme blossom honey and the bread pudding French toast with peaches, raspberries and almonds (fruit, I know).
Ultimately, we both ordered omelettes. My brunch date got the egg white omelette with peas, asparagus and muenster cheese. Look at the peas and cheese oozing out of the sides!
I went with the mushroom omelette, which came stuffed with 'shrooms and cheddar cheese. For me, this was super greasy. Admittedly, I've been spoiled by the perfect mushroom omelette at Aquitaine.
Both of our omelettes came with a side of home fries which were, like my omelette, greasy. I like my home fries crispy and well seasoned. These were neither.
Weirdly, the best thing we had, which was the simplest thing, was white toast with butter. The omelettes don't come with toast (good to know). Our waitress brought the white bread without asking us what type of toast we'd prefer. She was a bit aloof the entire time.
Despite the food being so-so, the highlight of Isabella's is absolutely the patio and the neighborhood. While you are sitting there you can watch the world go by. In this neighborhood, everyone has a baby or a dog, which makes the people watching much cuter!
In fact, next to us, a couple brought their dog, Zoe, who camped out right next to me. Of course I pet her and she even smooched me!
While I wasn't impressed with the brunch, as we were leaving, many people started to order lunch. The salads, sandwiches and French fries looked great.
If you'd like to relax on the patio at Isabella's, visit at 359 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024.
