Visiting New York City brings many surprises. Most of the time we just let the mystery unfold and ate at whatever restaurant was nearby. The best surprise food-wise was definitely Brooklyn Diner USA. We went twice in one week, both times for breakfast. I could not recommend it enough for breakfast, easily the best I had in NYC.
If you love a frittata, the spinach & mushroom frittata was excellent. I am not a mushroom person, and normally I avoid them, but this was soooooo good. It was accompanied by a lovely serving of polenta rounds. The polenta melts in your mouth with a fabulous corn sweetness that I could not get over.
Also superb is the Tony Bennett’s French Toast. It is a raisin challah base, topped with strawberries, toasted pecans and a bit of fresh whipped cream. This is quite possibly the best french toast I’ve ever had. It was sweet, but not cloyingly so, and warm and rich without being too filling.
We also tried a plain cheese omelette, served with any excellent bagel, and again the heavenly polenta. It was well cooked and quite good, but with so many house specialties it seems a shame to order so simple a dish.
The one dish at Brooklyn Diner USA that I could not live without would have to be the blueberry pancakes. They were bursting with fresh lemon peel. I cannot imagine how many lemons gave their lives for my pancakes, but I could not possibly thank them enough. I generally don’t order pancakes in restaurants because I like more than just carbs for a meal, and also, my own are so good. These pancakes are definitely the exception. The pancake batter itself is merely a vehicle for holding together the blueberries and lemon peel. They are tasty and fruity and smooth like velvet. I could eat them everyday.
Brooklyn Diner USA
212 W 57TH St
New York, NY 10019-3200
(212) 581-8900
Between 7th & 8th Avenue on 57th Street, near Carnegie Hall