Brunch at Red Gravy
That’s why the sunny trattoria, Red Gravy, is an excellent choice for ambivalent brunchers such as ourselves. Situated at the crossroads of Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill (be sure to work in a Sunday shopping trip to Sahadi’s or Trader Joe’s afterwards) it’s briskly trafficked, but still far enough removed from the rabid brunch culture on Smith or Court Streets.
You can order all items a la carte, but the $25 prix fixe (two sizeable courses plus coffee, a cocktail, and a comp plate of focaccia with white bean puree) will leave you more than enough cash to burn on the frozen saag paneer at Trader Joe’s (it’s the best, guys). We’d spend the extra three dollars to start with a square of homemade crumb cake (made alternately with persimmon, orange or apple), followed by your choice of ricotta and honey slathered crostini, a virtuous yogurt and granola parfait, or tangy escarole salad, tossed with meyer lemon vinaigrette and salty curls of grana padano. Egg eaters (we know we’re in the minority), will swoon over the salumi hash, and we’ll give runny yolks a pass just this once as base for a sinful spaghetti carbonara, shot through with spring onion, more grana, and nubs of caramelized guanciale. Although if you’d rather avoid ova altogether, there’s an engagingly skunky taleggio ravioli, flavored with speck (smoked, cured pork leg), crunchy walnuts, and slivers of fresh pear.
Add in the requisite flute of mimosa, tumbler of gin and grapefruit, or goblet of lip-tingling bloody mary, and we’d say the promise of brunch at Red Gravy is more than enough incentive to rise and shine by noon.
151 Atlantic Ave., (718) 855-0051