Cafe Mogador- East Village (New York City, USA)

One of the many perks of living in Philadelphia is its proximity to other major cities. So on one rainy Philadelphia morning the Count and I decided to drive to New York to visit friends, eat and drink (but mostly eat). 

So with 'New York State of Mind' blasting the speakers of the car we rode through the Lincoln tunnel and arrived in beautiful New York. Traffic greeted us on the other side of the tunnel along with cars honking and heads sticking out of the car yelling at the car ahead. Oh New York. I love that organized chaos that can only be offered in big cities like New York. 

Upon arrival, the Count was adamant on taking me to his favorite restaurant, which he used to frequent weekly while living in New York many years ago: Cafe Mogador. I liked the name it sounded like something from a Medieval novel or Harry Potter. Expecting medieval treats we walked in walked in to a quaint restaurant when the Count informed me that Mogador served staple Moroccan dishes. Okay, so I wasn't going to try medieval food but Moroccan sure sounded good too. 

The restaurant had both indoor and outdoor seating and was full of hungry patrons at 2pm on a Saturday. Some were having brunch with your staple eggs and sausage and others were having skewers of meat and rice. The Count came with high hopes of having their famous hanger steak only to find out that they no longer offered it on the menu. He was so disappointed. He even signed a petition to bring it back (he is serious about his steak). So he settled for the goat cheese salad while I had the mixed grill plate.

The mixed grill came with a skewer of chicken, merguez sausage and lamb served over basmati rice, a skewer of vegetables and a side of yogurt dip. It was also served with a side of salad.  It was one of the most delicious meals I have had in New York to date. There was so much flavor in the meats and everything was tender and juicy. Perfect proportion of food, although I am sure I could have had more if the plate was any larger. 

The Count enjoys anything with goat cheese so not surprisingly he enjoyed his grilled goat cheese salad. He was still sad that he came all the way from Philadelphia to have his hanger steak only to find out it was no longer on the menu. Maybe next time we go, they will have brought it back? 

Although, we only had two dishes I could tell from what everyone around me had ordered that everything on the menu would be tasty. The brunch looked fantastic- although if I had to choose between eggs Benedict and my grilled dish I would pick mine all over again.  

If you ever find yourself hungry in the East Village, then do yourself a favor and find Cafe Mogador. You won't be disappointed. 

Sabrina's Cafe and Spencer's Too-Fairmount/Art Museum (Philadelphia, USA)

Saturday morning, stomach and fridge empty we decided to go out for brunch. With the help of Yelp we found out that one of the best rated brunch places was right next door. So with a hop, skip and a jump we ended up outside of Sabrina's Cafe. The restaurant and outside was packed and the wait was over an hour long. But we got offered to sit at the bar and quickly made our way through the restaurant to the back. It was a perfect place to sit since I had a great view of everything that came out of the kitchen. And boy, did everything look tasty!

Our order was taken right away: the burger special for the Count and huevos rancheros for me. After a few minutes of food-watching we were served with what I rate as the best huevos rancheros I've ever had. It was presented differently than your typical huevos rancheros. It was served with two blue corn tortillas topped with a smoky chorizo sausage sauce finished with lime sour cream and spicy red pepper guacamole and 2 fried eggs with a side of hash browns and fried jalapeno peppers. I don't think I need to go on about how amazing this meal was for the photo below explains it all. It was such a large serving but I polished my plate clean. Needless to say I could barely walk after since I was so full. 

The Count's burger special was served with a side of coleslaw and hand-cut fries. He was also very happy with his meal and he is known to be quite the burger snob. He said it was one of the best he has ever had. I can't really give you details of the tasty burger because I confess I was so into eating my dish that by the time I looked up he was done with his.  I could only take that as an indication of how good it was. But I think the photos are an accurate image of the tasty burger. 

Everything that came out of the kitchen looked amazing. And every patron looked extremely happy. It is just one of those feel good places with good, rich and filling food  in a great environment. In fact it was so good, we have already been there twice since. I guess you can say we are big fans! 

Front Porch Cafe (Miami, USA)

Front Porch Cafe is a popular breakfast/brunch joint in South Beach. I didn't know about it until my last trip when I was walking by to grab some Starbucks across the street and noticed the long line up. Any long line up is always a good sign to be since most restaurants on Ocean Drive have to pretty much beg and seduce you into their restaurants so when there is one that has a line up around the corner it can only mean one thing: good food. 

I forgot about my coffee and got in line. The line up was long but not outrageously long. Soon we were seated and forgot we waited at all. 

The reviews all raved about the bloody mary so naturally it was the first item I ordered. It was very strong and I only had a few sips. But for those who like their morning cocktails on the stronger side than you won't complain. It turned out that the drink was more expensive than our meal (oh South Beach!!!)

We ordered the granola pancakes and the Miga's. The granola pancakes and the green eggs seem to be favorites on the menu. I however am a big fan of migas (became addicted in Mexico) and ordered it as soon as I spotted it on the menu. 

The Migas consisted of 3 eggs scrambled with their homemade salsa, topped with pepper jack cheese and whole wheat corn chips drizzled with their homemade salsa and served with a side of hash browns or fresh fruits. The granola pancakes consisted of a blend of granola and whole wheat served with a side of syrup and a choice of hash browns or fresh fruits. 

The granola pancakes were light and healthy. I found the Migas was bland and lacked in flavor. Overall, the food was a bit over hyped. There are many lovely little spots in South Beach to eat. However, if you want a 'trendy' scene for brunch on the weekend then you will enjoy this place.  If you've been clubbing all night and want to continue the party then this is the place for you. The food and service were good but not anything to write home about. 

Brunch at Glowbal Grill Steaks and Satay (Vancouver, Canada)

Brunch at Glowbal was A-Ok. It wasn't anything extraordinary nor was it awful in anyway. It just so happened that our service was slow: our food took an hour to arrive from the moment we ordered and when it arrived it was cold. However when the staff became aware of this fact they offered to remake our meal and in the end gave us a discount which I thought was very nice. 

The food was good. I imagine it would have been tastier if it was served hot. The prices were en par with other fancy brunch spots around town. We ordered two eggs Benedicts: the smoked salmon Benedict served with dill cream cheese, hollandaise sauce on a cheddar biscuit with a side of potato hash and salad and the Atlantic lobster Benedict served with poached eggs, hollandaise, crispy pancetta on a cheddar biscuit. We also ordered the Wild blueberry panettone French toast served with a milk chocolate 'shot', and a organic rosemary honeycomb (see menu). Despite the temperature the dishes were all really good. The eggs Benedicts were perfect. I always like my eggs Benedict a bit soft in the middle so that when I chop through the poached egg with my fork the egg yolk can start oozing out onto to the biscuit.  The French toast was really great too although the portion was huge. My friend and I split the two plate and got to taste a bit of each however I think by the time I made my way to the French toast I had already filled up on the donuts and the eggs Benny. 

By the time the food arrived I had already filled up on the complimentary mini donuts we were served once we sat down. I would go back just for those mini donuts. Tender and crispy on the outside yet soft within and soaked in oil topped with powdered sugar.

The Complimentary mini donuts

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict served with a side of greens and hash browns

Wild blueberry panettone French toast