Dish Buzz - Nolita House

If I had not been planning on hitting Nolita House, I might have walked clear by the entrance. It's almost lost amidst some serious scaffolding. While not so attractive at the moment from the exterior, lurking inside is a cozy brunch spot you should not miss.

However, I will warn it was definitely one of the noisier brunch locales I have tried so if you have a pounding headache, need to have a deep conversation, or are bringing perhaps more audibly sensitive guests with you, I might recommend you hold off on this one.

All entrees come with a complimentary mimosa, glass of sangria, soda, or juice. Their sandwiches that passed by looked quite good, and the fries can't help but look good when opting for a 2pm brunch. Their salad portions were also quite generous.

Being so late, I even skipped my typical sweet faves (waffles, pancakes, or french toast) in favor of trying Nolita House's much-appropriately-hyped macaroni and cheese. It was made using gemelli pasta and came with a large helping of panko bread crumbs crowning the dish. And I can vouch, this one reheats nicely.

My sister's vanilla bourbon french toast (seriously?!?) was amazing. The summary on the menu on their website really says it all... "brioche soaked in vanilla bourbon custard, rolled in French crepes with nutella maple syrup". I was intriuged seeing as it was rolled in crepes. Would it be soggy? I've had cornflake crusted french toast, but never something as potentially soggy as crepes. Verdict? Definitely a keeper (albeit a bit on the sweeter side for those of you who are more savory brunch-goers).

Only thing I was not quite sold on was their biscuit. It was a very flat thing, quite wide in circumference. When I split into it with the knife to add in the butter and orange marmalade, it crumbled like crazy. I've still yet to find some amazing biscuits in the city, with Clinton Street Baking Company being the best I've had to date.

Brunch runs both on Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm. They claim it's a bluegrass brunch. However seeing as they were blaring Red Hot Chili Peppers while we were there, I am unsure if we just caught them on an off weekend or if that's more of a nod to their cuisine. Regardless, service is good and it's defintely one to try. It was quite crowded when we were there, so I would recommend reservations.

Nolita House - 47 East Houston Street (between Mott and Mulberry) - 212.625.1712