Prune, New York City

Just a social media thought:

The one thing that we bloggers have to keep asking ourselves is, "Have I sold out?"

No, I'm not referring to devilicious lip-smacking milkshakes that brings the boys to the yard... but whether we have kept to our original intentions and not betrayed our conscience, by being unduly influenced by free lunches and advertisers.

Kenny Sia is still as good as ever.

Back to Prune.

Out of all the meals in a day, brunch is undeniably undoubtedly my favouritest meal of the day. Thus the brunch culture in New York is something I could worship and every fortnight, I would release turtledoves into a cloudless azure sky, amidst hypnotic Indian chanting (ala Richard Gere’s Visa ad).

Prune was a restaurant that almost everyone loved and loved to rave about. To express alternative views would be akin to denouncing world peace, Christmas and the unbearable adorableness of Labrador puppies.

Here is an indication of Prune’s popularity:

It’s not uncommon to wait up to an hour and half for a dinner table in New York; brunch, however, is different as the peak hours typically fall between 1-3pm, so if you were to arrive at 11am, you ought to be shown to a table almost at once.

Paulina and I reached Prune at 10.45am (they open at 10am) and we were told the wait for an hour and half long. My first thought was, “Aren’t New Yorkers suppose to be sleeping in?!”

However, the most mind-boggling thing was how we overstayed our welcome at Cafe Falai and totally forgot about heading back. You should have seen how the both of us ran back, dashing around roads, fearing not for our lives but for our table at Prune. Talk about priorities!



The restaurant was christened after Chef Gabrielle Hamilton's childhood nickname and it was one charming eatery, probably the size of Kimora Lee Simmon’s closet Louis Vuitton trunk.







Paulina ordered their eggs en cocotte, coddled eggs with savory chicken, served with buttered white toast and mixed lettuces vinaigrette. Though it was runny inside and perfect for toast-dipping, Paulina would have preferred something not-as-runny.



Robert decided to join us last minute and he had the spaghetti carbonara. Carbonara wasn’t something I would order because I tend to get giddy and nauseous within 3 mouthfuls but this wasn’t drenched in your usual heavy cream sauce.



We also had the Dutch style pancake, which was the Goliath of all pancakes, topped with pears silvers, served with real maple syrup and Canadian bacon. Well to be honest, I think we ordered this because we had waited for over an hour and we felt we deserved our giant pancake! Despite its thickness, it was cooked thoroughly and high on the fluff-meter.



I, for one had no idea what a Dutch Pancake was until Prune and even now, post-Prune and after finishing three quarters of the pancake, I still have no idea what made the pancake ‘Dutch’. I have to say after wiping out that pancake from its existence on Earth, I felt surprisingly (or scarily) satisfied. Not one bit of that ‘wait, let me rest’ feeling sank in.

Was that an indication of how light the pancake was despite its mass… or just an example of the wonderful elasticity of the human stomach?



How about a simple ham and cheese sandwich?

I ordered their (in)famous Monte Cristo, served with red currant jelly and fried eggs- without a doubt, Prune’s pierce de résistance.



Just imagine a handsome triple-decker French toast, stuffed with swiss cheese, turkey and ham, and deep-freakin-fried till the cheese succumbed to ooziness and toast received a crisp finish. Arh, don'r forget to dab a little jam for that perfunctory jab of sweetness.

Each time I look at these photos, I’m reminded of the explosion of flavours and textures rushing to stake a claim in my heart.



Back in Singapore, the attitude dished out by servers usually correlates to the length of waiting time but here in New York, I’ve found that to be quite the opposite. It’s amazing how friendly the servers at Prune were despite their obvious success, or wait, maybe it’s a double-looped cycle where their affability feedbacked into the success.

Here at Prune, there was no fancy doo-dah-dee and the food was something you could judge by its cover because it tasted as good as it looked.


Prune from Savory New York

Day time, the place is awashed in sunshine and Wish You Were Here!

Prune
54 East First Street
Phone 212 677 6221