aKa: A-Okay

There's nothing quite like Sunday brunch on a spring day in New York, so when Gothamist found ourselves and a dining companion cozily seated in a window seat at aKa cafe last weekend, we could offer little complaint. aka logo; photo -- AKA Cafe
Perusing the brunch menu, we quickly noticed a lack of sweet stuff -- no pancakes or french toast -- but, aKa compensates with a smattering of Mexican-inspired egg, omelette dishes, sandwiches, and casseroles.

The waiter promptly offered coffee (unlimited brew), and arrived with a slice half baguette with a pat of butter and strawberry jam for starters. The restaurant was busy, so we were pleased with the quick but casual service.

Gothamist dining companion, oft a visitor of aKa and an avocado enthusiast, opted for the A.B.L.T, -- avocado aioli, apple smoked bacon, lettuce, and tomato on a toasted pullman -- an embellished version of the traditional B.L.T. Gothamist used to eat all the time as a kid. The sandwich arrived, buttery and toasty on the outside, with aioli spilling out onto the plate -- delicious and a true indulgence.

Gothamist's dish, the huevos rancheros, proved to be a technicolored assortment of eggs over easy, warmed tortillas, black bean mash, bacon, avocado, and potato hash. While the eggs were cooked to taste, the black bean mash was too salty and potato hash slightly mushy. Pico de gallo, also on the plate, complimented the eggs and corn tortillas for the occasional delicious fiesta-of-the-mouth.

aKa Cafe offers window seats and Bellini chairs for a comfortable atmosphere at all times of the day. Brunch entrees are capped at $9 leaving room to splurge on a bloddy mary, lunch and dinner offer more of the same. With a short, but classic list of house drink specials, aka is really, A-okay.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By youngna park in Food on May 6, 2005 10:49 AM

Comments [rss]

janelle

i have to say that although i enjoy the occasional brunch, i do wish more restaurants started serving earlier in the morning, because it really kills my day, instead of kicking it off.

Brian Van Nieuwenhoven

Sunday brunch is awesome when done correctly. It often isn't. Many NYC restaurants try to put out a stylish brunch where the presentation is slick and the culinary variety/combinations are rather interesting, but that never ends well. The presentation details and the varied ingredients often maul a standard breakfast dish - the portions are tiny, the flavors are inappropriate for the meal, and sometimes these dishes taste worse than as if they were prepared the normal way. And I often see that brunch cocktails are treated like dinner cocktails, which makes them all too stuffy and inappropriate for the occasion. This is not the right time of day to be trying bold things with the bloody mary mix.

Brunch should be much simpler than that to be effective. It's about having a big sloppy greasy meal with coffee and perhaps some light cocktails. It's a social occasion more than anything - I'm focused on having a simple, relaxed meal with friends. Restaurants should generally let this happen and stay out of the way. Serve simple omlettes, big fluffy diner-style pancakes, and those huge pieces of butter and syrup drenched French toast that we love. Keep the coffee and mamosas coming.

It's hard to find the restaurants that do this well and still maintain an appropriate environment (the good places often get mobbed, have long waits for seating, and are so noisy that you can't hear yourself think). There are a few around, but it takes time to find them. While nicer restaurants usually flunk the brunch test, I find local diners are almost always satisfying...

Laren

That's me!

Adam

Yeah. Get over brunch, people. It's for laze-abouts who don't get up in time for breakfast.

BF

Brunch is so overrated.

Kevin Walsh

I'm sure AKA is fine but I do tire of the Sunday brunch thing NYC restaurants are obsessed with. I've wandered in to places at 3 or 4PM Sundays with a hot sandwich in mind, only to be confronted with menus full of crepes suzettes.

www.forgotten-ny.com