My favorite day of the week.

Sunday is my favorite day of the week, it's typically a day tucked away for fun and relaxation with friends or family.  It's on top of my list of favorite things!  It's also nice to take a day of pleasure after a long stressful week full of chores and the routine schedule.

Sundays are also a great day for doing brunch and I really love a great brunch!  My first brunch experience was quite memorable.  I went one Sunday with my friends Ant and Tina.  At the time I really didn't understand the concept of "brunch" because it was a bit new and NJ hadn't caught up to the NYC day-party scene.  We started at Balthazar and managed to get a table.  It's a well known restaurant in NYC located on Spring St, which is nearly impossible to get in on Sundays.  There we each had a delicious ratatouille omelet while we imbibed on a Billini (or two) before we made our way over to the Cupping Room Cafe.

The three of us sat at the bar as the Mimosas started flowing.  We heard the music pulsating from next door at Via Dei Mille (which is now closed) and just had to go over.  People were dancing on every table and even on the bar, this was one of the best parties I have ever been to in my life.  Because of the rainy day Tina and I both had on flat boots and all three of us had on comfortable outfits no where fit for a club. The girls here were dressed for a night out on the town and the men were all in suits, we didn't even care what we were wearing and before I knew it Tina was up on the bar dancing in her rain boots!  This day/night experience will go down in the books for sure.

Later on Jersey caught on, as usual.  The rest of my friends had never experienced "brunch" this way, so of course, like any other experience I've had and loved, I HAD to share it with them!  My birthday party that year was held at the W in Hoboken upstairs in the  Chandelier Room.  Just like the previous day-party it was a blast but we were all prepared and dressed appropriately for this one!  The next year we calmed it down a bit and hit Gemma, a great restaurant in the Bowery Park Hotel followed by a leisurely or not so leisurely afternoon inside the Standard Biergarten, still very fun but less dancing.

My friend Phil and I went to The Standard Grill a few weeks ago.  We ordered a Chopped Vegetable Salad, Charred Spanish Octopus with Sweet Potato and Chiles (one of my favorite things) and the fluffiest Omelet ever I have ever seen in my life.  Each of us ordered "Standard 69" cocktail, which was a mix of raspberry puree, gin, fresh lemon and champagne.  This cocktail was delicious but too heavy for my taste, I took two sips, handed mine over to Phil and asked the waiter for a Patron and seltzer with lime.

 The High Line is a park built on a historic freight rail line that is elevated about the streets on the West Side of Manhattan and I've been dying to see it ever since it was first built.  I have been to the Meat Packing District many times but always seem to miss the time of day when it's open.  The best times to see The High Line are in the Spring or Summer and I probably should have waited!  We both got a great laugh at the fact that the attraction I would not stop talking about was completely flower-less and the grass appeared to be more like hay.  Afterwards we headed to Fig and Olive. Here I had a Cucumber Cosmo and Phil had a Dirty Martini, both perfectly made.  We also shared a cheese plate and olives, laughs and stories about lame men and women that we've each encountered. This was a  subdue and fabulous day.


I always like to venture to new places and put a spin on things.  I enjoy new experiences and sharing them with my friends.  This year for my birthday a couple of us are going to take a Trapeze class on Chelsea Piers in NYC, following I'm sure we'll find a great spot for a casual brunch.  I used to view fun as getting decked out on a Saturday night and heading to a club or lounge in heels so high I could probably suffer a nose bleed, drinking too much vodka and staying out until sunrise.  Although I can't say I've seen my last party brunch, currently, I'd rather have a nice meal and a glass of wine in the afternoon and then go for a walk around the city or check out a movie on the projector screen at The Highline.

Brunch can come in the form of eggs at the corner diner or a full on drink and dance fest at a hot NYC restaurant.  Although I may have had a different opinion a few years ago, shots of Patron and bottomless glasses of Proseco aren't really my weekend scene these days and I don't need to stand on a table to have fun anymore.  Now, my favorite kind of brunch takes place on a Sunday at around 1 o'clock in a great setting (either NYC or somewhere on or near a large body of water).  Sharing different plates of delicious food, with good friends, along with a lot of laughs and a Mimosa, Bloody Mary or a special cocktail that is crafted at the hands of a A+ Mixologist, completely rocks let alone my Sunday, but my world.