Last Sunday, my friend Sam and I headed to meatpacking for a post birthday brunch and to enjoy the amazing weather before the line up of thunderstorms. We had naively failed to make a reservation at Pastis, so we decided on Revel upon overhearing a local rave about the place and how often he comes, so we settled for a seat in the unwelcoming and empty front section; the infamous garden in the back was simply too high in demand and we were on the brink of starvation.
eggs/ brioche/ truffles
For these "scotch eggs", these eggs came poached, nestled in a toasted brioche slice (I asked for it without fontina). Even though I've done this probably a hundred times I'm always excited to pierce a poached egg and watch the bright yellow yolk ooze out. I was confused to find an extremely overcooked egg with rubbery whites and a hard, indestructible center that barely crumbled even as I kept poking it. I was bitterly disappointed, even angry. It was my first time sending food back. The bread for the re-make was barely toasted and sat atop lukewarm and bland home fries. The salad was underdressed with what tasted like cheap bottled balsamic dressing that reign the salad bars at my school's dining halls.
poached eggs/ smoked salmon/ hollandaise/ english muffin
The Eggs Nova, was decent and hearty with the salmon although I found the hollandaise sauce to be lacking acidity.
blood orange sorbet/ vanilla bean gelato/ pistachio gelato
This was the first of the complementary desserts for the poorly cooked eggs. The gelato scoops were decent and smooth in texture. The abundance of ice chunks in the blood orange sorbet indicated that the sorbet had clearly been sitting in the freezer for too long.
mint panna cotta/ chocolate sauce
The flavor was delicate and natural, but the panna cotta itself was a bit dense. The chocolate drizzle was watery and tasted like the Hershey's chocolate syrup with which I used to top my sundaes in second grade.
Probably the only solid aspect of the overall brunch was the upbeat music. The weather did its part in easing our frustration- not only was the meal mediocre but we sat there for two hours, waiting for either the food or the check the majority of the time.We were probably better off grabbing sandwiches at the deli and eating on a bench somewhere.
Revel
10 Little West 12th Street
New York, NY 10014
