2/8/14 - Kitchenette in Morningside Heights

A lovely friend told me that I needed to try Kitchenette, because Strawberry Butter. So I met up with her Saturday afternoon for yet another brunch outing. This place was definitely packed and popular. The atmosphere was very bright, warm and kitchy. As you walk in, the front is lined with delicious looking pastries and cookies that I'm a fool for not thinking to snap a picture of. I really need to get better at this blogging business.

Stock photo because I'm a bad blogger

This place is fairly popular, we had to wait a few minutes for a table. But usually that's a good sign of quality, and so I was excited. You could tell that this was the type of spot that locals loved, filled with regulars who came here for brunch. The menu was expansive, and filled with a variety of omelettes, burgers and delicious sounding breakfast sweets. They also had a huge list of indulgent sounding milk shakes, and next time I go I'm definitely getting one.

I ordered the Chipotle Turkey Hash, and my compatriot got the Garden Scramble. I also got an Apple Pie Mimosa to go along with it, because it is "Drunk Brunch" after all. The drinks are all available as pitchers as well, which is nice, but I didn't want to overdo it this day. The mimosa was different. Topped with a bit of foam and some nutmeg and cinnamon, it was made  with apple juice instead of OJ. But it was tasty, though not super sweet which you'd expect with apple pie.

Our meals came relatively quickly. The Chipotle Turkey Hash was a big mess of turkey, sweet potatoes, corn and a chipotle sauce, topped with some fresh scrambled eggs. Served with a fresh flaky biscuit on the side, and some strawberry butter. The hash was tasty and different. The sauce wasn't too spicy but the turkey was nice and tender and everything worked well together.

Chipotle Turkey Hash

The real star though is the biscuit and strawberry butter. The biscuit was perfectly flaky and tender, it was just what a biscuit should be. I've never had strawberry butter before, and now I want all my butter to be of the strawberry variety. It just added a nice amount of fruit flavor to the fatty, smooth normal taste of butter. Almost like a slightly sweet, slightly savory pastry. I want more of these. All the time. I would get fat(ter) off of these bad boys. So yeah, I think I liked it. 

My friends scramble looked good too. Consisting of scallions and tomatoes and eggs, kind of like a salad and eggs made a baby. She remarked about how she loves onions and scallions (though not raw) and this breakfast dish really got to her as a result. And of course, she got the biscuit and strawberry butter too, so how could it go wrong.

The atmosphere and service really knock it out of the park here. I don't think five minutes went by where somebody didn't check on us to see how we were doing. I really appreciate good service, I think it makes the food actually that much better. And the warm atmosphere on a cold day was a nice change of pace. 

Overall, I want to come back and try more off the menu here. If I ever make it super far uptown again (which I hope I do) this is definitely a place to go. Personally, I give it 4 out of 5 bloody maries (though I didn't drink any today, I will next time). My companion insists it's a 5 out of 5 though.