Brunch at Fioré

Fioré (284 Grand St., between Havemeyer and Roebling, 718-782-8222) had been recommended to me almost a year ago and while I still haven't tried it for dinner, I had the good fortune to go there for Brunch recently. Even though it was noon, there were only two or three other tables with people at them so we were seated right away - always a plus at Brunch. It's nicely decorated with wooden farm tables, seating two or four, throughout the dining room, a long wooden bar along the right side and a small backyard in the rear.

We ordered two items off of the specials menu - the regular menu had all the standard fare, poached eggs, pancakes, plus pizza and panini - but the specials menu was enticing. Of course, we got one savory, one sweet. There was an Omelette made stuffed with potatoes, leeks, sausage and Gruyere cheese and it was delicious. Just a bit of cheese to make it gooey, but not overpowering, just a bit of sausage to lend flavor and lots of leek, which were tenderly sauteed. This came with homefries that were not as crispy as I prefer but were good, and a side salad nicely dressed with a viaigrette.



Our sweet option were the Apple Almond Pancakes with crispy bacon. The outside of the pancakes were coated with slivers of almonds and inside were caramelized slices of apples. It was actually too sweet for me. There was no need to sweeten the apples prior to cooking, and the pancakes were a bit on the greasy side. They weren't awful, just disappointing as they sounded so good. I think I was expecting more of an almond flavor, and tangy apple, instead of the sweet, heavy cake on my plate. MORE than enough for two people.



I definitely liked it and will go back to try it for dinner, as that's what I've heard is so amazing at Fioré.