A couple weeks ago, my friend Ashley and I met up for lunch. We were going to Links, a new sausage place on the Lower East Side but the UrbanDaddy announcement regarding its opening day was a little premature. No worries though, the neighborhood's got lots of tasty places to eat. We settled on Prune: a restaurant open since 1999, famous for its brunches, Bloody Marys and chef, Gabrielle Hamilton.
Prune made a stamp on the New York restaurant scene by not only having a kitchen smaller than most studio apartment bathrooms but they also created a Bloody Mary menu, available only during brunch. Forget the tired and banal celery stick garnish - the Chicago Matshbes is made with homemade lemon vodka and comes with a pickled vegetable garden atop your drink; the Green Lake is made with Absolut vodka, wasabi and comes garnished with a beef jerky swizzle. I don't know if they still do it, but each Bloody Mary comes with a beer back, two sips worth - just enough to help chase away last night's hangover.
It's totally normal on Saturdays and Sundays for there to be a crowd of people waiting for the doors to open. Mr. Mari and I actually stopped going for brunch because the hungry crowd would sometimes become unruly, making the otherwise delicious food and cozy yet airy atmosphere, stressful and unpleasant. Perhaps that's why they have an extensive Bloody Mary list - to help smooth you out after the crush outside.
With her sweet daughter, Evelyn (aka Evie) in tow, Ashley and I had a fabulous lunch. We ordered things that Mr. Mari or Mr. Ashley wouldn't normally order ("There's beef on the menu - why aren't you ordering that?"): Trout roe on a nest of julienned radishes with an ample drizzle of brown butter; grilled, marinated veal heart with a mint and yogurt dressing; ginger beer roasted pumpkin with butter and brewers yeast. All were delicious and special. Evie really liked the pumpkin - it was like pudding. Our timing was good; by the time we were heading out, the place was filling up.
So if you want to eat at Prune and you don't want to deal with jockeying for your spot in line or waiting over an hour for a seat, go during lunch. Your Bloody Mary just won't come with a side of stress, which is fine with me.