Day 945 : Brunch at Jacob's Pickles

The Upper West Side is not want of brunch spots that's for sure -- there's your classic diners, your upscale dining experiences, the neighborhoody joints, the new places that are trying to stand out from the crowd, you name it, you can find it on the Upper West.

One of my favorite new-ish places in the neighborhood is Jacob's Pickles. Named after the owner, Jacob, and inspired by Southern cuisine but with locally sourced ingredients and an extensive beer selection, house cured pickles and homemade biscuits, it is a warm and inviting spot with a rustic feel. 

The brunch menu is a mixture of Southern classics, biscuit sandwiches, egg based dishes and much more.

We of course had to start with a selection of pickles : sweet & spicy carrots, sour green tomatoes, thyme jalapenos, and their sweet and sour pickles. Looking for a wake-me-up on a Sunday morning, definitely have a jalapeno -- it is guaranteed to make your eyes water and stimulate your senses. In the mood for something less in your face, their homemade sweet and sour pickles were to die for -- fresh, crunchy and flavorful -- these will bring a smile to any pickle lover out there.

But what of their non-brine orientated options?

I had their Veggie-Cheese Omelette with egg whites of course. The omelette was composed of mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, tomatoes and aged Vermont Cheddar. Traditionally served with home fries, I instead had their mixed green salad. The omelette was delish -- not heavy handed as you can sometimes find in traditional brunch cuisine, each vegetable was allowed to sing and the cheese added the perfect creamy touch. You could truly taste the rustic meaty qualities of the mushrooms and the vegetal herbaceousness of the asparagus and the spinach along with the bright juiciness of the tomatoes.  A great start to a rainy Sunday morning.

A welcome addition to the dining options of the Upper West Side -- welcoming and friendly with reliably satisfying food and drink. But know if you are going for brunch, go before Noon if you want to avoid the wait. 

Jacob's Pickles

509 Amsterdam Ave

Day 784 : Jacob's Pickles

A completely weird name for a restaurant that's for sure! Until you learn that the owner is named Jacob and then everything makes sense. Walking into the space it is warm and inviting with a rustic rough around the edges sort of feel, reminiscent of a place you might find in Dumbo or Long Island City, but certainly not on the Upper West. Southern influenced, locally sourced, with an extensive beer and cocktail list, homemade pickles, biscuits, and preserves and of course a food menu, it is an excellent place for a group of friends to sit down and catch up or to grab a drink at the bar, you name it, this is a welcome addition to the Upper West.

They had a cocktail on the menu that was completely after my heart -- a Lavender Gin Fizz which was Farmer's Organic Gin, Housemade Lavender Syrup and house lavender bitters. Smooth yet aromatic, flavorful yet tangy, and definitely not too sweet or too sour. I was already in heaven.

We started with some of their hot sour pickles which were fresh and briny and all around fabulous and their homemade biscuits with "fixings." Fixings were housemade raspberry preserves, orange marmalade, honey and butter. These were comforting and just what you want in a biscuit -- not too heavy and not too light so the entire thing crumbles to pieces. We also had their house smoked salmon with creme fraiche, capers and scallions -- an excellent pairing partner for my aromatic herbaceous cocktail. Being a big smoked fish fan, I always think its an interesting gauge of a restaurant to see how their smoked salmon is, maybe not very adventurous but it allows you to judge the kitchen's skills based on other restaurants with their own house smoked salmon. We also had their mushroom mac n' cheese with shittakes, king oysters, and portabella mushrooms which was decadent, unctuous, creamy, and fantastic. The mushrooms added an excellent rustic earthy feel to the dish so that it wasn't just pasta and cheese and more pasta and more cheese.

Overall a really welcome addition to the Upper West Side whether its just for dinner or for dinner and drinks or simply drinks. I will definitely be back soon.

Jacob's Pickles
509 Amsterdam Avenue