Weekend mornings are oft synonymous with brunch, the ever-transcendent meal that allows you both sweet and savory. On the Northeast corner of Grove & Bedford Streets in the West Village, chef Joey Campanaro and business partner Gabriel Stulman invite you to their two-weeks-old brunch menu inside the wainscotted, 28-seat, gold-tin ceiling nook, Little Owl. Though Gothamist first visited for dinner on opening night, we decided to go back to see if brunch was up to par. Paper menus stamped with a stencil of an owl offer a list of simple, but elegant entrees which arrive a la carte. Blueberry corn pancakes ($7) are delicately thin, stacked 4-high and dusted with powdered sugar. Buttery sweet, wild blueberries and fresh corn stud throughout; warm vanilla-infused corn syrup accompanies. The asparagus reuellta ($8) marries fresh asparagus, the mandatory protein of early-morning eggs, and jamon serrano, neatly centered on a large white plate, while a mushroom omelette ($11) arrives with parmesan and seasonal summer truffles. Though the accoutrements of the diner-like hungryman's brunch are absent from Campanaro's menu (formerly of the Harrison, the Red Cat) you can order applewood smoked bacon, asparagus home fries, and fruit salad on the side. A nouveau American style reverberates through seasonal and farm-fresh ingredients which Campanaro uses both simply and well. Campanaro mans the kitchen while Stulman keeps customers happy with dual roles as waiter and conversationalist, boldly recommending that next time, we should really come back for dinner.
The Little Owl is open Tues-Fri, 6 p.m. - 2 a.m. Sat-Sun, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. & 6 p.m. - 2 a.m. and located at 90 Bedford Street (at Grove). 212-741-4695.
