Mother's Day Brunch at Ad Hoc

We had a lovely brunch yesterday at Ad Hoc - I'm not sure if there was really anything special for Mother's Day but they did serve their famous fried chicken, which was an unexpected treat!

We started with a plate of mini pastries from Bouchon Bakery, then a smoked trout salad with romaine leaves, apple cubes and walnuts. The dressing was light and very nice - the smoked trout was really good. Then we had the fried chicken, served with nice crisp waffles. Plus a side of sauteed spinach, Hobbs bacon and eggs that had been slowly steamed (?) for 90 mins, then placed into simmering water for another minute. This resulted in almost custardy eggs that were great on top of the waffles. Finally we finished with fresh strawberries served with a creamy marscapone-based sauce and a warm sugar cookie.

The drink service was also impressive - nicely brewed pots of tea (good tea selection), and a special bottle of Blue Apron Ale from the Brooklyn Brewery ($25 bottle of beer!). The story goes that each of TK's restaurants gives him a gift for Christmas and they spend a lot of time trying to figure out a good gift for him. Ad Hoc gave him a basket of NY-themed foods, including a small bottle of ale from the Brooklyn Brewery. He liked it so much that he asked the brewery to brew a special version for his restaurants. Now they ship this special ale across the country for his Napa places and the $25 per bottle is pretty much the cost. It's a big bottle and for you beer aficianados, I was told it was like a much better version of Chimay. And you can only get it at his restaurants, including Per Se in NYC.

My companions also loved their espressos - we asked for details and they use Illy pods (not beans!), but their machine is "tuned" on a weekly basis for optimal performance. It's a much tested process - they tried out 30 different water filters before they settled on their current standard.

And I have to say that the service staff at Ad Hoc was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly - and honestly, just so happy to be working there. It was impressive!