Brunch in Greenpoint used to be easy…Greenpoint Coffee House or Brooklyn Label were the obvious choices.  Sometime in the past year Greenpoint Coffee House changed something, and it just isn’t the same…and Brooklyn Label has taken on a new chef (which I’m not so sure I’m into) and raised their prices.

This past Saturday morning seemed to be full of failure.  We were too late to go to brunch at Enid’s, it was totally packed, and we decided to catch the bus up to check out the Habitat.  From everything we had heard the Habitat’s $15 prefix brunch was supposed to be well worth it, and the internet said that they started serving it at 11am.  We got all the way there only to find out that the Habitat was closed.  As we walked up someone went inside and disappeared, and we were standing there confused.  The signs on in the window clearly said “Brunch 11am-3pm,” and by this point it was after 12.  There was a delivery guy standing outside who relayed a message from someone in the basement: “they start serving brunch next weekend.”  According to the internet they have been serving brunch since sometime in September.

At this point we knew that this was not true, and would have appreciated a real answer…we left discouraged (even a sign saying “sorry opening late today” would have been cool).  Papacitos was right across the street, but we really weren’t feeling Mexican for breakfast.

We decided to head home, but on our way down Manhattan Ave we ran into a friend who suggested 68.

We’ve been to CoCo 66 (the sister bar to the restaurant) a couple of times, and to 68 for dinner once, and figured that it was worth a try.  We got there an checked out the menu (dinner menu can be found here), and decided to go in.  If you haven’t been to 68 it is located on on Greenpoint Ave just west of Franklin St.  68 is a big place, and was more or less dead when while we were there.  We got a table in the window, and ordered.  After a morning of failures everything at 68 seemed to be going pretty ok.

klk got ricotta pancakes with fruit topping and honey butter.  It also came with a wonderful fruit salad (banana, fig, and pomegranate seeds) on the side.   By this point I was ready for lunch and decided to try the bourbon bbq pulled pork, with came with fries.   Our food came very quickly, and we were not only impressed by the presentation, but the quality of the food over all.  The bbq was southern style, but not Carolina and was done perfectly even down to the bun.  The ricotta pancakes were delicate, light, and perfectly complemented by the fruit.  If I could use only two words to describe the brunch at 68 they would be:  delicious and classy.

I think the reason we hadn’t really embraced 68 before was due to our previous commitment to vegetarianism, and while vegetarians can eat here comfortably , 68 really does have a little more to offer those that are omnivores.  The over all experience we had at 68 was exactly what we needed to redeem our day, and I definitely plan on going back. Price wise it might even be a little cheaper than Greenpoint Coffee House or Enid’s, and it is definitely a new favorite of mine.   I didn’t realize until after I was finished with my meal, but apparently they offer free bloody mary or mimosa with your brunch…and this by far makes it the best deal.

I plan on going back to try their $1 oyster special that they offer during happy hour…we were informed that the oysters come from Long Island, and you really can’t beat $1 local oysters.  68 has different specials throughout the week, and I highly recommend checking them out.  Good vibes.

68 is located at
68 Greenpoint Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222-1527
(718) 389-6868

photo taken via Yelp!

If I was the guy or gal that runs Scanwiches I would be posting my lunch today.  This was  a group effort between klk and myself (in a limited edition of two sandwiches).  Maybe this will be a new series on the blog…iphonewiches?

The sandwich includes: oatnut bread, fire escape grown tomato, farmers market roasted beets, lemon garlic miso baked tofu, veganaise, hummus, and feta cheese.

It is totally amazing:

And I might as well post this little guy too:

So good, and good for you too.