Prune

54 E. 1st St., East Village, NY

7.8

map & more

Neighborhood
East Village

Cuisine
American

Nearby
Arlene's Grocery
Bowery Ballroom
Mercury Lounge

212-677-6221

Official Website

By Andrew Steinthal
April 15, 2010

Ask any New York City female what her favorite Chronic Brunch spots are, and I guarantee Prune is on the list. Chicks freaking LOVE this place. They can’t get enough of the predominantly gay wait staff in their tight pink t-shirts, and are willing to to wait obscene amounts of time for Prune’s killer bloody marys and infamous triple decker Monte Cristo. The place is tiny – the mob scene out front on any given Sunday is worse than the first day of a Steven Alan sample sale. But while we all know the brunch is solid, what you may not realize is that they also have an adventurous and quite tasty dinner menu. It’s a cozy little restaurant, and combine that with a quality drink list and aphrodisiacs like oysters and mussels on the menu and you get a good sleeper spot for a First/Early In The Game Date. Good luck.

Food Rundown:

Monte Cristo
A triple-decker brunch sandwich of ham, turkey and swiss cheese that’s battered, deep fried and served with fried eggs and jelly. It’s worth the hefty price tag, the long wait and the food hangover you’re going to take after inhaling it. We back this.

Classic Eggs Benedict
Perfect poached eggs – you really can’t go wrong here. You know that ideal weekend breakfast you dream about to help you wash away the sorrows of the week? This is it. Served with english muffins, hollandaise sauce, Canadian bacon and potatoes rosti…this is one slammin’ breakfast plate.

Roasted Marrow Bones
Three hot bones served with toasted bread, parsley, onion salad and sea salt. Scoop the marrow out of the bone with the back of a spoon, spread it across the bread, add a bit of salt and prepare for a rich, tasty adventure. As is the case with most bone marrow, excellent presentation.

Grilled Oysters
Damn tasty. I hadn’t had grilled oysters in a while, and these plump, juicy explosions hit the spot.

Steamed Mussels
Some of the biggest, baddest and most flavorful mussels we’ve ever come in contact with. Rich, orange and off our very own coast of Long Island, we highly recommend diving into these. Served in an excellent lobster broth and some ridiculous bread for dunking purposes.

Seared Duck Breast
I’m a little spoiled when it comes to duck these days. If it’s not really well prepared, it’s probably not worth ordering. Sadly, this duck was a little boring and slightly underwhelming. That being said, I still cleared my plate.

Whole Grilled Branzino
This was just ok. Even with the minimal and simple presentation, the fish in it’s naked glory didn’t impress.