Le Bateau Ivre
230 51^st (2^nd and 3^rd)
Time: Sundays 11-4
Price: $17.95 for entrée, drink, coffee/ tea and music

Appeasing my current fondness for French Cuisine, I had brunch at Le Bateau Ivre (meaning ‘The Drunk Boat’ in French).  And a fitting name for a brunch spot, with everyone packed together in one room, recovering from the night before, alcohol sloshing in their bellies below.  I sampled the French toast (or is it just known as ‘toast’ in French restaurants?) which came with a fruit salad, a cup of tea, and a tart bellini.  This is clearly a departure from the glorious all-you-can-chug brunch spots, as you only get one spiked beverage with the meal (and the price is on the steep side).  However, it wasn’t the food or the drink (although tasty) that brought me here; a jazz trio the plays live music from 11-4 that is the real draw.  With open air from the midtown streets, and catchy tunes thumping away, this is the perfect place to hit up if your parents are in town, or if you’re trying to impress someone, or you’re working the evening shift and cannot get too too plastered before work.

Tags: Bateau Ivre, french toast, jazz hands, unlimited water

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 8:45 pm and is filed under Brunch, French, Live Music, Midtown East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.