Photo: Cititour.com
When shopping around for a brunch spot in Brooklyn, look no further than LaLou (581 Vanderbilt Ave)in Prosect Heights where you can dine indoors or al fesco. While it’s technically called lunch, LaLou’s tempting menu allows you to take a sweet or savory route.
Here simplicity is the key. You can start with some East Coast oysters or olives and a glass of wine. Or a dish of goat cheese with honeycomb, husk cherry and espelette almonds while sippiing a cocktail.
Or, go with a simple French dish of mangalica ham sliced paper thin with comté and purple mustard served with thick slices of house-made sourdough. Slather on some mustard onto a corner, add a bit of cheese and a curled-up slice of ham for a perfect bight with a little punch from that mustard.
Egg lovers have several options at LaLou. The vol-au-vent scrambled eggs, also served with comté, mangalica ham, is a personal favorite. The velvety eggs arrive piled high atop a light-as-air puff pastry shell and a dusting of green onions. It’s amazing!
But the real showstopper might just be the Dutch Baby Pancake. This giant pancake is cooked up in a cast iron pan until it is all bubbly with crispy and custardy bits. At LaLou it is given a coating of freshly made raspberry compote and topped with dollops of whipped crème fraîche. The pancake is offered as single course, but might be best shared. Believe me, you’ll have trouble hanging onto it.
So, sit back with a glass of fine French wine and give LaLou a try. You won’t be disappointed!
- Thomas Rafael
