Crisp cool morning, warm breakfast

Couleur Cafe is currently offering what might just be the most satisfying little breakfast dish a person could have on a cool September morning.

It's well below 70 before work now, and they open at 7AM, so you'll just have time to sit down and enjoy a delicious but hastily made cappuccino or a latte while they make you an order of baked eggs.

Hot Cap

From the specials menu, you can add any three ingredients from a very short list, and choose a side of either toast, garlicky potatoes, or salad. I felt like I scored a win with Gruyere, bacon, and caramelized onions. Layered in a small ceramic tartine dish with two eggs cracked on top and baked for ten minutes, this was like a little delicious oven in my tummy for the rest of my morning.

Baked Eggs!

The the eggs maintain a mostly runny yolk, at the expense of also having a slightly runny white, but there's enough deliciousness below them to soak it all up, and the potatoes I chose on the side were there to help and be tasty while they were at it. The nest of onions and bacon held together by one of my favorite melting cheeses could have stood on its own, but runny egg yolk always makes a breakfast dish that much better.

If you're up early and can't quite shake the chill, head over and treat yourself.

-SdJ

Couleur cafe, revisited

I said this place warranted a return visit, and I went back to try something other than coffee. (There was coffee, too, of course.)

C'est adorable!

A special of the day was a Croissant D'Avignon. I love little sandwiches on croissants, so I gave it a try. The croissant itself was good but maybe a little stale. It was loaded with fresh summery radishes and cucumbers, though, held on with herbed cream cheese. Hard boiled eggs (but with slightly translucent yolks, so not boiled as hard as some might be used to,) and cornichons finished the presentation. It really was a perfect little bite for a warm August morning.

Croissant D'Avignon

The fact that everything here at Couleur Cafe is presented on little mismatched porcelain plates and that the bottle of cold water you're given comes in an old French lemonade bottle just add to the charm of this cafe. The staff is young and energetic, considering the early hours, but good caffeinated offerings like you can find here probably help. I'm looking forward to a lunch visit in the very near future...

-SdJ

7th Ave Donuts

I've heard from locals that this place is kindof a Park Slope institution, and while I've walked past it almost weekly since arriving here in Brooklyn, I was never enticed to go in. I know there's a certain attachment to local favorites, and I hope you'll forgive an outsider's perspective. The exterior decor is on par with your run of the mill Brooklyn deli, diner, or dollar store, and the faded burgundy awning and plastic sign above it easily look their 35 years, though I'm sure they've been renovated at least once in that time. The more time I've spent here, though, and seen store fronts and restaurants close and re-open monthly, the more rare something like this seems though.

We went on a Saturday at 8AM and promptly found a seat. The coffee was, in my opinion, a step up from the worst of diner coffee, but nothing I'd come for over all the coffee options in Park Slope. My lovely companion ordered a sausage egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel and I had over-easy eggs with potatoes, sausage and toast. Basic diner fare. The american cheese was orange (This is something I've only noticed in New York and the surrounding areas... do you realize that most of the east and west coasts use white American cheese? Orange seems to be almost entirely found in the midwest and here in NYC.) The sandwich was passable, nothing special.

My eggs and sausage were great, but my potatoes were under salted, (And I don't like much salt to begin with,) and tasted like chemical grill cleaner. 24 hour grills need to be careful with how they clean things and still meet orders, and someone didn't finish before starting the massive pile of potatoes visible on the grill through the kitchen window. I was unimpressed.

We ordered a bakers dozen of mixed donuts to take home and got the check. Here's where I started to realize why people love this place. Two breakfasts, two coffees, and 13 donuts: $16.77. I can barely get two pastries and two coffees at most coffee shops here for that.

And then we had the donuts. Well, some of them. Much heavier than Dunkin' or Krispy Kreme, there's no way 2 people could eat a baker's dozen after breakfast. We had a couple though, and they were all fantastic renditions of classic donuts. Nothing fancy, and nothing out of the norm, but superb. The marble twist was a standout. Crunchy outside, not too sweet cake inside, sugar glaze, and huge! The classic jelly filled was chewy, sparkly-sugar covered, and with pretty respectable jelly filling. There are going to be donuts around here for a while.

-SdJ