I don’t do brunch too often, but when I do I want to be sure it’s a good time. Some of my favorites include Calle Ocho, Sunburnt Calf, and Van Diemens (have we really not written about Calle Ocho and Van Diemens yet?!). I went with two friends over MLK weekend and Calle Ocho didn’t have any RSVPS open, the Sunburnt Calf didn’t take RSVPs for parties of three, and Van Diemens doesn’t offer their deal during football season, so I was back at square one searching for a deal.

Luckily I came across Harry’s Italian pretty quickly. No, not the Harry’s that Laura recently raved about (I would have tried that but they don’t do the brunch on Sundays), but instead this is Harry’s Italian which has two locations – South Street Seaport area and Rockefeller Center. Only the South Street Seaport one has the deal, so make sure to head to Gold Street.

They took a reservation for 3, although it was definitely unnecessary given that the place was fairly empty and quite large (it did fill up as the afternoon went on). Here’s the deal: $17 for your entree and AYCD mimosas or bloody mary’s (and coffee or tea), and you can switch between the two. No time limit or anything, but I guess you wouldn’t want to be a jerk and sit there all day after you’re done eating.

Although I was drinking, I was oddly in the mood for a salad so I had the salad with salmon and arugula, swapping the honey mustard dressing for a balsamic vinaigrette. My friend Colleen ordered the proscuitto, parmesan, and arugula pizette, and Abi had the artichoke and sopresatta frittata, served with toast and breakfast potatoes.

The pizette was quite large, although it had a very thin crust making it a bit more digestible.  And the frittata was generous as well, especially with the sides. My salad was pretty pathetic in comparison. It had a few bites of salmon, nothing spectacular about the way it was cooked, and a pile of arugula that matched the amount used as a topping on the pizette. However, all three dishes were very tasty and all three plates were clean (minus one pizette piece) at the end of the brunch.

It should also not go without saying that they have AMAZING bread. I was still hungry after my skimpy salad and I kept eyeing bread baskets at other tables, so I finally asked about it…twice. Well, it was worth the minor embarrassment because that bread was delicious! Be sure to ask for it if you don’t get a basket at the beginning!

As for the drinks, the mimosas were typical and the bloody mary’s were very spicy. I asked for mine to be a little tamer. Although they made the mix ahead of time and can’t control it, our waitress did request “no extra spice” for mine and I think that did the trick (not sure why they’d even add more spice to them!). But be warned, they’re fairly pungent bloody mary’s (however I liked them!).

Our service was wonderful and our drinks were replenished right on time. In fact after we paid, Abi and Col’s mimosas were filled up twice by bus boys walking by with pitchers – an extra bonus at the end of the meal.

We all thought it was a great AYCD brunch spot and would happily return! It’s so nice to have a few AYCD brunch restaurants in mind that aren’t tourist traps. I mean I love Calle Ocho and Sunburnt Calf and Cow, but they’re hard to get into anymore. Definitely give Harry’s Italian a try!