Justin and Sophia went with us to Long Island City this weekend, where the first stop was brunch. Blend 47-04 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11101, a latin fusion restaurant, has a free OJ or coffee with brunch, and the prices are quite reasonable.

Having gone with our waiter’s recommendation, my Huevos Rancheros was the best dish. The black bean quesadilla is a nice upgrade from the standard fried tortillas. The two over-easy eggs (my choice on how eggs are done) were perfect and runny. Two pieces of toast (one white, one wheat) seamed excessive at first but you need it to help sop up all the great tomato sauce. The dish is very complete with a bit of guacamole, a sprinkling of cotija cheese, and fresh watercress. I was very happy.

Huevos Rancheros

My brother got the Chuletas, a hefty pork chop. You could taste the marinade and the smokiness of the grill. The black beans were under-cooked though. (I didn’t try anything else off his plate.)

Chuletas

Lon and Sophia went with sweet stuff. Lon ordered the Banana Pancakes which should really have been called Pineapple Pancakes. You could barely taste the few pieces of banana in it but the whole plate was covered in little chunks of canned pineapple. The chorizo was quite tasty though.

Banana Pancakes with Chorizo

Sophia had a mediocre waffle, also covered in pineapple chunks, which comes with ice cream.

Waffle

She ordered a side of Yucca Fries, a generous portion for $3, but terrible. They were under-cooked, tasting raw and fibrous inside. They also didn’t taste like fries at all, just like sauteed chunks sitting in a pool of oil, topped with a good onion relish.

Yucca Fries

Sticking with savory dishes, it’s a pretty good deal for brunch. Most plates are under $10 and that includes coffee or orange juice. The problem is you may have to stay on top of that. I drank my coffee before our dishes arrived and our waiter said he was bringing me more but it never came and eventually we had to leave. Justin’s OJ never showed up either but they were willing to give him a cup of OJ to-go. I’m probably willing to give this a place another chance since they have potential and prices are low enough to be lenient.

posted by jessica at 09:29 AM Filed under Latin, Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.