Beatnik - Brunch

 

 

 

 

A Beatnik was the name given to the counter-culture of the late 1940s to early 1960s and those that embraced it.  They were worldly, open, artistic, pushing back against the ideas of the time and embracing many ideas and philosophies from India and Asia.  They were the Hipsters of their time.  The restaurant, Beatnik, in West Town, tries to embrace this aesthetic with it's design, menu, and soundtrack.  I decided to go there for a weekend brunch, just before the lock down started, because I had heard a lot of good things about it and I wanted to get there while I still had a chance.  Things started before I even entered the building.  It was very easy to recognize because of the colorful shelter at the entrance.  The door opens to an atrium with glass walls and a cracked tile floor.  The cocktail lounge is to the left and the dining room which the atrium opens to in the middle of the room is mostly to the right.  The room is large and basically open with antique brick walls, unfinished ceilings, and a lot of plant life and parasols.  Many of the dining areas start with large and heavy wood tables, which was what ours was, and the seating consisted of a lot of wicker and cushions.  There is a large skylight at the front of the room, where many of the parasols are located, with the back of the room lit with large crystal chandeliers and candlelight.  There were several large semi-enclosed booths against the walls, that employed Eastern motifs, that would seat about 12 people apiece and the kitchen was open.  The menu design went with much of the rest of the place, employing paisley/psychedelic design.  The food and drink was very international, sometimes bringing elements from several different cultures into one dish.

 

There was a lot to look at on the menu, so while I was looking, I took a little time and ordered Coffee and a cocktail.  The coffee was served in a vintage coffee cup that looked like something I might see in my Grandmas house.  The coffee itself seemed to be a medium roast, was pretty flavorful, and was quickly refilled.  My cocktail was called a Wake Up Call and it was like a bastard child of and Old Fashioned and an Irish Coffee.  It started with Bourbon, and added Sparrow Cold Brew, Walnut Liqueur, Montenegro, Demerara, Mole Bitters, Coconut Whip, and topped it with Nutmeg.  It was really good.  In addition to the booze and coffee, the cocktail added some sweetness and spice topped with whipped cream and I really liked the Nutmeg finish.  With what was essentially two cups of coffee in front of me, I was definitely ready for the world.

As is typical for brunches, I will look at the pastry list.  While Beatnik didn't have a list, as such, it did have a platter.  While I do typically order multiple pastries for the table to share, with the Platter, it was a given that I was going to need to share.  The Decadent Pastry Platter included a Cookie, a Cupcake, Coffee Cake, and Banana Bread.  As the name suggests, this platter was pretty decadent with many international flavors among the sweetness with a Miso Butterscotch Cookie, a Pecan Pie Cupcake topped with crushed Pecans, Apple Date Coffee Cake, and a couple slices of Tahini Banana Bread.  It was big, very good, and almost too much for my party of four in addition to our regular dishes.

As for my main dish, I noticed on the menu before I even came, a dish with international flavors (and origin) that I will not frequently pass up, though I did look at the rest of the menu before ordering it.  They had Shakshuka.  Admittedly, I had had it recently at my last brunch at Bad Hunter a few weeks prior and had loved that, but that was done in small as a pastry, and this was a complete dish.  As I had mentioned, Shakshuka is a Mediterranean Dish that is essentially Eggs poached in Tomato Sauce.  This Shakshuka was made as a Tagine, a Moroccan method of cooking that uses an earthenware clay cone over it that essentially slow cooks and steams the food inside.  This Tagine Shakshuka was prepared with Duck Eggs  in a Spicy Tomato Sauce, Roasted Marcona Almonds, A Fresh Herb Salad, and Merguez Sausage.  It was served with Pita Bread.  I found the best way to eat this was to stuff it into the Pita (Sausage, Eggs, Tomato, Herbs) and eat it as a Sandwich.  It was good, I enjoyed the flavors and textures, and eating it as a sandwich was different, but it wasn't something that I will have to come back for, like some of the other flavors here.  This was a lot of fun.  I loved both the design of the place and the international flavors.  I will definitely have to return to try their dinner and other cocktails.