BEST BRUNCH in Brooklyn

For the second installment of our brunch series, I asked my cousin Mary Therese, amazing artist and native New Yorker, for favorite brunch spots in her borough of Brooklyn. When she's not collaborating on creating Broadway props, museum exhibits and movie backdrops with her partner in love and art, John of Jerard Studio, MT does mural and faux painting for many restaurants. She's also a great cook herself, so I knew she'd have wonderful suggestions for Style Maniac readers. Here's MT's top picks (along with some of her comments) for Best Brunch in Brooklyn:

Brooklyn Heights: Jack the Horse Tavern.

Carroll Gardens:  Lilla, new but really delicious; and Alma for both the food and great views of the city.  [Read the New York Times review of Alma here.]

Cobble Hill:  Bocca Lupo, my friend Jeff's place (No brunch at his new one, Strong Place on Court Street, but the best oysters in town, I swear).   

Park Slope: Stone Park Cafe [shown above].

Have a favorite brunch spot in Brooklyn or your home town? Add it in the comments below.  Next month:  Brunch at Home.

A LOVELY BRUNCH: Camparis on Crete

The first in a mini-series of warm and wonderful brunch places around the world.  This one's pure fantasy for me, as I've never had a Campari, never been to Crete and it is after all a Tuesday.  But I trust the Barefoot Contessa, and her Campari Orange Spritzer recipe, suitable for daytime; and the recommendations of the stylish Eleni from My Paradissi, who calls Crete home.  Imagine coffee on that terrace, followed by a leisurely all-day picnic on the shores of Triopetra Beach.  Or spend the day at Pagopoieion (Ice Factory) in Heraklion, where a brunch can easily extend to an afternoon and evening of food, music and mingling with friends.  Shall we all book a flight right now?

Have a favorite brunch spot you'd like to share?  Please email me (click on Contact in the sidebar).  Your selection and site link may appear in a future post.  Next month:  Best Brunch in Brooklyn.

Top photo from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.  Terrace photo, Marie Claire Maison;  Triopetra Beach photo courtesy Eleni, both via My Paradissi.

A PARIS REVERIE

Daydreaming of Paris in winter, soft sepia-toned scenes and a suitcase of satins; leisurely lunches in tobacco-stained bistros and long strolls along the snowy Seine .... Oh, who am I kidding?  I'd be wrapped in polar fleece, Goretex and shearling, scurrying from one warm haven to another, just as I am here.  Still, as I tromp through the gritty aftermath of several storms in my city, postcard-pretty pictures dance in my head and I think:  If it has to be winter, why not winter in Paris?

How about you ... what escapes fill your daydreams?

Paris photo via Pinterest.  Original source, fittingly enough: Reverie Daydream.  Suitcase via Design Elements.

A DREAMY ESCAPE

Snow came again to my Northeast city last night.  As bitter winds slap ice-encrusted branches against my office window I dream of jetting off to a secluded cove, wiggling my toes in soft pink sand edged by turquoise waters and sipping a frothy colada while a balmy breeze rustles my hair. Oh how lovely it would be ...

Thank you to the wonderful Roni Polisar and Rebecca Withers of the Smithsonian's Hirshorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, who in mere moments helped me identify this photo.  It's one of photographer Christian Chaize's series on Praia Piquinia, a  slice of heaven on the coast of Portugal.