350080 Mon Dec 11 02:39:51 -0800 2006 0 18 Manhattan 0 2087827 Today, my boyfriend and I ventured over to Tribeca to have brunch at the newish Devin Tavern. They were recently voted top Blood Mary in NYC in Citysearch. It's odd to be having brunch in NYC at a new, upscale, spacious restaurant that smells of new construction when I usually go to somewhere tiny in the East Village or LES. There were only a handful of other people there; my boy and I shared a huge booth meant for four. The food, on the other hand? Great. We ordered waffles, eggs benedict, bacon, pork maple sausage, orange juice, and a Blood Mary. I was impressed by thinly sliced bacon, slightly crisp and charred irregularly on the edges, but juicy and pliable still in the center. A wonderful maple pork sausage (again, slightly charred) that had a wonderful sweet yet smoky flavor and that satisfying pop of the skin when you bite into the sausage. There was a man roving the floor with a complimentary bread basket: sourdough, muffins, croissants, other stuff. The croissant I had was so-so (not flaky or buttery enough) but the blueberry muffin had a good density (fluffy and not heavy or dry) and had a nice top to it. The muffin was on the smaller size but they're generous in offering you more. My boyfriend had a country ham eggs benedict which was nice (I liked the biscuit) but the poached eggs were a little bit too solid. I prefer them to be runny, like they're supposed to be. The crowning achievement of the meal was the waffles with a fresh fruit compote (and this was a serious compote: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, green apple, pineapple, melon) and strawberry butter. The strawberry butter was luscious and pared very well with the waffle. You know how sometimes you get waffles that are dry on the inside or heavy as a rock? This waffle was just a little fluffy, and had slight char marks, which was different from what I'm used to; it was fluffy and the batter had a really delicious taste to it that wasn't immediately apparent. I'm not sure how to describe it but the yum factor didn't show up until about 2 or 3 seconds into chewing. If it was a wine, you'd say that it finished well. The waiter warned us that the strawberry butter was great ("be careful, it eats like ice cream") and he was right. In any case, we didn't leave a single scrap of waffle on the plate, nor any fruit, and were wondering if it was gauche to ask to box up the strawberry butter. Oh, and the Bloody Mary? Also wonderful -- fresh tomato juice, freshly grated horseradish, very tangy and spicy. We were commenting on the spiciness of the horseradish as the bread guy came around, and he clued us into its freshness: apparently he grates it fresh every morning and it makes him cry. Dang. Fresh tomato juice AND fresh horseradish. I liked it a lot, and I don't even like Bloodys. My freshly squeezed orange juice but good but paled in comparison. All in all, we'll definitely be coming back. They only started serving brunch in September; I'm imagining it will soon be crowded as the word gets out. Devin Tavern 363 Greenwich St New York, NY 10013 212.334.7337 Mon Dec 11 02:39:51 -0800 2006 10936 kathryn