New York is one of those cities in which everything is larger than life; the towering skyscrapers, the stylish fashion scene, the famous Broadway stages and the world-famous American diner!
On our last day in New York, Oly, Frieda, Liv, Amy and I ventured off on the subway downtown towards 10th Avenue to go for an authentic American style brunch.
The Empire Diner is located at 210 10th Avenue, near Hudson Yards. This diner has been featured in multiple movies including Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Men in Black.
The outside appearance was exactly how I would have expected an old-fashioned New York diner to look; a black and white exterior surrounding a silver airstream structure.
As we sat down at our table the first thing my slightly hungover body was craving was coffee and a green juice! Whilst browsing the menu, we ended up all selecting one dish each to share between the five of us and it was such a great way to try five amazing brunch dishes! Below are two of my favourites from what we tried.
We asked our waitress for some recommendations before ordering, and the first thing she said that we had to order was something called ‘The Wedge’. The dish consisted of tomato, berkshire bacon, avocado, pickled onions, blue cheese, buttermilk dill dressing and croutons all served on top of a wedge of crispy lettuce. This was one of the best salads I have ever eaten. Granted, it probably isn’t the healthiest of salads but the flavours and the concept of the dish was fun.
I think the five of us wished we had ordered one each instead of one to share!
Moving on to a sweet dish we selected the Buttermilk Waffles. This had a chai mascarpone cream, toasted feuilletine, candied pecans and maple syrup all over it! Utterly indulgent would be the two words I would use if I could describe this dish. The waffles were light and fluffy but with a crunchy top and as someone who isn’t normally a fan of the flavour chai, the chai mascarpone cream won me over! Admittedly, I went back for a little bit more than my allocated portion.
The whole experience of the Empire Diner was simply lovely, from the friendly staff, the fantastic food and the beautiful old school interior. I will definitely be going back when I am next in town!