With Mother’s Day just around the corner, the all-important question looms: What do mothers want? When you live at the One Manhattan Square condos, the answer is obvious: they want brunch in your Downtown NYC neighborhood, and they want it to be an event where both the food and the atmosphere reflect the culinary diversity and cultural history of the Lower East Side. Here, there is no single brunch ideal, but a plethora of establishments with Jewish-, Italian-, and Asian-influenced cuisines, all helmed not only by cutting-edge chefs but by visionaries who know that opening their doors in such an iconic place means becoming a part of the story of the neighborhood.
Russ & Daughters didn’t just help shape that story—with four generations of the Russ family having run the place since it opened in 1914, it’s more than the platonic ideal of the New York bagel with lox—it’s a showcase of what classic New York-via-Eastern-European Jewish food tastes like when every ingredient is of the utmost quality. There’s nothing that pampers the palate quite like their plate of softly scrambled eggs served with Siberian Baerii caviar and fresh challah.
Another neighborhood legend, albeit a somewhat more recent one, is Clinton St. Baking Co., which offers classic American brunch fare with a New York twist. They have everything from latke eggs Benedict and huevos rancheros to chocolate chunk pancakes, a stellar buttermilk biscuit, and a roster of drinks like the Bellini (made with Prosecco and fruit puree) that give the best possible comfort food a touch of elegance.
For a real taste of neighborhood ambience, head to Forgtmenot, a restaurant and bar whose quirks include a surf-shack decor and an owner who you might find delivering his wares through the streets on his own skateboard. It’s a celebratory atmosphere with a very Downtown-casual vibe. Try the eggs Mitchell with scallion, feta, and sourdough toast and split an order of Hootsla—small French toast nuggets with maple syrup.
While brunch is a classic Mother’s Day favorite, you can also take things up a notch with dinner in Nolita at Michelin-starred Musket Room, where there are two equally stunning tasting menus: one for vegans and one for omnivores. This ultimate meal-as-experience includes original dishes like sweetbreads with muscat grapes, cauliflower, and hazelnuts or lobster with sunchoke and chamomile. You’ll end the meal with goat cheese mousse with blackberries, buckwheat, and goat butter, a combination worthy of a woman who deserves an elevated pampering, which, luckily, is only steps away from One Manhattan Square. Contact the team to learn about all the ways you can celebrate at OMS.