Food + Drink
BITE OF THE MOMENT: Your New Holy Grail of Bottomless Brunch is Williamsburg's de Mole
Rowdy crowds, all-you-can-drink watered down cocktails, and so-so entrees - New York City's typical "bottomless brunch" scene always seemed like a good deal, particularly in my early twenties, but that vision fell flat real fast. Nowadays I'm more inclined to enjoy more leisurely breakfast worth my time and money - but what if you could have the best of both worlds? What if you could find a brunch spot that had not only well-crafted bottomless drinks, but also food that you truly want to eat, and that you'd actually come back for, whether there was a brunch deal or not? Well, you guys - I've found it - I've finally found brunch's game-changer.
On the corner of Williamsburg's Hope and Roebling awaits de Mole, a sunny Mexican restaurant and your new weekend savior. Not only are the drinks bottomless, but - wait for it! - the food is too. I've been around the brunch block and haven't yet seen anything better than $45 per person for two hours of brunch, especially for food and drink of this caliber. If you are looking to stuff your self and get a buzz on, de Mole is the place to go. On the flip side, if you are only concerned with stuffing yourself, you can do bottomless food only for $35, which is still a pretty good deal.
On the boozy front, de Mole doesn't skimp on the alcohol, particularly with the selections - you've got your typical bellini, bloody Mary, and mimosas lined up, but there's also the more on-brand classic margarita, red and white sangria, and bloody Maria (tequila!). On the food side, dishes are shareable, so you can potentially attempt to sample everything, and with a big group, this is totally do-able. With our table of two, we tried strategically plan our dishes so that we could sample as diverse of a selection as possible, and ended up mainly choosing the staff recommendations - a home-run decision.
You can order as you go, and we started off slow, with a ramekin of Esquites - ashed corn mixed with a slightly spicy chipotle aioli and cotija cheese, plus Queso Fundido, a blend of gooey melted cheese served aside flour tortillas (that worked well stuffed with a spoonful of Esquites, FYI). The Sopes con Pato are a snack ideal for two to share, with two puffy corn tortilla dough rounds topped with duck confit, refried beans, lettuce, cotija cheese, and a spicy-sweet jalapeno fig marmalade.
Moving on to more generously sized plates, the "Platos Principales," the Carnitas Hash can certainly be a meal for one person, a hefty portion of slow roasted pork, potatoes, green tomatillo salsa, and perfectly poached eggs. The "de Mole" Benedict is certainly a Benedict with a Mexican twist, a beautifully plated tequila cured salmon and kale atop hefty slices of corn bread, topped with chipotle hollandaise sauce and more of those poached eggs.
We had our eyes on the tamale and chorizo sliders, but even with our eating strategy, our stomachs simply weren't roomy enough to accommodate everything we wanted to try, and we lost steam faster than we had anticipated. Two hours ended up mighty generous for what's on deck - we couldn't possibly stuff another morsel in us after one hour, which obviously means we'll have to come back to shovel down the rest of the menu.
Whatever your brunch style may be, de Mole can check whatever boxes you need it to, a rare New York gem that can truly accommodate anyone and everyone, as long as you love good food and fun. Whoever you are, I'm sure you worked hard all week - head over to de Mole this weekend for the brunch you want, and the brunch you deserve.
This meal was provided by de Mole (a restaurant we truly love!) - all opinions are our own.