Alma

Alma is situated in Carroll Gardens right across the street from the water, and draws in customers with its three levels and rooftop seating. We came here with some of my family (Jennifer is now a member of the clan) to experience the views.

The menu is heavy on seafood and consists of modern Mexican food like guacamole, fajitas and margaritas. I order the Pollo Fajitas, which came with corn tortillas, beans, rice, guacamole and salad ($15.50). It was enough food but definitely not too much, and the chicken was grilled. Although it was fresh and thoughtfully put together, it was still lacking in flavor, largely due to (in my opinion) the chicken.

David ordered the enchiladas with mole sauce, which were pretty tasty from the bite I had and a ton of food. The general consensus is the real reasons for visiting this place are as follows: the guacamole, the margaritas, and the view. So if you’re in need of these three things, go! -Laurel

I had the pleasure of going to this restaurant in the pouring rain with Laurel's adorable family. While her family tried the tasty food of the day offerings, I opted for something a little more safe - fajitas. They were delicious, not the same run of the mill onions, peppers and optional meat that most Mexican restaurants dish from.

The atmosphere is relaxing and laid back as well - hopefully you'll get to sit on top and enjoy the view of the industrious landscape and a little bit over, lower Manhattan. And even if it rains, it's still an option - they have the perfect shades to protect you from the worst of tropical storms.

Laurel's family has been going here for years. They commented that they used to go all the time, but the menu changed drastically and it just wasn't the same, and they didn't go back for quite a while. However, good news! The menu seems to be back in order, as we all enjoyed it immensely. - Jennifer

Address: 187 Columbia St (Brooklyn, NY)

Website: http://www.almarestaurant.com/

Payment: Cash/Credit Cards

Take Out: Yes

Delivery: Yes

Open Late: Not really, til 11pm on the weekends

Large Group Friendly: Yes

Bar/Happy Hour: Yes, with tasty margaritas!

Teresa's Restaurant

Teresa's is located just a couple of blocks from my current digs, so I've gone here a couple of times when I've been in a "I-need-brunch-now-gimme-eggy-goodness" kind of mood. Jennifer and I have been here a couple of times, both after dancing around Brooklyn the night before. The restaurant is situated just a block or two from the promenade and offers some outdoor seating during permissive weather.

Teresa's actually specializes in Polish fair, with blintzes, perogies and similar dishes represented. They also offer standard diner-type options like salads, burgers, sandwiches, and, of course, breakfast. I ordered me up some challah french toast with sausage (about $6+$2). When it came, my eyes got big--it was huge! Big slices of grilled custard-dipped challah piled high with powdered sugar. It was sweet and there was lots of it. Definitely good french toast, and a hearty portion. The sausage was okay. Served it's purpose of adding some salt to the mix, but not much else.

I've never ventured beyond breakfast, which is served all day, but I trust the rest of the menu would be worth trying. It's homestyle cooking, and pretty reasonably priced. The setting is also homey and warm, and the crowd is a mix of all ages.

I'd suggest going here if you're nearby and in need of some homestyle favorites or some Polish classics. -Laurel

Just like Biscuits and Gravy seem to be our forte when it comes to Book Clubbin', Teresa's seems to be our next day spot when it comes to hanging out at The Rub at Southpaw in Park Slope. I've met Laurel here twice now and the place gave me exactly what I was craving - eggs, bacon, toast. It's not necessarily that impressive, but it's tasty and hits the spot.

Our dining companion opted for the blintzes and pierogies, which I tried and loved. I hadn't had too many pierogies in my day (and all the ones I had had were frozen), so these were fantastic. It actually put me in a little pierogi kick!

Either way, Teresa's is fast, the waitress is nice, and it's worth a trip from wherever I stayed in Brooklyn the night before. Wait, that sounds bad. It's worth a trip. Period. I'm actually craving a pierogi from there right now...or eggs. I think I'm going to go there. -Jennifer

Address: 80 Montague St (between Hicks St & Pierrepont Pl, Brooklyn Heights)

Website: Yelp

Payment: Cash/Credit Cards

Take Out: Yes

Delivery: Yes

Large Group Friendly: Yes

Bar/Happy Hour: Full Bar

egg

Egg is a small spot in Williamsburg that specializes in breakfast and lunch and some of it in the southern style. We decided to go here for a book club meeting and to snag us some biscuits.
The interior is long and narrow with a decent amount of seating (there are a couple of tables outside). We got there at about 10 and didn’t have to wait long, but rumor has it this place gets quite the line closer to lunchtime on the weekend, so plan accordingly.

Breakfast is served until 3 on weekdays and 2 on weekends, with dinner offered on weekends only. The menu includes biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and egg dishes for breakfast; mostly sandwiches for lunch. I, being the loyal southerner I am (well, when it comes to food, anyway), ordered the biscuits and sausage gravy.

The biscuits and gravy were good—the biscuits were very rustic, although possibly a little too rustic, as they were a bit burnt on the bottom. The gravy was peppery, which is how I like it, but may be too much pepper for some. The service was fine and the prices are standard mid-range amounts. This isn’t the best I’ve had, but I would visit again and eat some grits and country ham. -Laurel

We got here perhaps a little too early on Saturday morning...our intentions were to beat the lunch rush, but getting up early on a Saturday and dragging myself down to Williamsburg is not always ideal for me. Either way - I'm glad we made it.

I'm always in the mood for Biscuits and Gravy. In fact, I showed someone this blog recently and they said everything we ate was covered in gravy. I would say that's not true but I started thinking about how much I love things covered in gravy and I realized he was right. Not only that, but this was also our second book club meeting, and our last one was at Essex, where, oddly enough, we ate biscuits and gravy.

Something really amazing about Egg - they just bought their own farm where they are trying their hand at raising their own produce and may soon raise some animals. I'm really into self-sustaining places, so it's absolutely amazing what they're trying to do.

Either way, Egg is really small, but really cute at the same time. Like Laurel said, the gravy was peppery, which I don't like, and the biscuits were burnt, but it was filling and still quite tasty. Also, Davis was amazed by the French press coffee, so I suppose he gives this place a thumbs up (even though he's allergic to the title - NERD!). I dig Egg, and I suggest it. And even though it sucks, it's worth it to get up early on a Saturday, they were pretty busy when we left! - Jennifer

Address: 135 N 5th St (between Bedford and Berry Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Website: http://www.pigandegg.com/

Payment: Cash

Take Out: Yes

Open Late: Yes

Large Group Friendly: No

Bar/Happy Hour: No