good: Weekend-Only Banana Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

May 16, 2008

Is your mouth watering yet? If there weren’t so many great brunch spots on my to do list I wouldn’t feel guilty going back to good for their deliciously sweet and decadent Banana Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast ($12.75).

Ah the woes of NYC Food Guy. What makes this dish even harder to pass up is that it’s only available for brunch two days a week: Saturday from 11AM to 3:30PM and Sunday from 10AM to 4PM. If you have a curious mind, you’re probably wondering how this dish breaks down and how rich it really is. Read on for those answers and a look at some crispy home fries, airy toasted almond pancakes, and a great way to upgrade the already delicious Pepper Jack & Bacon Club.

One of my loyal readers, Stephanie, recommended Good as a great West Village brunch spot. Once I spotted the Banana Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast on the menu, I made a mental note and foraged on with other eating adventures. When I finally ate brunch at the homey, airy restaurant on Greenwich Street, the French Toast mainly surpassed my expectations but fell short in one department: abundance of banana.

Confectioner’s sugar, soft brown sugar, and sliced ripe banana covered the fluffy, griddled bread and provided a level of sweetness that made the syrup, which tasted like honey, totally unnecessary. The de-crusted white bread tasted like Mom’s French toast, griddled in nothing more than an egg wash, and was stuffed with a mixture of airy whipped cream cheese and mashed ripe bananas.

Here’s the plan of attack I recommend:

Lack of banana was my only complaint, so ration appropriately as you take a slice banana and bread.
Rub your forked slice in some of the brown sugar.
Eat, enjoy, repeat.

The Banana Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast was so delicious because of the quality of ingredients, the balance of flavor, and surprisingly light nature of the entire dish. As I said before, the syrup is sweetness overkill, so use at your own risk. The true key is the understated flavor of the well-griddled bread which allows the creamy stuffing and brown sugar to take center stage. I strongly recommend this and after seeing and tasting the remaining dishes, I’d definitely go with it again.

Roasted Turkey, Pepper Jack & Bacon Club with Herb Mayo… Upgrade to Grilled Chicken

My sister was in the mood for a grilled cheese but since she’s not a huge fan of Cheddar or Pepperjack, the only cheeses offered, I suggested she ask to upgrade the Roasted Turkey Club ($14) to a Grilled Chicken Club (+$1). The waitress happily obliged and my sister thoroughly enjoyed her sandwich. She credited the herb mayo for adding a great flavor overall and commented on the solid construction of a traditionally messy sandwich. Personally, I wouldn’t spend $15 on a club sandwich, especially one that comes with mixed greens not fries, but the portion size at good was ample and the sandwich overall was enjoyed. If I did want a sandwich in the West Village, however, I’d go to Faicco’s Pork Store for an Italian Hero.

Vanilla Buttermilk Pancakes with toasted almonds, orange butter, and syrup

My mom is always on the hunt for great pancakes, a search that usually manifests in mediocrity. This was the result with the Vanilla Buttermilk Pancakes ($12). While airy and light, these pancakes didn’t impress. The vanilla flavor was undetectable and the honey-flavored syrup didn’t really enhance. The toasted almonds were the best touch, adding the only real flavor and a nice crunch. I’d pass on these.

Egg White Omelet with Broccoli, Tomato, and Goat Cheese

If you’re a loyal reader of NYCFoodGuy.com, you’ll know only one person deserves credit for the presence of omelets on my site. This is “my lovely date”, of course, who is now much more than her name intends, but we’ll leave it at that. Either way, there’s only two $12 pre-designed omelets on the menu. One features roasted red pepper, leek, and cheddar. The other mushroom, broccoli, and scallion. My lovely date created her own omelet ($12) with egg whites (+$1.75) and said it suffered from too much goat cheese, which melted in pools throughout the eggy pocket. The home fries, however, were awesome. They were crispy and flavorful, two things most restaurants seem to forget about. Skin-on and lightly fried with chopped onion, a side of home fries, either regular or spicy smoked chile ($3.50), would be a good move, no pun intended.

The only disappointment for me, aside from lack of banana on the French Toast, was the Iced Coffee ($3.75), which for the price provided maybe 4 hearty sips.

I can’t resist the Zagat-like urge to call good’s namesake an “understatement”. good is simple great. Perfect for families, kids, or a date. As you can see from the photo, it offers some prime al fresco dining if you can snag a table. We waltzed right in and sat comfortably in the airy dining room. Good ingredients, good atmosphere, and moderate prices. Certainly a recipe for success be it brunch, lunch, or dinner.