good: Weekend-Only Banana Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Date 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:

  1. Lack of banana was my only complaint, so ration appropriately as you take a slice banana and bread.
  2. Rub your forked slice in some of the brown sugar.
  3. 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.

good

89 Greenwich Ave b/t 7th & 8th Ave.
New York, NY 10014
212-691-8080

14 Responses to “good: Weekend-Only Banana Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast”

  1. girl1 said:

    Nice review! I just want to add my two cents and mention that the cheddar jalapeno grits are delicious… I ALWAYS order them. I also loveeeee the cheddar corn bread- such a tasty treat to hold me over until the meal comes!

    Additionally, the prices seem moderate until the bill comes… I always end up spending more than I should at Good.

  2. VeggieGirl said:

    Oh my, that French Toast! Those pancakes! **swoons** Looks GOOD (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

  3. Celestialnyc said:

    i say sub the cheese for mayo.lol

  4. The NYC Food Guy said:

    Girl1,

    My meal for four ended up totaling around $60. Not bad for a nice brunch. I’m going to have to check out those cheddar jalapeno grits next time, they sound awesome as does the corn bread. Have you ever been there for dinner? Got any other great brunch spots?

    Veggie Girl

    You said it sister. This place is no joke and neither is your pun. Gotta do it. No love lost.

    Celestial,

    You’re nuts but what else is new. Have you made any creations lately?

  5. betazen said:

    That French Toast looks crazy good. Like now I have “Diabetes 2” good.

  6. The NYC Food Guy said:

    Betazen,

    It was even tastier than it looks. Make it happen. Go check it out.
    Any great meals for you lately?

  7. Banana Lover said:

    wow that french toast looks INCREDIBLE….. do you like crepes NYCFG?

  8. Before Sunrise said:

    I am on my way there now, I am considering the French toast because it looks so delicious, but not sure I will give into the temptation 🙂

  9. Before Sunrise said:

    Just got back and here’s my take (yes, I gave in to temptation): light, airy, delicious. I barely used the syrup because it was totally unnecessary, in my opinion. Now, I thought that maybe you were exaggerating about the lack of bananas, but after having tried it myself, I have to say that the lack of bananas nearly ruined things for me. I don’t get it, why ration bananas??? It would have been much better if there were about 3 slices of bananas per slice of bread instead of 1 to 1. Even though I really enjoyed it, I didn’t finish it, too big!

    Great tip, Food Guy. Thanks.

  10. Sweet Freak said:

    But isn’t it called “Banana cream cheese french toast”? Why skimp on the bananas?? Buzzkill.

    I’m telling you guys… bananas foster french toast at JoeDoe. You won’t be disappointed.

  11. The NYC Food Guy said:

    Before Sunrise,

    I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the meal but I’m disappointed they haven’t fixed the lack of banana problem. You made the right move not using the syrup.

    Sweet Freak,

    I’m going to try to check out the Banana Foster FT at Joe Doe ASAP. You want to meet up and take part?

  12. Sweet Freak said:

    NYCFG,

    I would love an encore of JoeDoe’s french toast, but I’m out of town the next two weekends… if you haven’t indulged before then, let me know.

    FYI – Went back to JoeDoe for dinner, and it’s equally charming and delicious.

  13. The NYC Food Guy said:

    Sweet Freak,

    Sounds good. I’ll be in touch. What did you have for dinner?

  14. johnette said:

    If you were to list the top 10 traditional foods of New York state, what would they be?

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