The Hungry Russian

Vinegar Hill House
72 Hudson Ave, Brooklyn 11201
(Btwn Front & Water St)

I’ve been hearing many good things about this place for quite some time now. Since I was already around DUMBO, I figured it would be a great time to finally see what this spot is all about. My friend and I decided on having brunch there. On our way there I remember thinking to myself that in all my years of living in NY, I’ve never been down this block before. I have to say I really loved the look of this place. Old, beat-up, and with a charming antiquated feel to it. My kind of place for sure!

French Press Coffee: I originally wanted a latte but I was told that they do not have an espresso machine. However, I was then informed that they do have French Press Coffee so of course I could not refuse. Please excuse my brief hipster moment. Not much else to say here except that the coffee was great. My only slight disappointment was that they do not have heavy cream which is something that I think is so much better than Half & Half or even whole milk.

Asparagus Omelet: Normally I am not a huge fan of omelets and I am rarely treated to what I think is a great omelet but this was an omelet that made me go WOW! By its name alone it sounds like an absolutely boring and bland dish, I mean how exciting can asparagus and some eggs be even though I really love asparagus. This was surprisingly fantastic! I don’t think I’ve ever had an omelet that felt so fluffy and airy. Wrapped inside the omelet was some brie cheese and several  asparagus spears. The combination of all 3 ingredients made this a really tasty omelet. You have the light sweetness of the asparagus plus its subtle crunch which gives a nice contrast in texture. The cheese added a nice buttery flavor as well. Avery deceiving omelet for which I expected utter blandness. I was definitely proven wrong. Man I could definitely put away 2 of these if I had the chance! 

Duck Egg Confit: This dish definitely reminded me of the Italian Eggs from Dizzy’s. Both dishes are quite similar however Vinegar Hill’s version uses an actual duck egg (instead of a chicken egg) and large pieces of fried bread (instead of small pieces of focaccia). I also do not think there is any cheese involved as was in the Italian Eggs. So you have your eggs sitting on top of large pieces of fried bread followed by a very moist and tender duck confit on the bottom. Almost forgot to mention the generous portion Sambal on the side of the duck egg. Sambal is essentially a hot chili sauce with a wonderful kick. If you have never had duck eggs before then I highly recommend that you try them. The yolk seems much richer and much thicker than a chicken egg and I think the flavor is somewhat better. The only thing I did not like was the fact that these pieces of bread were fried to a point where the bread became a little too hard. There were times I felt I was going to cut the inside of my mouth with these hard and sharp pieces of bread. The duck confit was also slightly a bit too salty but not a big deal overall. To fully experience the taste of this dish you need a piece of that fried bread. Add some duck to it and finally top it off with some egg and Sambal. Hopefully you won’t sever the inside of your mouth but even if you do, it’s damn worth it!

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Vinegar Hill House will most certainly be revisited by me again. I loved the old fashioned look and feel of the place and brunch was definitely delicious. Now I just need to sample some of their dinner offerings which I hear are quite amazing but we will save that for another time!