New York City's Balvanera Debuts Argentinian Brunch On Lower East Side

Last weekend, in celebration of Easter and to kick off spring, chef Fernando Navas debuted an all-new brunch at Balvanera.

The new menu, offered on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., offers diners a prix fixe Argentine-style brunch feast for $25 per person as well as a la carte dishes from the new spring menu. Some highlights include "80 Golpes," an Argentine play on American monkey bread; dulce de leche panqueques with burnt caramel and berries; and a breakfast bowl of quinoa, roasted squash, avocado, radishes, and farm eggs.

The Brunch table was weighed down with grilled provoleta (provolone cheese) with tomato confit, oregano, honey, and pepitas; empanadas (one each of hand-cut roast beef with hard-boiled egg, onion, fresh chimi; and humita with sweet corn, roasted red pepper, provolone, and aji amarillo); and three Tabla de Carnes, skirt steak, ribeye, filet, chorizo, and morcilla served with classic sauces and fresh greens and papas rotas (fried potatoes with paprika & garlic aïoli).

On Sundays, Buenos Aires-born guitarist Juan Soria will play live music and be accompanied by vocalist friends between noon and 3 p.m.

Balvanera takes its name from a historic barrio, or neighborhood, of Buenos Aires where poets, musicians, and creatives once convened.

Editor's tip: Leave room for the torrejas, brioche soaked in something wonderful and topped with dulce de leche and berries. In fact, you may just want to have it as your main. It's brunch, so you can get away with things like that.

For more New York City Restaurant stories, click here.