Noho Star (330 Lafayette Street)

Sunday brunch is one of the most busiest time for most restaurants. There are a couple of cute restaurants on Bowery that I wanted to check out for brunch but it is amazing how many people are out on a early Sunday afternoon. I stopped by two cafes and they both had a 40-minutues wait. It was a beautiful day but definitely not warm enough to stand outside for almost an hour and I was not even sure how the food was because I have never been there. So I decided to go and check out Noho Star, a restaurant that I been to a long time ago and was told that they had great brunch. Luckily, there was no wait for the tables outside.

I scan through the menu and quickly realized everything on the menu sounded delicious, it was a tough decision but I went with the Brioche French Toast with fresh fruit ($15.00) and the House-cured Arctic Salmon with thinly sliced Bagel, Cucumber Ribbons and Horseradish-Lemon Cream Cheese ($15.75), as well as fresh squeezed orange juice and mint tea.

"I love the food at Noho Star, I used to come here every week before I moved downtown." Said Laura Song, a pharmacist.

Both entrees were amazing, extremely tasty. The brioche french toast was soft and and crispy in all the right places. When ordering the french toast, you can ordered it with just maple syrup or with fresh fruit. I usually prefer it with fresh fruit. The house-cured salmon was really really good. Now I'm not just saying this, but because I am such a fan of the Salmon bagel platter, I practically order that entree every other time I go out for brunch. So I know which restaurants have good salmon platter. I don't know how it happened but ever since I gave this weird and interesting dish a try. I thought it was a weird mix and did not think salmon and cream cheese on a bagel would be tasty since I only had raw fish as sashimi. I was hesitant to try at first but now I order it all the time, almost a little too often sometimes! I fell in love with the dish, it's one of my all time favorite now.

Anyways, the Salmon and bagel at Noho Star was a bit different. First of all, it was beautifully displayed on the transparent plate. Secondly, it was not the usual salmon, bagel, cheese cheese, tomatoes, and red onions which I am used to, and totally does not mind having the same time over and over again. This entree was unique. I especially liked that the bagels were thinly sliced into four layers which made it easier to share. The horseradish whipped cream cheese was delicious. Although I did miss the tomatoes and red onions, I did enjoy the side radish and cucumber. Sometimes different is good, it gave the salmon bagel a new and fresher taste. I enjoyed it very much.

Passing through after eating, the inside of the restaurant was pretty nice, the ambiance was descent. It was packed on a Sunday brunch which was no surprise.

"The food is very good here but it was an average looking place that was not particularly memorable." Said Pierce Liu, a wedding photographer based in New York City.

I guess I was pretty lucky to grab a table outside because it was such a beautiful day and the sun was shinning right above me so it was not cold at all. Working on my tan while having brunch. Although the restaurant is a bit pricy, the food was worth it! A relaxing Sunday afternoon can't get better than this. There were also other things on the menu that I would definitely want to try next time when I come back!