After flipping through my Zagat and Michelin guides, surfing the net, trying to book via 
opentable.com and making many phone calls, I discovered that most brunch places open at 10 am on Sunday. Thank goodness Friends of the Farmer is an anomaly, opening on Sunday (and Saturday) at 9:30am and serving brunch until 3:30pm.
It’s a cozy, country cafe, with no wait if you go early. Do, though, expect to stand in long if you go after 11:30am. Coffee ($2.25) is served in large French Press, which we enjoyed as we awaited our selections.
The restaurant serves their Eggs Benedict ($13.95) — poached eggs & Canadian bacon on an english muffin topped with hollandaise sauce — in a cast-iron skillet along with home fries.
I splurged (calorie-wise) on their Boomer Special ($15.95) consisting of scrambled eggs, with a choice of french toast, buttermilk or pumpkin pancakes and a choice of bacon, ham or sausage. I chose the slightly dry pumpkin pancakes and non-fatty slice of ham.
77 Irving Place New York, NY 10003
212.477.2188
Open Mon-Thu 8am-10pm; Fri 8am-11pm; Sat 9:30am-3:30pm, 5pm-11pm; Sun 9:30am-3:30pm, 5pm-10pm
To attempt to walk off some of that hearty breakfast, we walked from Irving place down to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex on 76 Mercer Street in SoHo, an experiential technologically advanced exhibition focusing on the greatest moments in rock history.
I’ve always loved the music, but almost can’t ID more than a handful of singers. Yes, I am musically challenged, neither knowing rock singers nor their song name.. I thoroughly, though, walking down memory lane with headphones on that changed songs as I changed displays. The museum features artifacts from Springsteen, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and more, with a special featured exhibit: John Lennon: The New York City Years.
If you’re vising NYC, make it a point to go there this holiday season as the Annex closes Sunday, January 3rd.
– bonnie
Regarding Friends of the Farmer: Do they plate the Eggs Benedict after bringing it out in the iron fry pan — or do you actually eat from the pan? Given iron’s porousness and its heat retention, it doesn’t seem like it would be a happy experience to dive directly into the skillet for breakfast.
The R&R Hall of Fame Annex sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for reporting on it.
Hi Sue! Thank you so much for your interest in Bite of the Best. I actually had the (rare) opportunity to dine with Bonnie at ‘Friends of the Farmer’, and I was the one that ordered the Eggs Benedict (an absolute favorite of mine!). The iron pan was not entirely for presentation; the dish was served (and eaten) from the iron fry pan, but it was not overly heated. It seems that the fry pan was likely popped in the oven with the potatoes, muffin and bacon while the eggs were poaching.. the pan was warm, but not too hot to eat from… definitely worth a try!