Allswell
Coffee
Pecan Pancakes
Crispy Chicken Sandwich
‘Hipster’ and ‘cute’ were never really words I associated until I walked into Bedford Avenue brunch and dinner spot Allswell on a warm Monday morning only to find the relative newcomer playing The Decemberists a bit louder than necessary in a room that looks somewhere between a country inn and a cabin in the woods…or perhaps the set of a Wes Anderson film with all sorts of homey wallpaper and lamps lining a the long wooden bar. Largely unoccupied save for a two other tables and greeted by a young woman named Adriana who, along with the bartender, represented the front of the house as Chef Smith and one other young man ran the kitchen it did not take long to peruse the concise menu and perhaps twenty minutes and a few cups of coffee later my two plates arrived; one sweet, one savory – both simple and both textbook “American” fare done well with the a split breast of juicy, crunchy chicken on a house made bun in one hand and an airy flapjack with just a bit of buttermilk plus a whole lot of pecans and pure maple syrup in the other. With a menu that changes daily based on the market and the chef’s whim Allswell is not out there to reinvent the wheel, but then again if you can nail the classics you don’t really need to.
