Burke & Wills - Brunchin' Aussie Style

A few of my girlfriends and I were looking for a place on the Upper West Side to have brunch. As we were browsing the Internet, we noticed that most of the UWS places don't take reservations during brunch, which is really inconvenient when you are a larger group and also have a baby with you. I think at this stage in our lives, we are past waiting an hour to be sat at a trendy place. 

In our searches on Google, we came across Burke & Wills (226 West 79th St., New York, NY), which is actually the same owner of the previous Sunburnt Calf, and they were willing to take reservations!!! Burke and Wills is now the grown up version of the Sunburnt Calf with an updated classy atmosphere, fancier menu, and no all you can drink brunch special, keeping the rowdy rif-raf patrons away. 
The brunch drink menu was more interesting and exciting than a lot of the typical brunch spots, because it featured a Build Your Own Bloody Mary bar. The bar didn't just have different garnishes, but it also had different mixes, liquors, and rims to choose from.

Build My Own Bloody Mary!

The bartender manning the Bloody Mary station was extremely helpful and willing to let us all try each rim, and also each mix before deciding which one we wanted for our drink. I chose the Kaffir-lime infused rim and chipotle mix with vodka liquor. For the garnishes, they had so many choices! We were given a stick and we were allowed to take as many garnishes that fit onto the stick! I chose pork belly, shrimp, and a spicy red pepper. They had plenty of olives, celery, and other garnishes to choose from as well. The pork belly was definitely one of the highlights of my drink, along with the chipotle mix, which was just the right level of spicy. I would definitely return for this station again, since it was a lot of fun to compare with each other what we each chose for our garnish.

Swagman's Breakfast-
2 eggs, hanger steak, pork belly, roasted mushrooms, potatoes

For my meal, I got the Swagman's Breakfast, which was definitely the highlight of the table! It was similar to a full English Breakfast in style, but so much more gourmet! The hanger steak was cooked to perfection with a red center, which is the way I love my steak. The pork belly was a nice addition to the dish, even though I had already enjoyed it on my bloody mary. The roasted mushrooms were plentiful and cooked with the perfect texture and flavor. Oddly, the mushrooms were one of my favorite parts of this dish because they really added so much extra flavor to the dish. The potatoes were nice and thick cut. The side salad was marinated very lightly and added the needed freshness to this dish since it was so hearty and heavy otherwise. The eggs I ordered sunny side up, and they were cooked perfectly.

If I need a brunch in the UWS, this is definitely at the top of my list! It was convenient, low key, and delicious!