For several months now I’ve been wanting to try Cafecito Bogotá in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I originally heard about it on twitter and was instantly enamored by its incredible bottomless brunch deal and it’s uniquely Colombian menu…damn that Latin American charm. However, living in Manhattan doesn’t make a visit to Greenpoint incredibly feasible especially on weekends when travel effort for brunch is at a premium.
Now that the weather has warmed up a bit (cue the humidity!) and noting that the weekday breakfasts have some overlap with their brunch menu, I opted to give the little cafe a try during one of my early morning bike rides through Queens and Brooklyn. This was obviously fueled by the desire to try their food since the atmosphere and propensity for day drinking (who says you can’t have a cocktail at 9am??) is limited on weekday mornings.
I arrived bright and early, right at 8am as they were opening, which I think caught them a bit off guard. Nobody else really showed up until about 8:30am and everyone else was there to pick up some fresh brewed Colombian coffee or espresso and maybe a pastry or two to go. Feeling energized from my bike ride and looking to cool down a bit, I opted for the fresh squeezed maracuyá, or passion fruit, juice. It was extremely refreshing and had a nice tangy taste, not overly sweet like I was expecting.
For breakfast, I went with their popular Eggs Pericos, scrambled eggs with scallion and tomatoes all topped with a crisp strip of bacon. The eggs, though cooked well and presented beautifully on a plate shaped like a giant leaf, were a bit too heavy on the tomato for my taste and a bit under-seasoned, but nothing a couple dashes of salt couldn’t fix.
To complement the eggs, the dish is served with one of their homemade arepas con queso. It had all the elements of a delicious arepa, but unfortunately fell a bit short of expectations probably because it was a slightly cold and I could tell it just came out of the fridge. My gut tells me that circumstance played a role here as I don’t think they’re used to firing up the burners that early, so I’m going to give the arepas another shot for weekend brunch or dinner.
Speaking of which, Cafecito’s dinner menu looks just as delicious as their brunch menu. Plus, you can’t but help notice all the wine bottles behind the bar, all of which are South American, Spanish or Portuguese and very reasonably priced at $22-26 a bottle. Having only been there in the wee hours of the morning, I’m going to guess that the place livens up a bit in the evening when they break out the bottles.
All in all breakfast was alright, but I’ll be giving Cafecito Bogotá another shot during real brunch hours to give it a chance to shine like the cute little Greenpoint cafe I expect it to be.
Cafecito Bogotá – Arepa, Wine & Espresso Bar
1015 Manhattan Ave. (at Green St in Greenpoint)
Brooklyn, NY 11222
718-569-0077
New York City is the home to numerous young and energetic Team Fox members who all share a common goal – ending Parkinson’s Disease. The NYC Young Professionals was created to bring together these like minded individuals who are each touched by Parkinson’s and want to raise money in the fight against the disease.
