The Blue Rinse Set Descends on Ed's Chowder House

Paté escargots soup de jour
cordon bleu chic coiffure
fait accompli maison
crème de menthe Marcel Marceau
meringue blancmange Bardot
gauche gay Paris garçon
gendarme agent provocateur

from Greg Champion's, "The French Song" Click to play

"For A Horse You Did Alright, Ed. But For A Chef You Fell Short."

Britton B. reviewing Ed's Chowder House on Yelp

How do you say brunch in french i mean the tree brunch?

Question from a dyslexic on wiki.answers.com

French toast a Ed's Chowder House

It's been ages since I last had brunch with other human beings. The last one I remember was at an Indian-British restaurant somewhere in lower Manhattan (Too Kool for School), almost two years ago.

Not that I don't "do" brunch. I have brunch quite often. By myself. I take my Kindle along for company. I don't find Manhattan a very social place. At first I though that not being social was a Manhattan thing. More recently I've questioned this assumption. It's probably me. Well that's what someone emailed me. Then again, perhaps I'm over-sensitive. Over-sensitive or unpopular? Which one? Whatever.

Actually it is hard to get people together here. But this weekend a grand effort was made by four people and we all met at Ed's Chowder House on the Upper West Side.

Poached Eggs with Spinach, Crabmeat and Hollandaise

Like a good New Yorker, I'd done my homework and researched the place. Reviews on the web were mixed. One noted that the place was full of old people over 65. Good, I thought, we'll seem young. Although a quick addition of our ages produced a grand total of 259! O my god. Readers please note that one of us (not me) is EXTREMELY old.

I've got a good mind to say something to him when next we meet! Talk about skewing the average!

We were all rugged up for the chilly Manhattan weather. It was a snowy and windy day and it took us some time to shed our outer layers and to settle into our booth. I looked around - the place was nicely decorated and spacious.

As for the other patrons, the reviewer who noted the age of the diners at Ed's was spot on. Not a young person in sight and the place was packed.

Fish 'n Chips

Service was good - prompt and polite. I opted for fish and chips. Strange choice for brunch but I always choose it if it's on the menu as it's a rare dish in this city. I asked and was told the fish was striped bass, and fresh. It was. Everyone else ordered traditional brunch dishes.

The most remarkable was the French toast which came in the form of a large cube. Obviously the chef at Ed's is not a follower of Gordon Ramsey who likes his dishes simple. I can just envisage him on his show, "Kitchen Nightmares" pulling the cube apart and saying "Holy Mackerel".

Still it was pronounced to be excellent by the orderer, a person not given to false compliments.

I recommend Ed's Chowder House. Especially if you are of a certain age. You will leave with a spring in your step. There's nothing like being in a room of very old people to make one feel young.

And as my friend noted, "Sixty is the new thirty".

If only!