Brunch-tastic!

Raymond's

http://www.raymondsnj.com
101 E Ridgewood Ave
Ridgewood, NJ 07450

Ridgewood is such a lovely town with a lot of little shops and great food gems. After driving through not long ago, we noticed a new addition on the corner of Ridgewood Avenue and Oak Street. We immediately pulled out our iPhones to google the restaurant (the one who was not driving of course). Raymond's already had one location in Montclair, NJ, of which the menus looked great and it had raving reviews. Next time we were craving breakfast/brunch we knew where we would go. We arrived relatively early for breakfast on a Sunday, 10:00 AM, so we did not have to wait in line. Raymond's has a retro feel to it with the vintage decor, old fashioned style bar, and old school soda bottles lining one wall. 

The menu isn't vast, but has a lot of unique offerings, including a breakfast burrito, and huevos rancheros.  Unfortunately we were Mexican-ed out from the night before, so neither of us wanted one of those options, but we saw them at other tables and they looked fantastic. We ordered a Raymond’s Omelette, in which you can choose two items and they came with home fries. We chose roasted tomatoes and sautéed spinach. They did not skimp on the spinach or the roasted tomatoes. The eggs were fluffy, the roasted tomatoes added a delicious sweetness to the omelet, and the spinach was cooked perfectly. We do have to say there were not too many potatoes on the plate, and they were just okay. 

We also ordered the french toast to share, which was served with Vermont maple syrup and fresh berries. Normally the berries come over the toast, but we ordered them on the side because one of us is allergic to strawberries. The french toast was absolutely the best french toast we've ever had. It was crispy on the outside and moist and creamy on the inside. 

Lastly, we ordered the Norwegian Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, potato cakes & herb hollandaise. The potato pancake was a novel update on a classic breakfast special. The smoked salmon was fresh and sliced to the perfect thickness. The herbed hollandaise was a great compliment to the entire dish, and we would order this dish over and over again. 

As we were leaving about an hour later, we noticed a line forming outside the door. With a few breakfast spot's within walking distance of Raymond's, they should all be put on notice for the new king of breakfast/brunch in Ridgewood.