since my moving to new york, i’ve learned that i love a good neighborhood bar and restaurant and in prospect heights there’s no better neighborhood spot than gertudes! gertrude’s a jew-ish, (jewish and european bistro) spot known for their open-faced bagels, gertrude’s bagel and seven layer cake!
for brunch, in addition to their bagels & schmear, i love a good breakfast potato and gertrude’s latkes ‘bar’ is a nice small bite to open the meal. a smoked fish with crème fraîche on a deeply fried latke. for a sweet brunch, the babka french toast made with thick slices of grilled chocolate babka topped with fresh fruits, candied nuts, powdered sugar & maple syrup was a delight. great way to close the meal.
as for dinner, as someone on the hunt for nyc’s best burger, i had to try the gertude’s and unfortunately it wasn’t for me. their burger is made with a crispy beef patty, swiss cheese, carmelized onion, lettuce and a special sauce on a toasted milk bun was a little too funky for my liking. however if you love pickled or fermented foods, i feel like this burger would be up your alley. to go with the burger i had wanted to try the smoked fish niçoise but they had switched it out for a smoked trout salad instead so i gave it a try. a grilled caesar salad with a housemade smoked trout caesar dressing that gave it a deeper and smoky, savory taste. surprinsgly not fishy at all and i really enjoyed it. gertrude’s is also known for the spaetzle with a rotating sauce so i give it a try. the ladt time i had it in germany i rmb not really liking it so i was also delighted that i liked theirs with a creamy asparagus sauce! cake, no notes!
overall a great spot for pre dinner drinks, family dinners with young or adult children, date night or solo diners! reservations are recommended but both times i went they had space for walk-ins too.
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on the table:
┬ latkes ‘bar’ w trout roe ($21 USD)
┬ the best bialy ($23 USD)
┬ the simple child ($15 USD)
┬ babka french toast ($23 USD)
┬ white americano ($14 USD)
┬ gertrude’s burger ($25 USD)
┬ spaetzle ($25 USD)
┬ smoked trout caesar ($26 USD)
┬ black & white seven layer cake ($20 USD)
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