Tandem: Bushwick Brunch Surprise

Last Sunday, at around 3pm, Zach and I finally pulled ourselves out of bed and out of the apartment for brunch--a favorite, but unfortunately infrequent, weekend pastime of ours. Blame it on our mismatched work schedules, neglected household chores, or the fact Zach usually doesn't make it home from the Friday/Saturday night shifts until after 2am, but the net effect is that we don't get out much during the weekend's daylight hours (particularly in the winter when those are in short supply).

This time we had to venture out to refill our barren fridge and cupboards, which hadn't a scrap of bread or lone egg by which to make ourselves a breakfast. Sometimes even that's not enough to get us out of the house, as long as we have coffee. But having finished our regular Brooklyn-roasted brew, our supplies were really low, so we took it as a sign to catch up with one of our favorite Bushwick restaurants, and one of the best brunches around.

Walking down Troutman, however, we were reminded of another excellent Bushwick eatery--which I had first visited with the lovely gentlemen that operate this Bushwick gallery, but where Zach had never eaten. Primarily a small-plates and inventive cocktails kinda place, we weren't sure that Tandem even served brunch, but the sign outside both confirmed that and advertised their weekly happy hour special--a tallboy of PBR and shot of whiskey for $4. We decided to postpone our NE Kingdom reunion in favor of a more thorough investigation.

If you aren't looking for it, you might miss Tandem. It's tucked away on a completely residential Bushwick block, a couple south of the (slightly) more populated stretch of Wyckoff between the Dekalb and Jefferson L stops. When you do find it though, the first thing you'll notice is that it's beautiful. From the psychedelic/geometric tiles handmade by owner Jane Virga, to the warm wood paneling and gorgeous vintage bar, the place exudes a broken-in charm that's equal parts modern and old-world. Trendy enough for the Shwick's arty clientele, but not inhospitable to us decidedly non-hipster types.

While we didn't partake in the bar menu during this brunch, I can vouch that their mixology is both excellent and unique. Their offerings change with the seasons, and over the summer I had a delicious raspberry/rosemary concoction--one of the numerous fresh herb cocktails listed. The only beverage we were interested in was coffee, which came in individual french presses (Zach was especially happy about that detail).


Like their evening menu, the brunch items were limited to a few options with really good ingredients. Zach ordered the biscuits and gravy, which came with two eggs a la mode. I ordered the eggs strata, which came with my choice of two sides. In an uncharacteristic move for anyone that knows my gag reflex for bitter greens, I went with the kale and the lemon-scented quinoa. Having eaten there once before, I had an instinct that the Tandem folks could teach me to love kale, and I was not disappointed. Lightly tossed in olive oil and parmesan, the crunchy kale and lemony quinoa would have made an adequate breakfast all by themselves (maybe with an egg on top). And the strata--eggs baked with canadian bacon, gruyere, and bread--tasted just like a casserole my mom used to make for Christmas breakfast when I was little. Zach's biscuits and gravy were the real deal--rich, bacony awesomeness (but frankly, I was more interested in my kale conversion).

For all that, our whole bill was less than $30, and we left completely satiated and ready for groceries. Definitely worthy of our regular patronage, we'll see if we can get out of bed early enough next time to actually call it a breakfast ;)


Tandem, 236 Troutman Street, Brooklyn, 718.386.2369
*The photo of the bar is via Tandem's Facebook page.