The Smith

Opened in 2007, The Smith quickly become an East Village hangout serving breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner every day. Opened by Glenn Harris and Jeffrey Lefcourt, owners of Corner Table Restaurants, who also owns Jane, an American bistro in Greenwich Village. All Corner Table Restaurants are committed to using local, natural, organic and sustainable ingredients.Located on 3rd Ave. between 10th & 11th Streets, The Smith offers seven amazing menus- one for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, drinks, Sunday brunch, drinks and delivery. I recently visiting The Smith for dinner and drinks with a few friends. The dinner menu has a great variety, definitely offers something for everyone from Mac + Cheese to Chicken Pot Pie. The menu is divided into six sections- Starters, Main Courses, Salads & Sandwiches, Steaks, Pasta and Sides. I ordered the Mediterranean Salad and really liked it but everyone else loved their entrees as well which included the Pork Chop (served with crispy potatoes, baby portobellos and bacon bordalaise) and Diver Scallops (served with asparagus, leeks, truffled, spring pea puree).
Also noteworthy are the drinks which included Muddlers, Fancy Cocktails, Long Pours, Bourbon/Whiskey, Draft and Bottled Beer. I loved both the Belini and the Blood Orange Mimosa.
The open atmosphere, casual classic American menu and late night hours reminded me of Cafeteria. (The Smith is open until midnight on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, 1am on Wednesdays and Thursday but open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.) FYI: Reservations are accepted and you may need them for dinner but not really needed for breakfast or lunch.

Toast Bakery Cafe

On the corner of 3rd & Harper Streets is Toast Bakery Cafe that serves delicious food from 7:30am until 10pm every day of the week, except for Thursdays. During all open hours patrons can order breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. Three other friends and I went to dinner here, from what we ordered I recommend the grown-up version of a grilled cheese called "Not Your Mom's Grilled Cheese" which consists of a blend of mozzarella and feta cheese with sun-dried tomatoes and basil; the Carrot-Ginger vegan soup, and the Tucson Salad (I asked for no grilled chicken and no buttermilk dressing) beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, basil, sharp cheddar, and crispy corn tortilla strips. Although I did not order dessert, I heard that the Red Velvet cupcakes are comparable to Sprinkles Cupcakes.
Additional notes: within the bakery cafe there is a clothing store, it was closed when I visited but I've heard it a good spot. Also, right across the street from Toast is Electric Karma, which is rumored to be the best Indian restaurant in LA.
Just saw this on UsWeekly.com... Shenae Grimes from 90210 frequents here!

Norma's at Le Parker Meridien

Located within Le Parker Meridien Hotel (on 57th St. near 6th Ave.), Norma's is definitely known as one of the best places to have brunch in NYC. Even though we had reservations the three of us waited for a good 30-40 minutes. Not to worry though, it was fun people watching.

I wanted to try a bite of almost everything on the menu which was categorized by clever headlines like "Mom Can't Make This" that included gourmet breakfast dishes like Caramelized Chocolate Banana Waffle Napoleon, PB&C Waffle 'Wich (chocolate waffle a peanut butter and toffee crunch filling), French Toast (super moist french toast with an orange infused Honey drizzle) and Breakfast Nachos (strawberry, banana and pineapple on tortilla chips drizzled with chocolate)- which, by the way, I do think my mom could make, in fact, I think I could make that and serve it at a breakfast and/or dessert party. ;)

(photo above is the Caramelized Chocolate Banana Waffle Napoleon)

"Somethin' Fruity" featured McCann's Irish Oatmeal Brulee (with sauteed green apples and red pears) which sounded pretty interesting and Crunchy Pecan and Macadamia Granola (with dried fruit and fresh berries) which I did have and it was probably the best granola I've ever had. It even kept me full all day and gave me plenty of energy for the Nike Human Race that evening.

"Benny Sent Me" lists five different style of Eggs Benedict while the "Egg Cellent" section showcased eleven different kinds of eggs including five different kinds of omelets and even The Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata which starts at $100 for the Regular 1 oz Sevruga Caviar and $1,000 for the Super size 10 oz Sevruga Caviar. (I seriously wonder how many people order this a year.)

If you're looking for an impressive someone with a memorable brunch I definitely recommend Norma's, just be sure to call ahead for reservations and be prepared to spend a lot of money. (On the plus side, it might be the only meal you eat all day. Haha)

Cafeteria NYC

What a fabulous spot, and it's open 24/7! Perf! Even though I don't like to repeat restaurants this may need to be a late night stop whenever I'm in Chelsea (17th St. & 7th Ave.)!

Despite its name, Cafeteria has been serving gourmet comfort food since they opened their clear garage-type doors back in June of 1998.
Four amazing ladies from M.I.S.S. Crew and I had lunch there this afternoon and loved it! Even though the hot spot is famous for their mac 'n' cheese we all decided for other delicious options on their menu including the Tomato Basil Soup with a Grilled Cheese Crouton (so good, and clever concept!), Yuca fries, Veggie Burger with Fries, Country Breakfast (two sunny-side up eggs, cheese grits, sausage, buttermilk biscuit and mixed greens), and Silver Dollar Pancakes (fresh berries and Chantilly cream).
All in all, this was a fun spot with great food at pretty reasonable prices.