Brasserie Jo - A Little Bit About a Lot of Things A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

January 4, 2011 Brasserie Jo

Located in the Colonnade hotel, Brasserie Jo is Jean Joho’s authentic french bistro. We come here every year on New Year’s Day for brunch. This year however, it was breakfast not brunch (because we went before noon).

A new feature this year was the make your own bloody mary bar by the front door. The restaurant is divided into a main dining area, the winter garden which looks out onto Huntington Avenue and the French bar. Brasserie Jo is popular with the pre/post theater crowd-come in and grab a Hopla, a draft beer from Alsace (the restaurant features dishes from Alsace) or sit at one of the cafe tables and have some profiteroles (which are excellent). Brasserie Jo also has two private dining rooms available for larger parties.

The place hasn’t changed much in the last 10 years-they have a pretty consistent menu and the decor is classic. We sit at one of the larger tables in the back. The service was just ok, our waiter was hard to find at times and our coffee cups were empty much of the time. The coffee here is excellent-really strong!

I have seen a bunch of celebrities here: Tracy Morgan, the late Julia Child, Val Kilmer, and a bunch professional athletes.

Usually, the food and service are excellent, but I have to admit that this year, both fell a little short. Most of us ordered omelettes with toast ($8.95). The toast was cold and the omelette was a lot of egg and not a lot of filling. On a side note, I do like the pancakes here as well as the French Toast with fruit. So, until next year Brasserie Jo, and I hope that when we meet again, the food and service will be better.