The Couch Sessions

When family visits, this usually means you're going to eat, and you're going to eat really, really well. My birthday plus Mother's Day meant that we needed a brunch spot that would not mess around. Having just opened about two months ago, Redwood Kitchenette & Bar has already manifested itself as my new Chelsea staple.

Redwood is the restaurant that, if you could, you would live in it. It's bright and sunny, and the walls open up to let the breeze in, perfect for Sunday’s beautiful weather. The bar is set up in an Airstream trailer, adding to the retro-nostalgic feel of the place, and the outside dining area is even surrounded by a white picket fence.

It has that kitschy diner-y feel down pat without being too over-the-top, especially in the food: all the dishes are classic American comfort foods with a couple modern twists. Starters were drinks (mimosas and beer – we had to celebrate!) plus their house-made fries and crispy onions.

Three out of four of us had steak and eggs ($17), because really, how can you turn down steak and eggs? Whoever made it socially acceptable to eat steak in the morning needs to be immediately inducted in to sainthood. Redwood's unique take on the dish is a fried poached egg, with the steak resting atop fingerling potatoes and asparagus.

We also welcomed an egg sandwich to the table, with roasted tomato, cheddar, rosemary aioli, all stuffed in a house-made potato roll ($12 - normally comes with ham, this was the vegetarian version). The kind of egg sandwich with insides that spilled onto the plate with every bite, but so good you don’t mind being messy.