Ike's Food and Cocktails

If you look up gluttony in the dictionary, it should direct you to Ike's to experience it at first hand. We were running some errands downtown, and didn't know what we were getting ourselves into when we walked into Ike's for brunch. The restaurant definitely gives off a New York Jewish delicatessen vibe, the place feels like an establishment that has been around forever, even though they've just celebrated their 10-year anniversary.

From the menu: "Our family-style parade of comforting fare starts with a gooey caramel roll as big as your head. Next, pick your entrée: a traditional eggs benedict, breakfast quesadilla, or eggs any way you want. Feel like an omelet? Trek through our omelet bar and pick your own fixings. With your eggs come flapjacks, thick sliced bacon, sausage and crispy hash browns. And we keep it coming until you say uncle."

None of that is an exaggeration. Apologies for the less-than-stellar cellphone snap shots, the restaurant was quite dim; mood lighting as they say. The caramel roll was as big as a loaf of bread. We both got the eggs benedict, and the middle platter is the family-style brunch fare.

We were about halfway through the meal, already feeling disgusted at ourselves, when the waitress came over and said, "I see you're getting low", and proceeded to dump another serving of pancakes, bacon, sausage patties and hash browns onto the platter. Unprompted. I probably had a look of horror on my face as Jamie said to her, "I think that'll do it for us." [He didn't say "uncle"! I was praying that the waitress got the hint and didn't bring us more.] Not wanting to waste all the food on the table, we forced ourselves to eat as much as we could, I think we gobbled everything except the toast and some hash browns.

The table next to us ordered a specialty bloody mary called The Weekender, and I desperately wanted to take a photo of their drink [much to Jamie's relief, it didn't happen], there were so many skewers and spears radiating from the glass, the whole thing looked ridiculous.

"A 20 oz. drink made to order with Smirnoff Vodka, Sacramento Tomato juice, Tabasco sauce, horseradish, L&P Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. The glass is rimmed with Kosher salt and Celery salt then garnished with a celery stalk, pickled asparagus spear and lime wedge. The whole thing is topped off with a skewer of pepperoncini, black olive, green olive, cocktail onion, baby dill pickle and American cheese. And, as if this weren't enough, it comes accompanied by another skewer of chilled shrimp and spicy smoked beef stick."

That's a meal in itself! I really don't get bloody marys, they sound kind of gross, but I guess some people like them.