SWEET MELISSA, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Always on the lookout for outdoor dining, I found that of my favorite patisseries serves brunch in their lovely backyard garden. Sweet Melissa is my go to spot for cakes, cookies and ice cream now, I love it for brunch too. Take a look...

COBBLE HILL: CHAR no.4

This one is up there on the top of my list for best Brunch spot. Char no.4 always hits the spot. Right off the F train on the Bergen stop, specialize in Whiskey, thick slabs of bacon, and buttermilk biscuits. There is a bar up front showcasing the 150 American Whiskies.
The vibe is smokey, homey, modern, and super delicious. It's worth every penny and every calorie. You must go and try the Bourbon Bloody Mary. Also, the French toast with bourbon glazed bananas and vanilla cream just melts your stresses away. Another one of my favorites on the menu is the poached egg with bacon cheddar grits. I never loved grits until I came to this place... and now.... I dream about them.

Watty & Meg

That whipped cup of heaven tastes like, butter, honey and whipped cream combined. Plus free buttermilk buiscuts, need I say more. Mmmmm.... Go to Watty & Meg.

Cobble Hill: Bocca Lupo

Turns out our favorite little dinner spot has an amazing brunch too! Bocca Lupo is an intimate little Italian restaurant in Cobble Hill on the corner of Henry and Warren. The have a long list of bruschetta and paninis that we usually order for dinner, but in the case of brunch you can choose

from various gourmet frittatas, baked eggs and decadent sweets. It's not usually over crowded and the atmosphere is downtown chic, with a very "cosy" elements. A side note, but none the less important - the coffee gets an A+ too.

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE : Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes

On a blustery winter day, breakfast in bed is sometimes the perfect way to spend the morning. This weekend we stayed in, curled up in bed, and enjoyed Cottage Cheese Pancakes. So, without further adieu, here's the recipe for my current favorite, high-protein-yet-super-sweet, meal:

**Note to self, this is a healthy recipe:). To keep it healthy, don't smother your pancakes with high-fructose syrup. Try Agave Nectar instead. It's sold a sweetener however as a Breakfast Pro., I think it works perfectly for syrup. It's usually made organically and is low on the glycemic index.

For Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes you will need:

1/2 cup flour, whole-wheat pastry
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cottage cheese, low-fat
slightly less than 1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, stir together flour and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, milk, eggs, and honey. Stir wet ingredients into dry ones.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium. Working in batches, drop pancake mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into pan. Individually place about 10 blueberries in each pancake. Cook until bottoms are set and tops have small bubbles, about 1 minute. Turn pancakes and cook until just firm in the center, 1 to 3 minutes more. Repeat.

Now... get back into bed!