Pete's Tavern, New York, N.Y. (Manhattan)

For brunch, Ian and I went to the historic Pete's Tavern, said to be the oldest continuously operating bar and restaurant in New York City.  Even during Prohibition, the tavern became a flower shop and was a notorious speakeasy.  Around a century ago, the tavern became famous as the location where writer O. Henry penned his classic short story, "The Gift of the Magi," a story I remember reading back in junior high school.

Since it was brunchtime, we both opted for daily specials.  Ian got the four cheese omelette and I got the artichoke and mushroom frittata, which was really quite good.  Both dishes came with home fried potatoes and warm blueberry muffins.  Oh, we also each got a free bloody Mary with brunch, too!

After our egg dishes, we were still a tiny bit hungry, so we decided to split a piece of "Oprah's Red Velvet Cake," a dessert allegedly made from Oprah Winfrey's recipe.  Now, I'm a bit of a fan of red velvet cakes, so I know a bit about them and how they are made.  This was a good effort, but the layers of cake were a bit overbaked, and, hence, dry.  It was still edible, but not worthy of carrying the name of a particular cajillionaire like Miss Oprah.

Still, it was fun being in a restaurant with so much history.