Brunch at Sugarfreak, Astoria

One Saturday this summer, Kiyo and I were all set to drive down to Brooklyn from Astoria and enjoy a nice day walking around, having brunch, etc. We walked to the car, chatting happily until we reached the spot where I’d parked, and it was nowhere to be seen. Turns out I had been towed, for being literally ONE INCH over the line of no parking. Enraged (well really only I was enraged, Kiyo was calm) headed to the subway, we but when we got there I realized I hadn’t brought my unlimited subway card (why would I have brought it when we thought we were going to drive around all day?) so I had to pay for a new ticket. Nowadays, this means $3.75, which for one ride seems totally excessive to me. We waited on the raised platform in the blistering heat. Finally, we boarded a subway only to realize it was running express that day, which meant it wouldn’t stop near the lot where we needed to pick up the car. So I’d bought the subway ticket for nothing. We decided to walk instead, but it was one of those insanely hot New York days that made walking more than one block feel like you’d been body-slammed into a burning brick wall. By this time I was verging on a full-blown, dehydrated and sweaty freak out (remember, we were supposed to have been able to hop into a nice air conditioned car and drive straight to brunch!). Kiyo did what any smart and quick-thinking boyfriend would do, and called an Uber car.

(You can tell everyone in the waiting room was just as excited to be there as I was)

We finally made it to the lot, about $30 poorer. Not only did we have to wait in line and then pay to retrieve the car, but they’d also slapped a big fat ticket onto the windshield. There’s nothing like sweating your a** off, being deprived brunch, and paying over $300 in fines to really ruin your weekend.

Once we finally had possession of the car once again, we decided to treat ourselves to an indulgent Southern style (and very late) brunch of comfort foods, at Sugarfreak. It did the trick. While the food wasn’t incredible, it was good. I drank some water and was able to calm down. We parked nearby and checked the parking signs 15 times.

Even though it wasn’t the best Southern food I’ve had, the adorable atmosphere and decor, as well as the creativity of the menu won me over. Kiyo’s sandwich had mac and cheese and fried chicken on it! That was really delicious but he only let me try a few bites. My jambalaya was good (with chicken and andouille sausage) and I loved the addition of eggs. Also to note, jambalaya is a great gluten-free option to have at a restaurant with a lot of fried foods. It was very spicy though, so if you don’t like it hot beware. I’d love to go back for dinner and try some of the interesting starters, such as the hush puppies or the “Debris and Cheese Fries” (beef gravy, beef “bits” and cheese sauce topped with jalapeño peppers).

Sugarfreak

Location: 3618 30th Ave. Astoria, NY 11103 Phone: (718) 726-5850