The Shady Lady is indeed a bit shady. I came to this conclusion mostly because it doesn’t have a website, which in 2013 is pretty strange. Also shady is the fact that they slip whisky into some of their French toast dishes (shady and either stupid or brilliant; I have yet to taste it).
Please note in the image above that they serve pancakes that contain chocolate chips, bacon and bananas, with caramel syrup. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a pancake, and why don’t more places serve it?! I have a friend who tries to order chocolate chip pancakes at every brunch we go to, and you’d be surprised at how many places do not keep a bag of chocolate chips handy. I’m extremely impressed by The Shady lady’s ability to accurately predict how we want our pancakes: loaded with salty sweetness. I am definitely ordering those next time.
After feeling guilty and self-conscious for about two seconds before promptly dismissing the warnings from the small part of my brain that makes responsible decisions, I ordered the “back to bed mac & cheese.” If you think it’s called that because the gooey, rich, creamy cheesiness of the thing will make you turn around and head straight back to bed post-brunch, then you’d be 100% correct. Topping it with a fried egg is really what qualifies it as brunch; slap an egg onto anything and it can be called brunch food. This was a pretty small portion for a restaurant meal, but good thing it wasn’t any bigger because eating not even the whole dish almost knocked me out. I added a little Tabasco, and it was heavenly.
Kiyo had the fried chicken which came on a biscuit, topped with bacon and sausage gravy – meat on meat on meat, in the best way possible. It’s not pleasant to look at but it was absolutely delicious. If my mac and cheese hadn’t weighed me down so much, I would have stolen more than just one bite of his dish. Both of our entrees came with coffee and a cocktail (mimosa for me, bloody Mary for him) which proved to be a good value. We will probably be back, but I should probably try to get in some more exercise before then.
The Shady Lady
Location: 34-19 30th Ave, New York, NY 11103 Phone: (718) 440-9081
Tagged: alcohol, Astoria, bacon, beverages, biscuits, biscuits and gravy, Bloody Mary, breakfast, breakfast and brunch, brunch, cheese, coffee, egg, eggs, fried chicken, fried egg, hot sauce, Kiyo Egashira, macaroni & cheese, meat, mimosa, New York, pasta, restaurant, sausage, Tabasco, The Shady Lady, weekend
