Every Sunday, as you roll out of bed and head to brunch, Bwog will be doing the same. Except we’ll be writing about our brunching experience in hopes of improving your next one. Bwog’s Sunday Brunch will run every Sunday. 

The Place: Community Food & Juice

The Location: Broadway between 112th and 113th

Expect to Spend: ~ $20 per person

Know this: At Community Food & Juice—the newest (well, second-newest) addition to the stretch of Columbia mainstays south of 116th on Broadway—you will wait. On a Saturday or Sunday morning, be prepared to wait for around 45 minutes for a table. And expect to wait another 10 to 15 for a waiter to come to your table. And then another half an hour for your meal to arrive. 

Whether all the waiting will be actually worth your while depends largely on what you order and how you feel about paying $3.50 for coffee. (Bwog was not too pleased, though the coffee was delicious and there were free refills.) The restaurant has all the affectations of a West Coast smoothie shop—minimalist interior, the ampersand in the name, the infuriating inclusion of a juice bar that takes up an absurd amount of space yet seems to serve no purpose—but it seems like the unhealthier the menu item, the better it is.



The blueberry pancakes were soft, hot and wonderful, and come with delicious homemade maple butter, “which has the consistency of a not-sticky syrup,” opined Bwog’s brunching companion. Bwog’s mouth watered at the sight of the brioche French toast, which comes with caramelized bananas and roasted pecans. In fact, we observed it to be the most popular item ordered during our (very long) brunch.

Moving towards the slightly healthier fare, the omelet ingredient selection was diverse—chorizo, double-smoked applewood bacon, fontina are a few examples—but the chefs tend to use way too much cheese, which overpowers all other omelet ingredients and makes the meal almost too rich to enjoy. Though also on the healthy side is the brûléed grapefruit, which is a favorite of Bwog’s brunching companion.

Community Food & Juice is a nice choice for whenever your generous, patient parents come to visit, but for half the price, half the wait, and basically the same quality of food, Deluxe is a better, if a bit more boring, option.