I'm sure this does not come as a shocker to any of you, but in my relationship I pretty much control all the cooking and eating out options. I mean, that's only right...right? However, its always refreshing when my boyfriend receives a recommendation for a place to enjoy a meal. The only thing he heard about Jack's Wife Freda was that the duck bacon was to die for. Therefore I was sold at "duck." If you live in New York, you've heard of Jack's Wife Freda. It sits near the awkward intersection of Lafayette, Spring, and Kenmare Streets. Tiny restaurant, seats possibly 20 people in doors and maybe 6 people outdoors. The wait is always incredible so sitting outside looks like the worst seats since everybody will be wading around you and bumping into your back while you enjoy your duck bacon.
Our wait was easy 45 minutes. So we had a mini-meal at the Chef's Corner location one door over and I still ordered the Mediterranean Breakfast when we sat down. The restaurant is tight and a little cramped, if you're lucky you will get the small booth in the back corner big enough to seat three comfortably which was the exact number of our party.
The menu at Jack's Wife Freda has a large influence from Middle Eastern and South African cuisines with dishes like Poached Eggs with Grilled Tomato and Haloumi, Chicken Kebab, and Malva Pudding. As mentioned above, I decided on the Mediterranean Breakfast which features two eggs any style (I chose poached eggs for the delicious runny yolk), chopped salad, labne, avocado, pita bread and of course my side of duck bacon. My boyfriend chose the Jack's Breakfast with skirt steak, potatoes, sourdough toast, and two eggs. If I ever return to JWF, I'm getting the skirt steak for sure.
The real reason we came to JWF was for the House Cured Duck Bacon, which was actually really, really good and worth the price, I must admit.
Like most NYC restaurants during brunch hours, Jack's Wife Freda only accepts reservations for parties of 6 or more and even that list has limited availability since they rely solely on walk-in parties. The food served is socially acceptable for the brunch hours, however, I recommend that you get there before the peak hours to guarantee your seats.
