Mother's Day Brunch at ICI

ICI Restaurant is located at 246 Dekalb Avenue off of Vanderbilt. Being that my wife loves this place, I thought it would be a good option for brunch in the neighborhood, and it was. As expected on Mother's Day, it was crowded, with guests waiting to be seated and food orders being delayed. Service wasn't the best as our waitress didn't pay much attention to our table. We ended up receiving our food from another waitress who was kind enough to check on us after waiting for over 25 mins for our order. Not even a cocktail showed after our order was placed. Not my first choice to have brunch, but I didn't want to pass judgement until I ate the food. And the food would have to far outweigh the poor service to make it worth the experience.

We ordered the special which included a coctail, main dish, side, and hot beverage for $25 per person. When our order arrived it was excellent. We had steak (cooked medium) and eggs, pork hash with scrambled eggs, and French toast with cooked pears and apples. Our side dish was the spicy collard greens.  The food didn't skip a beat from my memory. The dishes were worth the wait. The steak was tender, hash was full of flavor, and that French Toast- Huge slices of Challah bread, a story in itself. If they could make the service as consistent, they would earn my patronage.

Great food, not so good service, in a traditional brownstone decor. Try this place on a slow day and you may have better luck. If you end up with my waitress, just keep your eye on the prize, you're only 30 mins from heaven.