Multi-Ingredient Wonders

Everything But The Girl

by Amy Strauss

Ants Pants knows what you crave in the morning — bacon, sunny-side up eggs, thick-cut toast and fresh-grated cheese. Order this brekkie tower (it also features layers of arugula and tomato) and enjoy all of the A.M.'s tastes and textures at once.

21st Street's description of this dish is cryptic. What's in it? "A lot," reads the menu. Here's what it really has — six whole eggs combined with a seasonal mix of veggies (broccoli, tomato, avocado, onion, mushroom, red and green pepper, etc.) kicked up with feta cheese before being vigorously stirred and cooked up.

A complex package of savory and salty, this buckwheat flour crêpe features ingredients found in the traditional French stew of the same name: braised bits of beef marinated in a mouthwatering Burgundy sauce, slices of mushrooms, hunks of carrot, layers of tomatoes and shards of leeks.

For Rich Landau's trio of plancha-grilled portobello, maitake and royal trumpet 'shrooms, he sounds out a delightful partnership of multiple veggies, pairing the caps with a gorgeous white bean/tomato/eggplant stew coated with a mint-parsley vinaigrette and toasty roasted salsify. Less is more? Please.