I once heard I was well read, well fed and well dressed, all in one.

Well, that makes for a compliment that sent me escalating into a Neverland style clocktower smack in the center of Manhattan’s Edition Hotel. Named Clock Tower, the restaurant belonged to British Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton and acclaimed restaurateur Stephen Starr, who’s restaurants I had frequented aplenty in Philadelphia, and was in the Metropolitan Life building, designed by Ian Schrager. The restaurant itself consisted of three dining spaces, and before emerging into the intimate dining room, I wandered through the billiards room and had a drink at the succulent bar.

The drink was, in fact, one of the most unexpectedly comical treats in an otherwise serious setting. Titled ‘American Cereal Killer’, it was Michter’s bourbon, cheerio’s milk, Madagascan vanilla syrup and angostura bitters. Almost like my childhood dream of having whiskey in my cereal – a remedy that I had indeed adopted to make the atrocious breakfast less saccharine, it was a sip of an adult fantasy, with a strong sense of bourbon underlying the sweet milky taste. Plus it was served in a custom made glass container that looked like a farm style milk carton!

The meal itself was served in the more swanky dining room, starting with warm sourdough bread in a magically cocoon shape with homemade butter. While not a fan of regular bread, the artisanal kind had the ability to melt me and my heart even faster than the homemade butter melted in my mouth.

The first predominant course was beautiful, colorful salad comprising of kale, pears, artichokes, multicolored greens, candied hazelnuts and a cider vinaigrette. While not remarkably inventive, the touches of purple made it aesthetic, and the pear added a fibrous sweetness balanced out by the gritty texture of the perfectly candied hazelnuts – my favorite of all things nutty.

The main dish for a lunch-like-brunch was a hearty pumpkin agnolotti, where the mere scent of sage and brown butter whisked me back to Tuscany. The pumpkin oozed out of every bite, with even more hazelnuts adding to the textural component. Crispy fried sage gave an illusion of healthy, but I far preferred diving into the spoonfuls of homemade brown butter, the stuff dreams were made of!

For dessert, I stuck with a tried and tested British staple – the sticky toffee pudding, which arrived with a pear ginger sorbet and was coated in a hazelnut crumble, making this iconic nut the icon of my entire meal. The coffee and nut flavors masked the saccharine chocolate, which thankfully made for a fun, small gastronomic bite, which was cut well by the spice of the ginger and sweetness of the pear. All in all, a lighter, refined and elegant touch to a traditionally heavy dessert.

While wandering back into the boroughs of Brooklyn and alike, I felt snug in my Ralph Lauren chunky sheep-like sweater and white Marc Jacobs eyewear. But the best part of my brunch outfit was my brunch bag, a unisex metallic solid bag designed by Simitri Designs. The brand has handmade bags made in India, and this one comprised of sequin beetles. I liked its black and white muted tone that matched well with winter and transitional spring lookbooks. Plus, with a unisex nature and supporting artists and hand crafts, it was an all rounded feeling of doing good.

With many compliments on it’s metallic sheen, I shared my coupon code of “Sourabh” for many to acquire 10% off sitewide. Plus, I couldn’t help but burst out in sonnets comprising of how bugs and beetles symbolized the problems of life. Sample this: don’t bug me, I’m allergic to stupidity and break out in sarcasm!