By Michelle Gross

The time has come for us to return to school. Back to our friends, classes, dorm rooms, work and most of all, back to the food at and around the University. If you find yourself craving the home-cooked meals you enjoyed all summer (or at least the food you wish was cooked at your home) then your answer lies in New York City, at Good Enough to Eat on Amsterdam Avenue and 83rd Street.

Good Enough to Eat has the feel of a country home in Vermont. Covered from wall to wall with cow paraphernalia, it’s hard not to feel at home in these surroundings. At this no reservations restaurant, you line up outside the white picket fence that surrounds the restaurant’s outdoor dining area for a table. The policy is first-come, first-serve here, that way there’s no complaining that the table of two who arrived 15 minutes after your table of six got seated first. The policy works well, especially during the Sunday brunch rush.

While Sundays may be their most crowded day for brunch, it can be enjoyed any day of the week and it should. I’m one to admit that brunch (yes, aside from dessert) is my favorite meal. I mean, Mimosas with eggs at noon, how can you go wrong?

Once seated, either outdoors or inside the pink and cow dining room, the aroma of omelettes, bacon, pancakes, and fresh baked breads and pastries looms over like a cloud of culinary happiness. Aside from the usual menu, Good Enough to Eat offers daily specials as well. I hope for the granola and berry pancakes, they’re my favorite.

Once you start perusing the menu, you’ll notice that everything on it is only made from the freshest ingredients. This attention to detail makes such an impact on the taste of the food. Whenever I go to Good Enough to Eat, I try to get something different (or at least persuade the people I’m going with to get something I haven’t tried yet), however I usually fall back on my old favorites. These include the Lumber Jill, the Migas or the Cinnamon Swirl French Toast.

The Lumber Jill (and yes there is a big boy ersion of this too, called the Lumber Jack) is two strawberry pancakes, which are a little smaller than their regular ones, two scrambled eggs or egg beaters and two pieces of sausage which I like to change for turkey sausage. Topped with strawberry butter, it’s your old breakfast stand-bys given a twist. Migas are a south of the border take on an omelette. Eggs are scrambled with tri-color tortilla chips, peppers, onions, cilantro and cheese. Instead of the restaurant’s buttermilk biscuits, which happen to melt in your mouth, it’s served with flour tortillas, perfect for making your own breakfast taco. Request an extra side of salsa, it’s made fresh and tastes great. The last of my three favorites, the Cinnamon Swirl French toast, makes you wish you could eat breakfast like this every morning. Giant slices of cinnamon swirl bread, dipped in egg batter and toasted to a fluffy perfection, are served with fresh fruit and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Good Enough to Eat serves a variety of omlettes, pancakes and egg dishes as well. While I’ve only wet your appetite for breakfast, Good Enough to Eat has a full menu throughout the day, filled with comfort foods like chicken pot pie, corn bread and macaroni and cheese. As for dessert? Glad you asked. While you are most likely to be full from brunch, never underestimate the importance of take-out. Choose from one of their fresh baked cookies, the oatmeal raisin is my favorite, or bring home a slice of their coconut cake or devil’s food cake. Whatever you choose to hit your sweet spot, you can’t go wrong.

While it’s just the name of the restaurant, Good Enough to Eat certainly lives up to and far exceeds it. Just remember, a home-cooked meal is never too far away.

Good Enough to Eat is located at 483 Amsterdam Ave. at 83rd Street. The telephone number is (212) 496-0163. The Web site is www.goodenoughtoeat.com.