Favorite Pancakes

My favorite meal of the week is brunch. Some weeks I'll have it Saturday AND Sunday as I just can't get enough. What I love about brunch is I give myself the excuse to spend 2+ hours sipping coffee (and Mimosas and Bloody Marys), catching up with friends, and eating a plethora of comfort foods. It's just what I need after a long week of work and stress: time to slow down, breathe deep, be slightly self indulgent, and spend time with the people I love.

When you are traveling, you will likely be running around like a crazy person trying to take in every detail. You will be stressed trying to navigate a place you are unfamiliar with (these streets seem to go in circles...) and sometimes with an added language barrier (but where is the train that is leaving in 5 minutes?). Did you lost sight of your travel companions along the way too? Why don't you go to brunch and take time to have a long meal together. It's amazing what heartfelt conversations happen over coffee, tea and delicious food!

So without further adieu, my favorite place for self indulgent pancake brunch is Clinton Street Baking Company. Generally speaking, they serve southern comforts: farmer's breakfast with fried green tomatoes and grits, biscuits and gravy, and steel cut oatmeal. But what you must order when you go here are the pancakes with warm maple butter. The best time to go is in February during Pancake Month, of course!

The fluffy, buttery, sweet, nutty, fresh, and tart pancakes will blow your taste buds out of the water. You must arrive really early as everyone else in town is wanting these pancakes too (normal NYC brunch is around 1pm, most places aren't even open before 11am, but you have to get here before 9:30am!). They can't help it, the warm dripping maple butter is like a beacon for hunger satisfaction (and a hangover cure)!

you can't resist...

Add to your pancakes some hot coffee, which always hits the spot. And you have to try the sugar cured bacon. Just order a side, you've already come this far. Now, sit back, people watch (laugh at the people still waiting out in the cold), and enjoy your hours long Sunday brunch with your favorite people.

Side note: This place is cash only, the service is average, and size is quite cozy. Keep your group small, 2-4 people, to have any hope of getting a table.