Pancakes. Pancakes are a gift from the culinary gods. They are so versatile and are beckoning for toppings, but if you’re a purist, you can eat them plain with a little bit of maple syrup, of course. Before I go any further with this review, I just have to issue out a disclaimer: there is always a huge wait at Clinton Street Bakery. When I mean always, I mean ALWAYS, even on weekday mornings. Your best bet at having little to no wait is to arrive as early as possible.
When I went at 10:00 a.m., I had to wait for about two and a half hours. The hostess will take your phone number down, but please make sure to stay relatively close to Clinton Street. When I walked to SoHo and received a phone call back saying our reservation was ready, we did not make it back in time and lost our spot. It took another thirty minutes to finally get a table. Do not let this discourage you. Clinton Street Bakery is absolutely worth the wait. But if you’re in a rush, you can always stop by their to-go bar at the front of the store, and pick up some delicious breakfast pastries and coffee. Okay, enough about the unimportant stuff. I know that everyone is really waiting to hear about the food.
The pancakes here are heavenly. Other than plain, the pancakes also come in chocolate chunk, banana walnut, and, of course, blueberry. While all the pancakes taste great by themselves, the Oscar for the best supporting condiment goes to the warm maple butter. I could literally eat this every single day of my life, if not for the fact that it is extremely unhealthy and would probably make my life drastically shorter. There really is nothing better than eating one of Clinton Street Bakery’s fluffy brown pancakes with the maple butter poured on top. If for some strange reason you’re not feeling pancakes at that moment, you should probably still get the pancakes. But since not everyone adores pancakes, Clinton Street Bakery does have something for you deviants. Their eggs are great, and I have heard nothing but praise for their French toast with bananas and walnuts. In the end, no matter what you order, you really can’t go wrong. But please, for your own sake, order the pancakes.
Although February is practically over, I do want to call attention to the fact that it is Pancake Month at Clinton Street Bakery! During the entire month, they have different specialty pancakes every day, but unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to try them yet. So do yourself a favor, and go to Clinton Street Bakery. It is not only worth every penny, it’s also worth the amount of time that you have to wait for it.
