Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant, New York, USA

I love the Lower East Side. I've always tried stay in the general area since I started visiting New York for work (hello Soho Grand, Tribeca Grand, Thompson Lower East Side and Rivington Hotel) although I do also love Soho House, in the meat packing district with its awesome suites. There's so much eat and shop (Reed Space, ARC, the shopping centre of Soho itself). I'd wanted to eat at Clinton Street Bakery, but as consistent winner of accolades such as best breakfast, best brunch, best pancakes and so on, inevitably means that there are often queues of 1-2 hours on weekends. Clinton Street Bakery, which opened in 2001, is the genius of a husband and wife team, Neil Kleinberg and DeDe Lahman



A warm September Monday morning seemed like the perfect time to give this place another go. Nevertheless when we arrived there was still a 30 minute wait at 10am. We were sat right at the back of the restaurant, sandwiched between the toilet wall and neighbouring foursome of Danish ladies. There didn't seem to be a single group there without a camera snapping away at the food and the clientele. The menu is sizeable featuring their award winning famous Blueberry Pancakes and the mammoth Po' Boy sandwich for lunch. Drinks range from shakes made with flavours from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory to Root Beer Floats, which I had to order. My girlfriend went to college in Ithaca, and strangely she'd never heard of the drink company. In the world of floats for me, nothing beats a root beer float. Perhaps not normally accompanying breakfast though.



With my various intolerances unfortunately I can never bring myself to ordering a whole portion of pancakes to myself. I chose the farmer’s plate, a dish of soft scrambled eggs, farmhouse cheese, herb roasted tomatoes, and sourdough toast. The scrambled eggs are indeed soft, the only way I ever expect them to be cooked. The cheese is a hard cheese with a light nutty taste and drier than cheddar. I have no idea what it was. It was a good choice at the time, enough to satisfy my egg craving.



When you come to Clinton St for breakfast it is really all about the pancakes. At almost any time in fact. Whether it be served with Maine Blueberries or Banana and Walnuts, it is both delicate and substantial. Like all American pancakes, portions are gargantuan but rather than being cloying, they are moist and tender from start to finish. The warm maple butter, that some have been known to drink straight from the jug, is rich and extremely sweet.



The Pancakes at Clinton St. are probably the best I've ever eaten... so moist they barely even needed the luscious warm maple butter. The trick to Clinton St. is to pick a weekday morning to avoid the masses of regulars that hit this place on a weekend. No one really likes to queue but 30 minutes is more manageable than the 1-2 hours you might have to wait on a weekend. Another great brekkie in New York.

Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant, 4 Clinton St., nr. Houston St., New York, NY 10002 646-602-6263

Balthazar Restaurant, New York: Notes by photograph...

What makes the ideal brasserie? For breakfast? In New York? Keith McNally has the answer with his Balthazar Restaurant in Soho. As you step into Balthazar, it feels as though you have stepped within a baguette's throw of the Seine complete with enormous bowls of chocolat chaud and baskets of freshly baked hot croissants. The only downside to this place, as a testament to its popularity perhaps, is that tables are so close together it is almost claustrophobic. Service is friendly and well executed. Just ensure that you book if you plan on going for breakfast or brunch on a weekend. As a regular visitor to Soho, this is my favourite breakfast spot within easy reach of the hotels, and no culinary tour of New York could fail to at least mention this place. Keith McNally's extremely noisy at night Schillers may be his current hotspot but Balthazar is still his masterpiece.

Here are photos from various visits over the past 9 months.

just like home...

Roasted Pepper and Caramelised Onion Quiche with gruyère cheese and mixed greens.

Soft boiled organic egg with soldiers

Omelette with herbs and gruyère, with home fries and a side of cumberland breakfast sausage

Eggs Norwegian - poached eggs with smoked salmon and hollandaise on an English muffin.

Buckwheat Crepe with scrambled eggs, ham and gruyère.

Balthazar Restaurant, 80 Spring St., at Crosby St.; 212-965-1414

Shake Shack, Madison Square Park, New York

I can probably count the number of times I've really felt an urge like eating a burger twelve months leading up to the Shack Shake burger on one hand. Do I eat McDonalds Big Macs. Yes. I like them although they make me feel physically sick after. Convenience food. That's all. Awesome fries too when they're steaming hot and fresh. In London, there's always Hache or Byron Burger, the latter being my preference. Girluninterrupt and fearandrecords had both told me to check this place out and prepare to queue... What a perfect way to waste an hour or so in New York...

Here goes. We arrive, from Detroit, at Newark airport at 10am on a Saturday morning with an outbound flight to Heathrow no less than 11 hours later. Frustratingly luggage storage is just not a facility that American airports currently provide. In fact, American airports are dry as hell. Security are surly and... etc. So, to continue, with our many bags we taxi'd into Manhattan with one destination in mind. The park itself is lush and beautiful, and you're pretty much guaranteed there's something to visually distract you whilst you stand in line during lunchtime service. Ah, the queues are in fact legendary, just have a look at the website, there's even a livecam shot of the start of the queue. A bit misleading since the queue snakes off way beyond to the left of the shot.

After just over an hour in the queue, it was time to order one of almost everything on the menu and grab a regulation green table and chairs which we'd earnt after some hard queuing. Taking a little over 10 minutes the buzzer goes and I collect the food and drinks, which is crammed somewhat fittingly into a cardboard tray.

The Shack Shake Double Burger, a small LA In-N-Out sized flat double patty made of a mix of sirloin and brisket that is simply delicious. Second to none that I have tasted. Awesome. The fries, one of each of cheese fries and regular. They are just as they should be. Good but not spectacular and perhaps a little too salty. Bringing me onto the custard shakes. Unearthly. Custard rather than “normal” milk based... A rich thick Vanilla Peanut Butter Custard, in this instance from a selection of maybe 10 choices. I never wanted it to end. You can even drink beer and wine in the designated drinking zone – a rarity in New York.

So what did I make it of it. The Shake Shack Double Burger is the best burger ever... to have graced my tastebuds. Certainly. Definitely. Quite an accolade? Nope. It is deserved.

Shack Shake Burger, Southeast corner of Madison Square Park, near Madison Ave and East 23rd St, NY 10010, USA‎ - (212) 889-6600‎

Cupping Room Cafe Inc., New York

Cupping Room Cafe Inc

359 W Broadway
New York 10013
212 925 2898

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

foodbymark said
Comfortable...
The Cupping Room is conveniently located just at the edge of the "Mall" of Soho and has a cozy and dark and perhaps moody but comfortable atmosphere. The large restaurant has everything on the menu that you'd want for brunch or at a cafe, but the food is unfortunately average (but cheaper than having breakfast at the boutique hotels in the area you might be staying at). However, that hasn't stopped this restaurant from being a popular hangout for tourists and European ex-pats.

The prices are too high for the quality of food and service that you receive. During the popular Sunday brunch, the service turns somewhat frenzied and the noise level elevates, but it is still fun.

Cupping Room Official web page

Stanton Social, Lower East Side, Manhattan

Stanson Social Club

New York 10002
2129824587

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

foodbymark said
A menu of hors d'oeuvres
This is quite the Lower East Side find. Stanton Social serves up shareable tapas plates, like a French-onion soup that comes in dumpling form and red-snapper tacos lavished with fiery mango-and-avocado salsa. The menu is diverse as a takes highlights from Mexico with its tacos to Japan with their own version of sliders to Thailand with their steamed clams with lemongrass and then back to the US with lobster rolls. The setting is elegant but casual and lends it's design to the neighbourhood's garment history. It is always busy and the clientele are young and trendy.

On a menu made up of diverse hors d'oeuvres, particular note muse be paid to the French Onion Soup Dumplings. Each of these dumplings has a hot liquid center, a Gruyère-drizzled exterior and is meant to be hoisted with a toothpick and consumed in one big, flavor-detonating bite. The subsequent explosion is wonderful. Be careful not to burn your mouth... Closely followed were the Red Snapper Tacos - tasty morsels of Red Snapper fish squeezed into tacos shells. And finally his interpretation of sliders in the form of Kobe Beef Burgers. A tribute to White Castle with Kobe Beef Patties sandwiched between brioche buns. There were some mishaps... Chicken 'n Waffles and Beef Wellington... just far too dry. There is also a raw bar serving up caviar, maine lobster and oysters.

Overall experience here is good. And the cocktails are always just that... good. For a fun dining experience in the LES, this does tick all the boxes. Just remember to book a table... reservations are a requirement here by virtue of the popularity of restaurant and bar.

Official Stanton Social Website

A Guy In New York: Good Eats

Taken from A Guy In New York: Good Eats... definately one to keep an eye on as I plan my next business trip to New York in the next two months. I've only eaten at one place they recommend and that is Chatham Restaurant. I went there in 2007 by myself to kill time (and have lunch). I got seriously lost getting there on foot without knowing the actual address and I thought the food was pretty average, perhaps let down more because I had such a mission getting there.

• for the best grilled burger in NYC, go to Tony Dragonas at 62nd and Madison
  
• Sanur Restaurant - best roti canai in NYC ... plus curry noodles, ABC, Mo-Mo Cha-Cha, Hainan chicken, lo-mein with chicken feet & mushrooms ... 18 Doyers Street, 212-267-0088
  
• Nyonya - Beef rendang over rice ... roti canai ... ABC (icy palate cleanser and dessert) ... Hainan chicken ... Tiger beer ... an incredible meal for under $15 ... 194 Grand Street, between Mott and Mulberry, 212-334-3669
  
• Best dim-sum in Chinatown ... Chatham Restaurant, 9 Chatham Square 212-267-0220 ... keep an eye out for the fresh dishes carting out from the kitchen ... pick your choice and enjoy ...
  
• Green Bo - Crab meat and ground pork soupy dumplings .... scallion pancakes ... 66 Bayard Street, between Mott and Elizabeth, 212-625-2359
  
• Wu Liang Ye, 215 East 86th Street, 212-534-6032 - Poached razor clams with Sichuan peppercorn and scallion vinaigrette ... Chengdu wonton with Sichuan peppercorn vinaigrette ... Jelly fish julienne with scallion pesto ... sauteed spinach with garlic ... chilled glass of Wu-Liang-Ye, a colorless grain alcohol ... perfect ...
  
• Wu Liang Ye, 338 Lexington Avenue (between 39th St. and 40th St.), 212-370-9647 ... best ma pao tofu ... razor clams cold appetizer ...
  
• King's Seafood Restaurant - Chinatown ... Peking duck ... jumbo prawns and more ...
  

http://aguyinnewyork.com/