...in which I attempt to hunt down the pancake in this big bad city that would or might just 'hit the spot" (whatever that means), and assault my tastebuds with a most memorable gastro experience. All this from pancakes. Well.
In other news - well it's my first post eveRRRR! Of many, one hopes. I get to unleash my foodie and travel jaunts on the world, adding to the already deafening noise on the internet. Oh dear. Everyone has a blog nowadays, and for that sole reason I almost didn't want to start this but then I thought, well nobody has MY blog so whatever, internet! :)
So let's get to it. I hit the streets and went in search of some satiation for my erstwhile pancake pangs. About pancake pangs, it will be a regular feature on my foodietraveler blog and as time goes on, if you stick with me (and I hope you will!) you will get what it is. Yes folks, I'm that girl who goes to brunch in a nice fancy place and asks about the pancakes. Who does that?! Like I could basically judge form an opinion about the entire brunch menu from the pancakes (if they have any) or lack thereof. Needless to say I have been searching for the pancakes that just don't taste like the rest on and off for years now. Every now and then I would hit pay dirt, the rest of the time I am wishing I had folded and just gone for the classic eggs benedict instead. Well I was pretty impressed with this here jaunt and it is only fitting that this is my first post on my shiny, brand spanking new blog!
The rundown.
Hightailed it to the Meatpacking District, passed by the Le Pain Quotidien stand (I didn't know they got one of these stands outdoors, gosh I don't get out much do I??) and spazzed out for a hot minute - I happen to love that place- but my pangs jolted me to reality and focus on the mission. Pancakes or nothing for brunch today!
My foodie senses led me right past Pastis (yay for better judgement on my part) and somehow I found myself at the Sugar Factory. I know, I know, calm down real foodies lol. Calm down. You will understand by the end of my spiel, I promise lol. Funny enough when it just opened in NYC, I was asked by someone if I thought the Sugar Factory was actually the city's answer to The Cheesecake Factory. Well I had to think hard about that one because, really I have eaten at The Cheesecake Factory maybe only twice in 10 years and so the feel of it is lost on me really.
Anywho so for the first time ever, I swing into the joint and it didn't take awfully long to get seated. Hmm I guess all the horror stories about getting a table came from folks who try to go during "people watch hour" aka Friday or Saturday nights.
When I got the menu, I zipped right by all the large, outrageous, glitz and glam cocktails they seem to be known for at The Sugar Factory - all I wanted were pancakes. By the way, this isn't a restaurant review (I won't really be doing much of those on my blog, well except under extenuating circumstances or if the spirit moves me, or something like that).
Anyways I had heard they had a nice little selection of pancakes on the menu, I mean, stuff like, Nutella Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet, etc. I settled for The Sugar Factory Pancake Stack, the classic of the bunch. I know, so much for trying to be adventurous eh.
The view.
Since all you get are the pancakes, I ordered a side of sausages which were tasty except for the excess saltiness, and a nice huge cuppa of Coconut Hot Chocolate. Let's talk about the hot chocolate for a new york minute shall we? It was DELISH. That. Is. All.
Yum! NOM NOM NOM. Hot chocolate with the foam and some toasted coconut chips on top. See those toasted coconuts on top? On the money. I am not a hot chocolate drinker (tea drinkers unite!) but I very much enjoyed that. I could not finish the cup, it was such a large portion but it was also $10 so hmmm. Oh well.
Now to the main star - the pancakes. These I liked and I have to admit I'm a bit of a pancake snob - easy to please, difficult to impress when it comes to those things.
I left satisfied and $12 poorer for the pancakes but I wasn't mad at all. I like my pancakes flat as they should be- thank you very much, moist and not too airy. Buttermilk pancakes are typically heavier than the other kinds anyway so it would have been almost unforgivable if these came out all lah-deh-dah light and airy. So yeah this here pancake did it for me in that way - sweet but not cloyingly so. The whipped butter was heavenly and the candied pecans were the perfect accompaniment to each lovely bite. Put this (and the entire dining experience) in the "hit the spot" column.
And so that was what went down. This is also a travel narrative so I figured I toss in the fact that as I schlepped my full stomach away from the Meatpacking District, I happened upon a nice pretty yellow sight that was the Kate Spade Saturday Pop-Up shop.
I knew they were all around town but I hadn't been in the area for a minute and wasn't aware it was there. I found it quite interesting that I saw Kate Spade in all its yellow glory because just the day before I had been jonzing for the now past season Maryanne Quilted Leather Bag. Sigh. Delayed desires. I will get my hands on it yet, someday! Anywho back to the matter at hand...another shot of yellow...
And of course another shot of MY NYC and I say 'my' just because the internet is flooded with far more impressive shots of NYC so I'm not gonna even pretend like I am bringing you any superfluous great shots of the big city. Here's just what my eyes happened upon while I roamed the streets. For example, I always thought the cute little benches outside Dirty Bird restaurant were, well, super cute.
And finally, I leave you with a few words of inspiration, brought to you by SweetGreen, a wild rice spot - I know, don't ask, it's NYC lol.
Well that's all, folks. This was a lengthy one. If you stayed with me till the end, thank you so much, I know there are many, many sites and blogs you could read on this wasteland that is the world wide web. So, again, THANK YOU.
PS: Oh please, leave a comment, let me know what you think!