Introduction
To celebrate our 7th year of dessert blogging in NYC, here is our seventh volume of the latest and greatest pancakes to be had in NYC. And if you are wondering about other scrumptious pancakes, don’t forget about our previous six best NYC pancake diaries (see here, here, here, here, here and here). Enjoy!
Japanese hotcakes
Dessert destination: Hi Collar, East Village, Manhattan.
Short and sweet story: Berry hotcakes ($24 + tax/tip). After seven years of eating NYC, it takes a lot to impress us. Brunch especially tends to blend into a blur, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish one brunch from another. Hi Collar is one of the few brunch places that we would return again and that is because it offers a transportive brunch in terms of both food and ambience. It feels at once a “hidden” world away from NYC, yet also buzzing with that particular energy only found in NYC. Don’t miss the hotcakes, which make for a sweet bookend to a Japanese-accented brunch of omurice and katsu.
Cinnamon bun pancakes
Dessert destination: Motel Morris, Chelsea, Manhattan.
Short and sweet story: Cinnamon swirl pancakes ($16 + tax/tip). Motel Morris is housed in a space that is smaller than one might expect, yet it pulsates with the same thrum of energy that permeates a number of other trendy spots scattered throughout the Chelsea district. Overlooking the less-than-appetizing “swirls” of cinnamon cream, the buttermilk pancakes here are targeted at the insatiable sweeth tooth. They are very, very sweet, so much so that we didn’t even need the maple syrup that accompanied it. And yes, they taste just like a cinnamon bun re-imagined as pancake form *insert starry eyes*.
Honey butter hotcakes
Dessert destination: Golden Diner, Chinatown/Lower East Side, Manhattan.
Short and sweet story: Honey butter pancakes ($15 + tax/tip). Before we visited Golden Diner, the pancakes at Sundays in Brooklyn have been our first and foremost favourite pancakes in all of NYC over the last seven years. But oh my, I think Golden Diner’s pancakes have the honour of surpassing that standard. They are just as perfectly round, incredibly fluffy, and…not as sweet! Instead, there is a slightly salty edge to the honey butter that makes this stack so so so dreamy.
Steamrolled pancakes
Dessert destination: Breakfast by Salt’s Cure, West Village, Manhattan; and Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
Short and sweet story: The “OG” ($10 + tax/tip). If super fat pancakes like at Golden Diner are not your cup of tea, head to Breakfast by Salt’s Cure to find pancakes at the opposite end of the spectrum. BSC’s pancakes are practically steamrolled into what must be the thinnest, flattest pancakes in NYC. In fact, everything here is kind of flat, including the side servings of eggs and sausage similarly splattered onto a plate. But flatness aside, BSC’s pancakes have a curious earthy charcoal edge that serves as a counterpoint to the inner almost undercooked bite.
Fluffiest souffle pancakes
Dessert destination: Flipper’s, Soho, Manhattan.
Short and sweet story: Fruit souffle pancakes ($19 + tax/tip). Where’s the best souffle pancakes in NYC? Aside from Softbite and Taiyaki, we recommend checking out Flipper’s souffle pancakes. The pancakes here possess the requisite soft and bouncy character, and distinguishable for being the least “eggy” in flavour profile. They are altogether seriously repeatable.
