YUMMIEST: Place to get pancakes in NYC: Installment 4 (FINAL)

Multi-grain pancakes at Counter

PLACE:Counter

MEAL: Multi-grain Pancakes

PRICE: $10.00

RATING:YY (2 out of 5 hearts!)

Note: I have to admit that I have been pretty diligent about this brunch thing, almost to a fault. I decided to try out the pancakes at counter as my last installment (please let me know if there are any I left out that are worth trying!!) of the yummiest of the month. However, I had an awful lot to drink on Friday night. So I forced myself up after 5 hours of sleep and traveled into the city with friends. I puked on one of said friends and spent most of brunch in the bathroom, hurling. I didn’t really get to enjoy the pancakes until later that day (took them home)… so my review is slightly skewed.

These pancakes sounded pretty appealing on the menu – Multi-grain pancakes blueberry compote and fresh citrus fruit. Though I wasn’t sure how multi-grain would taste, blueberry compote sounded pretty rad.

When the pancakes came out I was interested to see how they would taste. They were very thick and I personally prefer thinner pancakes. The blueberry compote looked great but I didn’t see any citrus, there were bananas & strawberries instead, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I know this place is organic & fresh-focused so maybe this is why there was a change.

Anyway, my friend pointed out that the pancakes tasted more like donuts. This is kind of true, they were very fluffy and thick. I was actually pleasantly surprised, even though they were multi-grain pancakes these did not taste grainy like the ones at Curly’s. The blueberry compote was a really nice touch, very tasty and good consistency. All the fruit was fresh and really delicious. Especially the banana slices, they were sliced really thin vertically. However, I encountered the same issue as I have in nearly every pancake I’ve tried in this city: it was dry! If I didn’t smother this baby in tons of maple syrup (which had a strange taste), it would be totally boring.

So who won?!

My personal faves were V-spot and Organic Grill because they were moist & had a great consistency. I would choose the V-Spot over Organic Grill because the service & other brunch options were much better as well.

One other thing to note – if you are looking for a really inventive pancake I would go with Quantum Leap because they always have a great pancake or waffle special such as vanilla pear or banana pecan.

YUMMIEST: Place to get pancakes in NYC: Installment 2

Vegan Pancakes at Curly's Vegetarian Lunch

PLACE: Curly’s Vegetarian Lunch
MEAL: Vegan Pancakes
PRICE: $7.95
RATING:Y (1 out of 5 hearts)

I go to Curly’s every so often because it’s in a convenient location (Union Square/East Village) and it has great comfort foods on the menu. However, every time I go the food seems to disappoint. Once again, it under-delivered, this time with their pancakes. Though they had potential – 3 stacked flax and kamut pancakes topped with fresh fruit sounded delicious.

When the food arrived, it did look delicious… however, there was only about 1 strawberry cut up and 2 small pineapple pieces on top of the pancakes. I was expecting more quantity and selection of fruit. In addition, I was not served any soy butter… this had to be requested.

The pancakes themselves were hard to get onto my fork, they kept falling apart into little pieces. They were very dry and grainy. I kind of felt like I was eating mushy bread or something. They were not fluffy at all. They were definitely edible, but given the large selection of vegan pancakes in New York city, and given the price, I would not recommend going here for a fill.

PLACE: The Organic Grill
MEAL: Vegan Wheat-free Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes
PRICE: $8.00
RATING:YYYY (4 out of 5 hearts!)

The Organic Grill is not completely vegetarian, therefore, this is not a place I would expect to go for a vegan brunch unless I was going with non-vegan friends. However, I was pleasantly surprised with their blueberry pancakes and would love to go back for more!

The pancakes came out looking very appetizing. You could see the blueberries inside of the pancakes and they looked very moist.

These were devoured rather fast. They were soooo yummy! The blueberries were fresh and perfectly melted into the pancakes. The consistency was perfect – moist & fluffy. They weren’t heavy or grainy at all. I think these were buckwheat pancakes which might be the best bet when going for a wheat-free vegan pancake. I also liked that more than just pancakes were served with the plate, they also came with a delicious side of tempeh bacon. Considering this was only 5 cents more than Curly’s, I feel like I got my money’s worth with this dish for sure.

Overall, I was very pleased and if I wanted to go out specifically for pancakes, this is the first place that would come to mind. My only complaint is non-pancake related. My friend’s order was all screwed up, her food was cold and not enjoyable. Plus, the service was kind of poor… boo!