Clinton St. Baking Company and Restaurant

The first time I visited Clinton St. Baking Company, during weekend brunch, my friend Sue and I waited outside with the other hopefuls for half an hour, then were squeezed into a table with "a good view of everything leaving the kitchen," as our server charitably put it. Eventually I landed the blueberry pancakes (now $10) — three of them, eight inches across and fluffed up an inch high, speckled inside with wild Maine berries.

Years of experience with undersized diner pancakes had also persuaded me to order a biscuit and two scrambled, which turned out to be much too much for a single meal. On a return visit, the biscuit sandwich (shown; $8), loaded with scrambled eggs, cheddar, and lip-smacking housemade tomato preserves, was a lovely lunch on its own. "Sandwich" is more a matter of style than substance — the biscuit readily crumbled to bits, all the better for partnering with the included hash-brown "rollatini."

Clinton St. Baking Company and Restaurant
4 Clinton St. (Houston-Stanton Sts.)
646-602-6263