01.02.09
Review of Clinton Street Baking Company, Tuesday lunch November 2008 lunch
4 Clinton St. & Houston/Stanton Sts., 646-602-6263
Great for: brunch if you have errands or want to shop in the area, interesting milkshakes
I’ve lived near this place for a year and tried to go twice. I suppose I could walk over and put my name down and then come back again at my best guess of the right time, but it’s a little far from me for that. Plus the Ex-Boyfriend didn’t like to shop so we had nothing to do around there. New Boyfriend, on the other hand, sometimes has weekdays off, obviating the need to deal with any waiting.
I got spicy shrimp and cheese grits in creamy Creole sauce with hash browns instead of fried green tomatoes. Not actually that spicy, it was delicious though the shrimp could have been less cooked. I loved the potatoes and the grits were a creamy delight. Hungry Boyfriend got the special app of crispy potato pancakes with house applesauce and sour cream. He found it tasty with some interesting spices, especially when he ate all three things together. I hate applesauce and adding it to things - I believe my exact words were, “Ewww, sweet and savory together! I like my food segregated. Brown v. Board of Education has not happened in my mouth yet” – but I agreed the sour cream and latkes were a good combo.
His buttermilk biscuit sandwich with scrambled eggs, melted cheddar, homemade tomato jam and bacon accompanied by hash browns was also yummy. I liked the nice solid bacon despite it not being that crispy. I had the satisfying toffee-coffee milkshake with coffee ice cream, espresso and Kahlua for dessert. It’s not very sweet or thick and packs quite a punch of caffeine.
This place is almost impossible to walk right into. We happened to come at about 3 pm on a very cold Tuesday and accepted the tiny counter right by the door, or we would have had to wait a while. I can see why people make such a fuss over it though. It’s cheery, bright and homey, if your mom was Southern and really tidy. I liked the low-key bluegrass and ’50s swing music which was not too loud for once. Our service was quite slow, but the place was totally full. And they more than made up for it with their friendliness.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $65 (coffee & milkshake)
Noise level: not much
Chance of walking in: for brunch put your name down and come back in about 2 hours. There’s lots of great shopping down Clinton.
Michael said,
February 11, 2009 at 05:49
Hi, Dominique. Was looking for some stuff on American pancakes and came across your post (like the WP theme by the way). Impressed by “obviate”. Like it. I guess you must be real busy, but I have a question. I am an English guy living in Greece who has to write something about American food for a publisher of educational materials for Spanish kids (crazy world!). I’ve come across a few references to hash browns – a term unknown on this side of the Atlantic. If you had about 30 secs, could you send me an email putting your delicate finger on the essence and the identity of those hash browns. What the heck is a hash brown? Is it really brown, and how is it hashed?
Sorry to bother you with dumb questions.
Dominique said,
February 11, 2009 at 21:28
[I've sent you an email as well in case it doesn't auto-notify you of a response.] Hi, thanks for reading! Hash browns are either slices or small pieces of potato that have been fried – browned, sometimes with onions and peppers. Sometimes they come in thin oblong patties with all the little bits of potato mashed together & those are the most delicious, i think, because the maximum surface area gets crispy & brown. If you have hash browns in a restaurant they’re much more likely to be the first kind & often called home fries too; at McDonald’s & such they’re usually patties. Wikipedia has a picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_browns. Hope this helps!
Dominique