Great Biscuits! Oh My!

Every family has a unique dynamic where individuals take on specific roles.   These habitual behaviors generally take the element of surprise out of family rituals.   In my family, I am the living GPS and Zagat guide.  When our family dines out for a celebration, I usually have major input, if not the only,  in selecting the restaurant and getting everyone there.  This year, in honor of my birthday, my sisters decided to shake things up a bit. Using their knowledge of the vagaries of my palate, pet peeves and other idiosyncrasies, my siblings decided to surprise me with the restaurant selection for my birthday dinner.   After much secret deliberation (apparently an Excel spreadsheet was used), my two siblings narrowed the many choices down to two.  I was allowed the final pick based upon geography, and did not know the name of the restaurant until we parked in front the Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant.

The Clinton St. Baking Co & Restaurant is a former wholesale bakeshop & coffee counter turned full service restaurant.    The exterior is unassuming and would not be particularly notable, if not for the many people  waiting outside for a table.  The seating  area is  not particularly large, and retains a coffee counter feel. My sisters were particularly attracted to this restaurant because breakfast/brunch food is available all day.  We are definitely a breakfast loving group.  For us, it is a 24/7 type of meal.  Besides, with a web address like greatbiscuits.com who could resist.

The Clinton’s web address is no idle boast.  Before our own biscuits were brought to the table, all eyes were drawn to the biscuits sitting on another table.  The dainty buttermilk biscuits were crispy on the outside, and moist on the inside.  Quite frankly, a basket of the biscuits, with raspberry jam, alone would be a great meal.  But we did save room for a lot more.

The roasted chicken breast in a tequila reduction with smoked corn pudding and corn off the cob   which I picked off the menu, sounded simple, but was delectably complex.  The chicken was perfectly cooked and a wonderful foil for the real star of the dish  – the corn.  The combined sweet and smoky flavors of the smooth pudding texture, sprinkled with fresh kernels, was delightful. (Since having this dish, I have spent more than a few futile hours burning corn in an attempt to replicate the flavor.)

My younger sister’s eyes were immediately drawn to the pancakes on the menu.  The wild Maine blueberry pancakes with warm maple butter were listed as a house classic, and definitely deserve to be.  Pancakes were the only food that my younger sister ever requested from age five to fifteen.  She is definitely a pancake connoisseur.  Her final judgment was that the pancakes were the perfect texture, the blueberries wonderfully fresh and the maple butter luscious.  I had to agree based upon the little that she let me steal from her plate.

My youngest sister took us into completely different territory, by ordering seafood.  The steamed PEI mussels were adequate, but were a definite reminder that shellfish is best prepared in kitchens  which handle a lot of them .  Biscuit specialists do not fit into that category.

The discovery of great biscuits was a tasty consequence of switching up  usual family roles, so I look forward to doing it again.  (This is a thinly veiled hint to my siblings.)  Give it a try with your own family.  We would love to hear about it.

Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant

4 Clinton Street, New York NY  646.602.6263  www.greatbiscuits.com