Clinton Street Bakery

Heaven, also known as Clinton Street Bakery, is located at 4 Clinton Street in the East Village. This little jewel is the winner of many a "Best In NYC" award for such notable delectables as pancakes, muffins, and biscuits. On my first trip there recently I was more than impressed by virtually every piece of food on my plate.

Ambiance-wise, the place is cute. It's part bakery, part diner. The end. On to the food.

It's the type of menu where you want one of everything. While I told myself that I absolutely had to order their famous blueberry pancakes, as soon as I looked at the menu I found I had a craving for potato pancakes with lox, dill, and lemon creme fraiche. But I stuck to my guns and ordered the requisite pancakes, as well as biscuits, fried green tomatoes, and twice smoked bacon.

Firstly, the biscuits. At $2.50 each, I thought to myself "ok NY prices..." When the biscuits arrived my jaw literally dropped. Or at least opened noticeably. Each flaky, golden, buttery, crumbly, delicate, delight could not have measured less than 6 inches in diameter and 3 inches in height. They were served with a tin of raspberry jam, which was quite honestly the best raspberry anything that I have ever consumed. I could eat this jam on these biscuits every day for the rest of my life, and I am not a raspberry person (though I am a biscuit person). The only thing that could have improved the biscuit-devouring experience would be some nice thick honey to drizzle on. Oh well, I settled for bacon.

The twice smoked bacon was very good. It really had a strong bacon flavor, though it could have been a bit more crispy and a bit less chewy. I would be interested in trying the sugar cured bacon next time.

Fried green tomatoes are a real fav of mine and these did not disappoint, though at 7 bucks for four slices they were probably the only thing we ate that I would actually consider overpriced. They were everything a fried green tomato should be, with the addition of a really fine tangy sauce, which I'm reasonably certain was the same lemon creme fraiche offered on the potato pancakes & lox. Yum.

Let's talk about pancakes. I don't much care for pancakes from restaurants. I only eat pancakes that are made by the following list of people:

- my mother

- my father

- me

While I prefer pancakes that are thinner and a little bit crisp about the edge, invariably this is not what is served when dining out. Rather you receive a thick, spongy, often dry cake that crumbles when you cut into it and forms a sort of mush when the crumbs from the center of the cake mix with the syrup. Ew. Not to mention the countless places that serve Aunt Jemima under the inappropriate handle of "Maple Syrup".

So please understand that I felt a certain amount of trepidation in ordering even the "Best Pancakes in NYC" rather than more savory dishes like the potato pancakes or truffle fried eggs with asparagus. But no, my inner willpower persevered and I forced myself to order a stack of Maine blueberry pancakes. What fortitude, right?

While they were not the best pancakes I have ever had in my life (yes that title is still held by my folks and I), they were absolutely the best pancakes I have ever been served in a restaurant. They were quite thick and fluffy, though they did have that delicate crispness I so enjoy. The blueberries were astoundingly delicious, both in the cakes themselves and also in the form of a rich sauce atop the stack. And to top it all off, a warm cup of whipped maple butter (a thick mixture of maple syrup and butter). Had it been my last meal ever I would have been pretty satisfied I think. Next time I am getting the buttermilk biscuit sandwich for sure - scrambled eggs, melted cheddar, and homemade tomato jam.

How a chump like Bobby Flay managed to beat these guys in a pancake throwdown is utterly beyond my comprehension.