The Famous Shopsin’s

Chorizo, eggs and peppers

I’ve heard about Shopsin’s. My friend SC informed me that they had strict rules and their menu is CRAZY. There’s over 200 items on the menu, so it can be bit over-whelming. I met my co-workers PS and SB at the Essex Market. This was a first for me. I’ve walked past the Essex Market a number of times enroute to Sugar Sweet Sunshine. If you can’t tell, SSS is my favorite cupcake place in NYC! Yum. My co-workers agreed to meet me in the LES for lunch since I had to buy a dozen of cupcakes to bring to my friends in Seattle/Portland. Yes, I know, I’m an awesome friend!

Anyhow, after PS and I agreed on Shopsin’s I did my usual menu research. I couldn’t even focus on the menu because it was single spaced and so cramped with items. SC informed me of their famous dishes such as macaroni and cheese pancakes, blisters on my sisters, sneaky pete eggs, etc. I decided I wanted something with eggs and meat. The Zackzuka caught my eye because it had sizzling chorizo. Mmm. When I arrived at the Essex Market, I was a bit lost because I had not realized that Shopsin’s was located within it. I found my dining mates and we arrived at Shopsin’s little nook. There were a few tables available and we were seated promptly. We were a bit nervous because we didn’t want to get thrown out. We survived the ordering process and I thought our waiter was quite nice. PS ordered the Orange Julius so I could try it. I never had one during my childhood. It tasted like an orange juice smoothie, but lighter. It was pretty good I guess! I’m not much of smoothie drinker. When her smoothie arrived in the metal cup, we looked at each other wondering how we’d share it. I told her I was afraid to ask our waiter for a straw. He came by and asked, “What are you afraid to ask me?” So I nervously asked for another straw. He came back with two cups and straws. Wow! How kind.

Our meals arrived soon after. PS got a half order of the mac n cheese pancakes and SB got a BLT sandwich. I tried PS’s pancakes and they tasted exactly what I expected. I think they put in the mac in cheese after they put a portion of the batter on the griddle. It was delicious. It was a bit spicy too since she used some hot sauce. Since I lack creativity, I never thought about combining mac n cheese with pancakes. It surprisingly works quite well. My eggs were delicious. I’m usually not a fan of gooey eggs, but these were an exception. I popped the egg yolks and mixed them into my chorizo and veggies. It was perfect. There was plenty of chorizo throughout the dish. They definitely didn’t skimp!

My first meal at Shopsin’s was surprisingly enjoyable. We did not get thrown out and our waiter was quite friendly. When we left, there was a short line of people waiting to be seated. Please note that they will NOT take any parties larger than 4. If you have a larger party, you better split up and pretend not to know each other. Also, they only take cash. During the weekends, this restaurant is quite busy, so I recommend going for lunch during the week if possible.

Shopsin’s
120 Essex Street (between Delancey and Rivington Streets)
South End of Essex Market
No Reservations
Cash Only
No parties larger than 4
Open Wednesday-Saturday: 9:00am-2:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am-3:00pm

Eating Pancakes for Dinner

I found that there was a lot of blueberries in these pancakes!

I can’t remember the last time I had pancakes at a restaurant for dinner. I’ve always enjoyed pancakes since I was a kid, but I’ve always associated it with breakfast at home. Whenever I go out for brunch or breakfast in the city, I always end up ordering eggs because I think it’s more filling and healthy. I heard a lot about Clinton Street Baking Company. I believe my family and I tried to go there for lunch a few times on the weekend, but the wait was much too long. Through the food blog grapevine, I also read about their Pancake Month, where they rotate different pancakes of the day for a full month. As I examined the pancake menu, I found out that they pancakes all day and night. My friend SC and I decided after a screening of “Cedar Rapids“, we’d venture to the LES for a pancake-filled dinner. Through the cold we trudged across town and after 15 minutes, we arrived at a fairly empty restaurant.

When our waitress came by and asked for drinks, I went ahead and asked if they were still serving their special pancake as I didn’t see the pancake month menu. She confirmed that it was still being served. From my seat, I had a good view of the kitchen and did see a huge bowl of bananas. I ordered the Crunchy (Fried) Bananas Pancakes and SC ordered their famous Blueberry Pancakes. Another reason I was interested in trying Clinton Street Baking Company was that I saw them featured on Bobby Flay’s, “Throwdown” show and they unfortunately lost to the cheater. I just think the show is so unfair and that Bobby has the upperhand because he prepares for the throwdown in advance and always ends up using fancy ingredients and taking the recipe up another level. I do recall the audience, who was suppose to be fans of Clinton Street Baking Company (don’t you think it’s strange how all these devoted fans switch teams so quickly?) mentioned that Bobby’s pancakes had so many more blueberries. Before our pancakes even came out, we received a plate of very delicious biscuits. SC mentioned that the two other times she had been to the place they even got free scones. Unfortunately, they were all out of scones, so I guess that’s for next time!

Who doesn't like fried bananas on pancakes with cinnamon chocolate sauce?

Our pancakes arrived soon after our busboy took away our biscuit plates. SC and I split the two dishes and they were both very tasty. The pancakes were fluffy, crispy and buttery. They both came with the famous maple butter. It was already melted so all you had to do was dip your pancake pieces in it if you wanted more butter. Since I found the pancakes to be buttery already, I didn’t use my maple butter that much. I do agree it was quite tasty! Quickly we became full since they take up a lot of space. I looked at the other customers and some had ordered dinner food. I had read that their fried chicken is actually very good. Perhaps the next time I go, I’ll try it since I love fried chicken! Since we were stuffed, we didn’t even look at the dessert menu. I did buy a cookie to eat later. I highly recommend going to Clinton Street Baking Company at night during the week if you’re interested in trying their pancakes and don’t feel like waiting 2 hours.

 
Clinton Street Baking Company
4 Clinton Street (between East Houston and Stanton Streets)
New York, NY 10002
646.602.6263
Cash Only and No Reservations