Food Therapy: Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant

I take brunching seriously.  It's an excuse to eat whatever you're hankering for (from pancakes to steak) and drink whatever you want (from coffee to bloody mary).  However,  a truly outstanding brunch spot is hard to find.  Mediocre ones are aplenty.

And the brunch at Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant (4 Clinton St, NY, N&) is beyond truly outstanding!  It's one of the few brunch spots where I'm willing to wait 2+ hours for a table.  I know it sounds crazy but if you want truly exceptional blueberry pancakes and huevos rancheros, than that's what you gotta do.

A couple of weekends ago, Sunshine and I sucked it up and waited (and waited and waited) for a table.  It was well worth it!  Here's what we had:

• Huevos Rancheros: We each ordered our own...so as to preserve the relationship.  ;)  The star of this dish is the chorizo - very addictive.

• Blueberry Pancakes: This we shared.  Initially, Sunshine was humoring me with this "side" dish but I'm pretty sure he ended up heating 2/3rds of it.  I'm pretty sure that Clinton St has the BEST blueberry pancakes in the city.  They're kinda crispy around the edge and have an inherent sweetness to them (rather than a flour-y taste).  It goes without saying that they're light and fluffy. The warm maple butter is heavenly.  

Reverse-Reverse: 2 Inhabit Knits For You!

It's rain and cold outside.  All I think about are plushy pajamas and cozy knits.  Thanks to RevolveClothing.com's Reverse-Reverse.com website, I can satisfy my longing for cozy knits!  Here are two super-discounted Inhabit sweaters:

• Cashmere Drape Cardi ($141) in lichen:  I love cardigans like this Drape Cardi because you can throw it with jeans and a tank, and you're out the door in a second.  It's not just an effortless chic look...it really is effortless and chic!

• Chunky Hooded Pullover ($90) in flannel:  Wear a long-sleeve t-shirt underneath this pullover and it becomes an all-winter pullover!

[Images Courtesy of Reverse-Reverse]

Food Therapy: Hill Country Chicken

The other weekend, for Foodette's B-day dinner, a group of us headed on over to Hill Country Chicken.  Given my love for Hill Country's smoked chicken wings, I had high expectations (too high?) for Hill Country Chicken.  I wasn't completey disappointed but I wasn't overly impressed.  The fried chicken was good but not the best.  (My personal favorite is still Rack & Soul near Columbia University at 258 W 109th St.)

The setup at Hill Country Chicken is similar to Hill Country: cafeteria style.  You wait in line to order and pick-up your food.  Then you make a mad dash to find a table (if someone from your group hasn't already "saved" one).

You have a choice between fried chicken with skin (Hill Country Classic) and fried chicken without skin (Mama Els').  As a person who immensely enjoys fried chicken skin, my gut reaction was to order everything with skin.  Foodette convinced both Big Buddha and me that we should also try the fried chicken without skin.  Since it was her B-day, we reluctantly agreed.

To my surprise, Mama Els' fried chicken was good!  The meat was juicy and the coating (albeit skinless) was crispy and tasty.  To my disappointment, Hill Country Classic fried chicken was just okay. The skin was crispy but not as tasty as Mama Els' version and the meat was drier.

I did, however, fully enjoy the blistered corn salad.  We also ordered the cheesy fried mashed potatoes and the creamy coleslaw.  They were good but not great.  I would have appreciated mac-n-cheese as a side order.  I also would have enjoyed sweet tea, like they have at Hill Country!!  Instead, they had mint iced tea.  As a lover of sweet tea, it just wasn't the same.

Hill Country Chicken is a good addition to the neighborhood but if you're craving for really, Really, REALLY great fried chicken, troop it up to Rack & Soul (Note: It's not the hippest/newest/friendliest/well-maintained restaurant, but after one bite of the fried chicken, you're not going to care.  Plus, they have sweet tea!)