44 1/2 Hell's Kitchen - Anyone been here? Or Suggestions for Pancakes that is not CSB?

[kelea]

Hi,

I just found this sister rest of 44 & X. I'm looking for a place to take my parents this saturday for brunch. Ideally the place will have good egg's benny and pancakes, AND I want to be able to make a reservation at 11. I know CSB is #1 for pancake but my parents are in their late 60s and my dad gets grumpy when he has to wait around outside. Assuming we wake up early on Sat, I'll definite give it a whirl but I would like a good back up. This was the only one I found on Opentable that really fits the bill. Isabella's is my 2nd choice but they only have waffles, no pancakes. :(

Help Hounds?

TIA,
K

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44 & X
622 10th Ave, New York, NY 10036

44 1/2
626 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10036

[kathryn]

How about making a reservation at Locanda Verde? Their "uovo modenese" is like an eggs benedict on steroids. And they have good lemon curd pancakes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawandfo...

Balthazar also has both pancakes (apple cinnamon, I haven't tried) and eggs benedict, as does Pastis. Call to reserve.

The Smith also appears to have availability on Open Table.

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Pastis
9 9th Ave, New York, NY 10014

Balthazar
80 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

The Smith
55 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10003

Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013

[kelea]

Kathryn!! The resident brunch queen!! Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into Balthazar. I thought about The Smith as well but it can get a little rowdy plus I've taken my mom to Jane a couple times, and wanted to try a diff place (although she does love the eggs benny)

I LOVE Locanda Verde but to say my dad is a picky eater would be an understatement ;) I'm not sure he would like the lemon pancakes.

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Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013

[zoggie]

check out cafe ronda on UWS. it's been a few years since i've been there, but really fluffy pancakes and some tasty eggs and other brunch foods.

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Cafe Ronda
249 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023

[kelea]

I ended up sticking with 44.5 for convenience. A quick feedback, this place is adorable. There is a back courtyard for outdoor dining which I feel is near impossible to find in NYC.

Brunch was delicious! We ordered the crabcake benedict, the salmon benedict and the mushroom omelet. The omelet was really fluffy and delicious - the only down side was it was a little light on mushrooms. I didn't try the salmon benedict but the crabcake was one of the best I've had for brunch. The cake was all crab and almost zero fillers. I was impressed by how much crab was given for such a reasonably priced brunch. I would definitely recommend it for a simple american brunch in hell's kitchen

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44 1/2
626 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10036

[RCC]

Thanks for reporting back. Good to know of a good brunch place outside of the usuals.