Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant

The Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant (CSBC) is an American bakery and restaurant. It is located at 4 Clinton Street (between East Houston Street and Stanton Street), on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York.[1][2][3]

Clinton Street Baking Company
& Restaurant
Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant
Map
Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant is located in Manhattan
Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant
Location in Manhattan
Restaurant information
Established2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Owner(s)Neil Kleinberg & DeDe Lahman
Head chefNeil Kleinberg
Food typeNew American
Dress codeCasual
Street address4 Clinton Street (between Houston Street and Stanton Street), on the Lower East Side
CityNew York City
StateNew York
Postal/ZIP Code10002
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°43′17″N 73°59′02″W / 40.7213°N 73.9838°W / 40.7213; -73.9838
Seating capacity32
Other locationsSister restaurant: Community Food and Juice in Morningside Heights, New York City
Websiteclintonstreetbaking.com

The restaurant is noted especially for its pancakes, its burgers, and its biscuits and other fresh-baked goods.[3][4] In December 2010, The New York Times described it as a "brunch magnet", and The New York Daily News said the "legendary" dining destination was "the city's hottest breakfast nook".[5][6] Time called it a "cult favorite".[7] In 2011, Poor Taste Magazine rated it # 1 in its list of the 100 Best Brunch Spots in America.[8][9]

Restaurant

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The restaurant seats 32 people.[6] It is located on Clinton Street, just off Houston Street, which the New York magazine described as the "hippest restaurant row" in the Lower East Side.[10] The restaurant is next to an 1853 Romanesque Revival traditional synagogue, Congregation Chasam Sopher.[10][11][12][13] It attracts a weekend brunch line that stretches around the corner of the block, which includes New York foodies and many foreign tourists.[6][11][14][15]

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The restaurant serves refined comfort food and baked items, which are made daily on its premises, with breakfast (which it serves all day), lunch, brunch, and dinner.[2][15][16][17][18]

Among the items that it is known for are its blueberry pancakes. New York magazine called them the best pancakes in town.[12] February is "Pancake Month" at the restaurant.[19][20]

It is also noted for its fluffy buttermilk biscuit sandwich with home-made tomato jam, and lauded for its baked goods, including its scones and muffins.[12][14][16][21][22][23] Its home-made desserts, including muffins, organic apple crumb, chocolate cake, maple-bourbon-pecan pie, creamy pumpkin cheesecake, and cherry pie, are topped with ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.[17][24][25][26][27]

Its meals include cage-free eggs, omelets, granola, brioches, grilled organic free range chicken, buttermilk fried chicken, hamburgers, large warm buttermilk biscuits, cheese grits fries, salads, and market soups.[2][10][12][16][28][29][30] Drinks include lime squash and bellinis.[31][32]

Owners

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Owners Neil Kleinberg and DeDe Lahman

It is owned by a husband-and-wife team of restaurateurs, seasoned chef Neil Kleinberg and DeDe Lahman.[1][16] Kleinberg had originally planned to open the business with another partner, but Lahman, who was a former advice columnist and a freelance writer at the time running an apparel company, bought the partner out.[11][33] Kleinberg has responsibility for the restaurant's kitchen. Lahman is the restaurant's catering director and handles back-end responsibilities such as public relations.[11][19][34]

 
CSBC blueberry pancakes
 
CSBC black-and-white cake

History

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The restaurant began in 2001 as a bakery and a small coffee cafe, and over time became a full-fledged seven-days-a-week restaurant with a liquor license.[11] Kleinberg and Lahman host free cooking and healthy eating classes at the restaurant for neighborhood children.[1][35]

Awards and accolades

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In December 2010, The New York Times described it as a "brunch magnet", and The New York Daily News said that the "legendary" dining destination was "the city's hottest breakfast nook".[5][6] Time called it a "cult favorite".[7][9] The restaurant has been one of Zagat's top picks in the Lower East Side.[36]

Time magazine cited it for having New York City's best pancakes in both 2005 and 2008.[12][23] The restaurant is noted especially for its fresh-baked goods.[3] USA Today described it as a "charming cafe with outstanding cherry pie".[36]

In January 2009, Bobby Flay challenged the owners of the restaurant to a "blueberry pancake showdown", which was filmed in an episode of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay at the restaurant.[37][38] In 2010, Kleinberg won Godiva Chocolatier's SWEETest Challenge Award for his Warm Upside Down Pear Cake with pecan ice cream, caramel sauce, and pecan brittle at the third annual Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival.[39]

In 2011, Poor Taste Magazine rated it # 1 in its list of the "100 Best Brunch Spots in America".[8][9] In 2011, Zagat ranked it 2nd out of 204, among traditional American restaurants in New York City.[40]

Cookbook

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CSBC Eggs Benedict

The Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond from New York's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant (2010) was authored by Kleinberg and Lahman.[41] The book includes what The New York Times describes as the "celebrated" pancake recipe served at the restaurant, as well as the restaurant's other most popular recipes for Eggs Benedict and other preparations.[5][6] The book was identified by Julia Moskin of The New York Times as one of the year's best cookbooks, in December 2010.[5]

Sister restaurant

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The owners opened up an eco-conscious sister restaurant, named "Community Food and Juice", that also serves American food.[42] It is located at 2893 Broadway between 112th and 113th Streets in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, and has an open kitchen and a bi-level dining room.[43][44][45]

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The restaurant and its pancakes are mentioned in the 2011 book Where I Belong, by Gwendolyn Heasley.[46]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Julie Besonon (June 2006). Eating Wisely. Yoga Journal.
  2. ^ a b c Myra Alperson (2003). Nosh New York: The Food Lover's Guide to New York City's Most Delicious Neighborhoods. Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-30417-X.
  3. ^ a b c Inc. Let's Go (2007). Let's go roadtripping USA: the complete coast-to-coast guide to America. Macmillan. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-312-36182-2.
  4. ^ "Best Burgers". Time Out New York. August 1, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d Moskin, Julia (December 7, 2010). "The Year's Best Cookbooks". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e Lyn, Nicole (September 26, 2010). "Sunday best: Behind the brunches at the Clinton St. Baking Company". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  7. ^ a b Kaufman, David (February 11, 2009). "Harlem's Big Apple Surprise". Time. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  8. ^ a b "The 100 Best Brunch Spots in America: 1–25". Poor Taste Magazine. April 28, 2011. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Marx, Rebecca (May 4, 2011). "Clinton Street Baking Co. is the Best Brunch Spot in the Whole Damn Country – Fork in the Road". Village Voice. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c Eric Asimov (April 10, 2002). "And to Think that I Ate it on Clinton Street". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  11. ^ a b c d e Tien Mao (March 22, 2006). "DeDe Lahman, Co-Owner, Clinton St. Baking Company". Gothamist. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Best Pancakes – Best of New York 2005". New York. May 21, 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  13. ^ Wilson, Michael (September 4, 2009). "At the Table – Clinton Street Baking Company – Taking Night Into Day, Drinks Into Breakfast". The New York Times. Lower East Side (NYC). Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  14. ^ a b Matthew, Kirsten (November 7, 2010). "Hot cakes!*". The New York Post. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  15. ^ a b Greg Morabito (August 23, 2010). "Clinton Street Baking Co., Sunday 1 PM: The Brunch Bunch". Eater NY. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  16. ^ a b c d Brunch Secrets New York City. Deck of Secrets. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9812254-3-2.
  17. ^ a b Brian Silverman; Kelsy Chauvin; Richard Goodman (2010). Frommer's New York City 2011. Frommer's. ISBN 978-0-470-63231-4.
  18. ^ Neil Edward Schlecht; Brian Silverman; Kerry Acker; Tom Gavin (2009). Frommer's New York State. Frommer's. ISBN 978-0-470-53765-7.
  19. ^ a b Bernstein, Joshua M. (January 22, 2008). "Labor of love". Metromix New York. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  20. ^ Fabricant, Florence (February 2, 2010). "Dining Calendar". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  21. ^ "Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant". The New Yorker. F-R Pub. Corp. 2005.
  22. ^ Fabricant, Florence (February 22, 2006). "Afternoon Tea? A Coif With That Biscuit?". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  23. ^ a b Patronite, Rob (June 1, 2008). "The Breakfast Manifesto – The City's Best Morning Meals". New York. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  24. ^ Silverman, Brian; Schlecht, Neil Edward; Acker, Kerry; Gavin, Tom (December 9, 2009). Frommer's New York State. ISBN 9780470594056.
  25. ^ "Clinton St. Baking Company – Lower East Side – New York, NY 10002". Metromix New York. September 10, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  26. ^ Beth J. Harpaz (November 29, 2008). "History and hipsters". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  27. ^ Black, Rosemary (November 22, 2006). "Easy As Pie!". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  28. ^ "Clinton St. Baking Company – Lower East Side – New York, NY 10002". Metromix New York. September 10, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  29. ^ "New York: Big Apple...small budget". The Daily Mirror. December 4, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  30. ^ "The Great New York Fancy-Pants Fried Chicken Roundup". Serious Eats: New York. September 24, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  31. ^ Cynthia Kilian (December 28, 2005). "Holiday Cheers! – May Older Cocktails be Forgot as we Greet 2006". The New York Post. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  32. ^ "Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant". Clintonstreetbaking.com. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  33. ^ Bernstein, Joshua M. (January 22, 2008). "Labor of love". Metromix New York. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  34. ^ "Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant – Catering". Greatbiscuits.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  35. ^ Lyn, Nicole (September 26, 2010). "Brunch recipes from the Clinton St. Baking Company". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  36. ^ a b Harpaz, Beth J. (October 29, 2008). "Hipsters mix with history in New York's Lower East Side". USA Today. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  37. ^ Cohan, Leila (January 23, 2009). "Bobby Flay Throws Down with Clinton St. Baking Co". Grub Street New York. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  38. ^ Throwdown with Bobby Flay. "Blueberry Pancakes". Food Network. Archived from the original on March 30, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  39. ^ "The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival Presented by Food & Wine and Travel+Leisure Magazines Raises Over $1 Million to Help Fight Hunger!". The Street. November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  40. ^ "Clinton St. Baking Co." Zagat. 2011.
  41. ^ Neil Kleinberg; Dede Lahman (2010). Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond from New York's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-08337-9.[permanent dead link]
  42. ^ Paul Adams (December 26, 2007). "Pillar of the Community". The New York Sun. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  43. ^ Adam Shepard (November 11, 2007). "The Dish: Five Guys, Lunetta, Community Food, ilili, Mason Dixon, Blue Ribbon Sushi". Eater NY. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  44. ^ Moskin, Julia (January 30, 2008). "Dining Briefs; Community Food and Juice". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  45. ^ Lane, Randall (December 27, 2007). "Mermaid Inn and Community Food & Juice". Time Out New York. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  46. ^ Gwendolyn Heasley (2011). Where I Belong. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-197884-5.
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