Clinton Street Baking Company, Purvis Street: Popular All-Day Breakfast from NYC Fails to Shine

By Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow on March 15, 2019 • ( 6 Comments )

When Clinton Street Baking Company first opened at Purvis Street, we were invited to their tasting but we rejected it so that we could write an honest, anonymous review. The all-day breakfast cafe was started in New York in 2001 by married coupled Chef Neil Kleinberg and DeDe Lahman. They now own 5 restaurants worldwide including cities as Bangkok, Dubai, and Tokyo.

They are most well-known for their pancakes and fried chicken waffles but they also have other breakfast food (brioche French toast $18, egg benedict $21, croque madame $20, and Angus cheese burger $23); and fun milkshakes starting from $10.

Chicken & Waffles ($21)

First of all, avoid the buttermilk onion rings ($7) which taste like paper. The buttermilk fried chicken and vanilla buttermilk waffle ($21) is drizzled with the warm maple butter. I think they use chicken breast so it’s not extremely tender but good enough. However the surface is not crispy. The waffle is bad: it’s floppy and flabby throughout without any texture. However, the maple syrup is magic. It ties the chicken and waffle together and makes the entire combination more delicious by tenfold. Somehow, the mild sweetness and slight spiciness elevate the food.

Blueberries Pancakes ($19)

The pancakes come with a choice of blueberries, banana walnut, or chocolate chunks. But the recommended option is blueberries, which is nice. It tastes and feels homemade, not too sweet and not too tart. The three pieces of pancakes are fluffy, about half an inch thick, but I don’t like the buttermilk flavour, which tastes like milk gone sour. They need to check with their supplier or change the brand of the buttermilk.

Farmer’s Plate ($23)

Saw the Farmer’s Plate on instagram, which looked full. But ours wasn’t. It consists of soft scrambled eggs, farmhouse cheddar, house rosemary pork patties, herb-roasted tomatoes and sourdough toast. Nothing outstanding here except for the patties, which are juicy and tasty and just slightly gamy to give it flavour.

Upside down pineapple cake ($7.50)

My friend said, “This is my third time here and this is the third time I am underwhelmed.” But I wanted to try the upside pineapple cake because it is rare to find one in Singapore. And this one is excellent, probably the best thing we ate here. The butter pound cake is thick and dense, which is how Europeans do it, and it is rich and not too sweet.

Ron Swanson said, “There has never been a sadness that can’t be cured by breakfast food.” Not sure if the adage can be applied at Clinton Street. The food is just not satisfying. We paid $93 for three persons.

Menu