📍Chez Ma Tante, New York City
I grew up eating pancakes, there's a certain comfort that comes from that. As a kid, I would eat them on Saturday morning to celebrate the weekend. If it was a long weekend or holiday, that was also a pancake morning. As I became a teenager, I started making them myself. I still had them on Saturday mornings. It's no surprise that I still think of pancakes as celebration food. Over the past few years, that celebration pancake has been at Chez Ma Tante.
Recently, I saw that they would be closing. Hopefully not forever. It's supposed to be a temporary thing while the building goes through renovations. Still, it's unclear how long. These things can go from weeks to months to anyone's guess. If enough time passes, people move on. I had to have these pancakes again before they closed
Chez Ma Tante's brunch seating isn't the toughest table but it usually takes some planning or a well-timed cancellation. It just so happened that a well-timed cancellation fell into our lap. We jumped at it. The reservation was less than an hour from when we got it. It had to work.
It's a 10 minute walk from the closest G-train stop that feels just a bit longer on a cold winter morning. I miraculously made it on time. My friend was already there, menu in hand, and coffee on the way. I asked for a coffee as soon as I sat down. They use Oslo, a Brooklyn-based roaster.
Chez Ma Tante presents itself as the type of cafe or bistro you would find in Montreal. It's a European menu but approachable. When you walk into the place, it's mostly small tables, groups of 2 or 4 with some booth space in the back. There's a bar area with wooden stools. I've never been for dinner but during brunch, it's rare to see an empty seat. This day was no different.
Catching up with my friend, I didn't really look over the menu. When it came time to order a drink, I picked the first thing that seemed interesting. I ordered the Country Club and my friend got the Pushing Hands. They used to have a coffee based cocktail on the brunch menu but no more.
Country Club and Pushing Hands at Chez Ma Tante
The Country Club is gin, tonic, and grapefruit bitters. I wanted something bubbly in the morning and the tonic here fit the bill. The grapefruit bitters were apparent and brought forward a strong citrus note. A gin and tonic is an underrated pre-noon drink.
I got to taste my friend's drink and it was much more interesting. Scotch, rum, chai, and oat milk made it taste like a boozy iced chai. I thought the chai spices were on the lighter side but the whole of the drink was quite pleasant. The foam and texture after shaking it together made it bouncy and free flowing without the heft of milk or milk alternatives.
Pancakes at Chez Ma Tante
The main event, the pancakes. Neither of us ordered anything else to eat. One order of pancakes each. A double stack. The syrup is warm and served on the side. This is change from before. Other times I've had the pancakes here, the syrup has come poured from the kitchen. These ones are also a little bit smaller than I remember them.
Chez Ma Tante fries the heck out of these pancakes. Most places try to serve you perfectly circular pancakes with a smooth surface. Chez Ma Tante's pancakes come crispy with rustic pieces of batter hanging off. When you cut into them, you'll hear the crunch. When you pour syrup over them, the edges remain crunchy. From what I've read, they fry these pancakes in clarified butter. They are rich, they are heavy, and they are delicious.
The insides of the pancake are a little tangy and fully tender. The second half of the pancakes, you'll be using your fork as a base rather than prong to eat. They come with a compound butter thats laced with orange peel. The butter comes on the colder side. It's something you cut into just like the pancake to get a bite of. The pancakes, the butter, the syrup, and the orange blend together in a kind of harmony that betrays how simple these are.
They taste homemade, butter aside, in a way that reminds me of growing up. This is despite cooking it in a way that no cookbook would ask you to in the '80s and '90s. There's an incredible amount of craftsmanship that comes with these pancakes and I'm going to miss them. At least they shared the recipe with the New York Times.
📍 Chez Ma Tante
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