This week, the Westchester Breakfast Club travel all the way to Mt. Kisco for visit to The Flying Pig. Down the road from the center of town, this corner restaurant offers a full brunch menu that includes daily made pastries. Some would say a restaurant of this stature would only exist when pigs fly. Well, it’s here. Enjoy!
Flying Pig at Lexington
251 Lexington Avenue
Mt Kisco, NY 10549-2720 (Map It)
(914) 666-7445
Attendees: Jeffrey, Shelley, Kate, Bob, Reid, Pat, Sylvia
Many times I’ve heard women tell me, “when pigs fly.” So, I thought a visit to the Flying Pig was in order. HOW ABOUT NOW, LADIES?!
The Flying Pig is a rather nice establishment. We were seated on the second floor in what looked like a semi-private room for extremely large parties. We were only a party of 7 so there were many more tables available for other guests. We were mostly left alone which is probably for the best, since we are known for inappropriate conversation.
The menu was full of possibilities and had very nice prices compared to the other places we’ve been too. It was a very difficult decision. At first, eggs seemed to be the winner. But then I saw something that was called a “Southern Breakfast”. It wasn’t just a southern style breakfast. No, this was the real deal. Where else am I going to get a chance to have one of these?
We ordered, which took some time since the waitress had to go check on exactly which pastries they had. It wasn’t her fault. She told us she doesn’t usually do the brunch shift. To my delight, and probably to the delight of others, Shelley suggested another order for the table. So, we ordered pancakes to share.
Southern Breakfast
The food arrived promptly. A little faster then I had expected, which is a plus. The table quickly filled up with large plates. It was a good thing we had extra space where an eighth person would have sat. Down came my Southern Breakfast. It consisted of two biscuits covered in thick sausage gravy with little chunks of sausage around it. The biscuits were dense, but flaky. Each bite was labor intensive as I realized exactly what I was eating for breakfast. It was such a heavy meal for the morning. If the south eats like this every morning, it’s a wonder they don’t have heart attacks every day. I got what I asked for. I ordered it knowing that I might get something heavy. I have no one to blame but myself. It was delicious, though.
In the end, the Flying Pig is a good place to go for breakfast. It’s even been suggested that we go back. If we do, I’ll try something that’s not so heavy. The other breakfasts on the menu look great. I can’t wait until we go again.
If pigs could fly, we’d all eat very well.
On Sunday we headed over to the Flying Pig in Mount Kisco. This restaurant used to be right near the Mount Kisco train station, but it moved several years ago to its current location on Lexington Avenue. I was the second in our group to arrive this morning, and after giving Sylvia’s name I was led upstairs and shown to a long copper dining table in a separate dining nook. (I’m sure the people at Flying Pig have heard what a rowdy bunch the WBC can be and figured it would be a good idea to seat us apart from the rest of the diners.)
Flying Pig Menu
The dining area is bright and has a country farmhouse feel to it. The walls are adorned with a variety of images of (what else) pigs, and the windows are covered by cozy red checked curtains. After our whole group had arrived, we were presented with large, yellow leather-bound menus embossed on the front with the name of the restaurant and its charming logo. Now came the hard part: what to get for breakfast. After much debate, and after hearing what everyone else was getting, I settled on the New York Style Bagel Plate, which contains bagels, lox, capers, onions, tomatoes, and cream cheese, and a side of home fries. When I heard the waitress tell Reid that the muffin of the day was lemon poppy, I shouted out in excitement and asked her to add one to my order as well. Finally, I suggested that the table get an order of pancakes to share. (What can I say, I was hungry this morning, and everything on the menu looked so good!) I got a cranberry juice to wash everything down. The juice was served with a lime wedge, an unexpected but surprisingly pleasant and refreshing flavor complement.
Several of us ordered pastries and soon they arrived. My first impression was that they were smaller than I had expected, with the exception of the scones, which were of average size. I also noticed that my muffin didn’t look very much like a lemon poppy muffin. And when I bit into it, my suspicion was confirmed. Instead of lemon poppy I was given a carrot muffin. It’s not that I just got the wrong muffin, Reid ordered a lemon poppy muffin as well and also received a carrot muffin. The waitress must have been misinformed. I would be more upset about this, except that the food that followed was…
Let me put it this way. About a month ago I gave Terra Rustica the “best meal so far” award. Flying Pig now holds that honor.
Bagel and Lox
Our food arrived on crisp white plates. The presentation alone garnered major brownie points in my book. Everything was presented in an aesthetically pleasing, elegant, and very appetizing manner. The presentation of my lox was much better than at Terra Rustica: the bagels, lox, and all the other fixings were arranged to take up the whole plate. I like that everything was separated, including the cream cheese, allowing me to add as much or as little of all the components as I pleased. The platter came with two types of bagel, plain and sesame, an extra flavor perk. The four bagel pieces made for neat, easy eating. The lox was very fresh, it had the hint of saltiness that you would want in lox but thankfully was neither excessively slimy nor fishy. The bagels were soft and chewy, without any hard edges. The platter alone was very filling, but I had to make room for all the other food awaiting me.
The side of homefries was exceedingly generous for a side dish. I barely even noticed the couple of bites that Reid stole from my dish. The homefries were the most flavorful that I’ve tasted to date. Delicious, lightly salted, soft on the inside but with the slightly crunchy edges that you’d want in homefries. They could have been a meal in and of themselves.
Our waitress admitted that she made a mistake and forgot to put in the order for our pancakes, so their arrival lagged behind the rest of the meal. That was ok, though, since we had plenty of food to occupy ourselves with until they were ready. When the pancakes made their grand entrance, they were a sight to be seen. Unfortunately, in our enthusiasm to try the pancakes we forgot to take a picture of them whole, so you’ll have to settle for a picture of pieces of the pancakes. Let me try to recreate what we saw: three thick, fluffly, picture-perfect pancakes were stacked, topped with a delicate smattering of powdered sugar and accompanied by a side of maple syrup. As I bit into my piece of pancake, I smiled.
I realize this post may sound overly effusive, but I’m just really trying to convey how good this meal was. Not only was the food wonderful, the prices were just as great. The overall damage to my wallet wasn’t bad at all considering how much I got: the lox was seven dollars and change, the side of homefries was just $2.25, the juice was $2.50, and the pancakes–quite possibly the crowning glorly of the meal–were a very affordable $3.00, meaning that divided between the seven of us our contribution for the pancakes was just about 72 cents each. The only item that I think was overpriced was the muffin, at $2.75. It definitely wasn’t worth more than the homefries. The service was prompt, pleasant, and patient (especially when we were somewhat indecisive when placing our orders). The Flying Pig is a wonderful place to meet to enjoy delicious, afordable food in a beautiful atmosphere. I can’t wait to go back!
Kate's Flying Pig Pin
I was honored to once again join the Westchester Breakfast Club as they ventured to a new eatery, the Flying Pig in Mt Kisco. I have certain affection for pigs and it seemed the perfect occasion to show off my very special flying pig pin, of course I was hoping the food would be tasty as well. The Flying Pig is whimsically decorated with various paintings depicting pigs and the atmosphere is comfortable. The place is divided into an upstairs and downstairs with several alcoves and the tables are copper covered all adding to the whimsical atmosphere.
Bagel
I ordered the egg white omelet with goat cheese, spinach and mushrooms and a bagel. The service was prompt and attentive, although I was a bit put off that the waitress was behind me taking orders.
My bagel arrived before my eggs and I have to say it was plated in a most unusual manner. It was cut into quarters presented on a large plate with cream cheese in the center; so large was the plate that it required its own place at the table. The omelet arrived shortly after accompanied by home fries and toast; I wish the menu had mentioned the accompaniments as I would have nixed the bagel. Anyway, the omelet was delicious as were the home fries, bagel and toast. The omelet was folded over the spinach, mushrooms and cheese (as opposed to being mixed together) and this allowed the otherwise wimpy egg white omelet to rise to a hearty status, despite Reid’s assessment that an omelet consisting of only the egg white was something of a lesser omelet.
All the food was delicious, including the shared pancakes. I must also mention that the jam was served in cute little jars which I found very appealing. I can’t resist saying that one shouldn’t wait for pigs to fly before eating at this restaurant, it was well worth it and all at a reasonable price.
Oh my, what a pleasure it was to join the WBC for a brunch at the Flying Pig.
I consider myself a foodie and always enjoy finding like-minded folk that allow me to explore my epicurious nature.
Steel-Cut Oats
The Flying Pig was a comfortable establishment. We sat on the second floor. It was bright and warm. I particularly liked the copper-clad tables. There were plenty of eccentric decorations and paintings, mostly flying pigs and the like, that held your interest.
I thought the menu most satisfactory, with a good list of brunch selections.
I ordered a cup of chamomile tea that arrived steeping in a cast iron pot while I reviewed the menu.
I decided on the steel-cut oats with dried apples, cranberries, and turbinado sugar.
What the heck is turbinado sugar? According to an Internet search after-wards, it turns out that turbinado sugar “is a delicious alternative to table sugar. Unlike typical granulated sugar, turbinado sugar crystals are much larger, and are made at an earlier period in the sugar cane processing method. It retains some of the flavor of molasses, a natural byproduct of the sugar process.” So there.
Oatmeal can be filling but being quite hungry that morning and seeing the amount of food others were ordering ,I added a scone. A blueberry scone as it turned out.
Truthfully, I did not find the oats very sweet at all…I almost reached for the table sugar. I enjoyed the oats with dried apples and cranberries. The serving was warm and hearty, served also with a generous pour of milk. A touch more sweetness was needed, or maybe a dash of cinnamon.
The scone was wonderful, chocked full of blueberries and not so sweet–just as a scone should be.
A big thanks to Madame Czarina for granting me an audience with WBC. I hope to enjoy their company again.
The Case: The Flying Pig v. Westchester Breakfast Club
The Jurisdiction: Mt. Kisco
The Venue: A pseudo-rustic, two-story standalone building decorated with numerous depictions of pigs, both flying and flightless. There was definitely an effort at the “old country kitchen” vibe, down to piles of pastries on a corner table and the dented copper sheeting covering the tables. All in all it was a very comfortable place for breakfast.
Various Pastries
The Facts: I wasn’t overly hungry and wanted to try some of those home-made pastries the menu was trying to push on me. So, in lieu of a real breakfast, I ordered a muffin, a cinnamon roll, and a side of bacon. Despite a specific trip to ascertain the identity of the muffin-of-the-day, our waitress misidentified said muffin as a lemon-poppy, when what came was clearly a carrot muffin. Furthermore, the muffin, the cinnamon roll, and the chocolate croissant Pat offered to split with me were quite a bit smaller than my expectations, or the $4.00 price tag had led me to believe. The muffin was good, but not spectacular, and the chocolate croissant, though flavorful, was a little less soft than I might prefer. The cinnamon roll, however, despite its diminutive size, was absolutely delicious, with powerful cinnamon punch to cut through the sweetness.
The Bacon
The sweetness was so strong that I was very glad to have the side of bacon, as well as helpings of Shelley’s and Jeff’s hash browns to intersperse with my bites of cinnamon roll. The hash browns tasted strongly, though pleasantly, of pepper. And as one would want in hash browns, they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The bacon was also quite good, with a slight touch of sweetness, though dominated by a crispy savoury-ness that left me satisfied, despite my lack of any other protein on the plate.
Along with everyone else, I shared an order of pancakes. The pancakes were nice a dense without losing a fluffiness. The accompanying maple syrup was quite good as well, with just the right viscosity; fluid enough to spread easily across the surface of the pancake, but gooey enough to adhere to the various crannies of the pancakes. I’d go on, but I’ll leave it to the other reviewers to describe them better than I feel able.
I also had an orange juice; fine, but nothing you can’t get out of a carton at the supermarket.
The Verdict: Skip the muffin and the chocolate croissant, as they are not worth the price. Do try the cinnamon roll, the bacon, and the hash browns. If I went back I’d get the pancakes, a side of bacon, split an order of hash browns with two friends, and order a cinnamon roll for dessert.
What I Had: Bacon and Cheese Omelet, hash browns, toast, piece of pancake, half a chocolate croissant, coffee
What it Cost: $15 or so all together
Worth It: Yes Yes Yes!
The Rating: 5/5
The Details: We’re going to start this review with the negatives: The exterior of The Flying Pig is at best nondescript, at worst a little tattered. And the coffee was fine, but nothing special.
Now on to the positives.
Bacon and Cheese Omelet
The Flying Pig was the best breakfast I’ve had with the Westchester Breakfast Club, including the Clinton Street Bakery. Let me stress this again, so as to avoid any confusion. The Flying Pig was the best breakfast I’ve had with the Westchester Breakfast Club. Sorry, the Italics got a little out of control there.
The interior is wonderfully designed. Feeling at once modern, homey and – with a variety of idols to the eponymous swine – rather quirky, the restaurant is comfortable and inviting. The ground floor seems a little tight, space wise, but the upstairs, where our party sat, is downright spacious (if slightly less chic looking). On the way to our seats I spied a plate of home made pastries that looked irresistible, so with my meal I ordered a chocolate croissant, half of which went to Reid. The croissant was modestly sized, flaky, with the perfect amount of chocolate well-distributed within. It was a pleasant, if not auspicious pastry. But it was only the beginning.
Next came the omelet, and my eyes opened wide when they set it down on the table. It was perfectly proportioned. The cheese was evenly distributed throughout the omelet. Seemingly every bite contained the perfect amount farm fresh eggs, high quality cheddar cheese and delicious, delicious bacon. Oh my, the bacon. The bacon was so good, just the memory of it is probably enough to make the italics return. Oh yes, that was gooooood bacon. The hash browns were good, but didn’t stand out as much as the rest of the meal.
Ever so cleverly, we ordered pancakes for the table, which came after we had time to dig in to our main meals. When they arrived, as one, our mouths seemed to water in unison. The pancakes were thick, wonderfully colored, topped with a dusting of powdered sugar and served with a generous portion of local syrup. I only had a small bite, but it was enough to make me want to come back just so I could have a whole plate of pancakes all to myself. They also offer “malted” pancakes as well as waffles. I can’t wait to come back and try them.
The Bottom Line: Run, walk, bike, drive, or fly to brunch at The Flying Pig as soon as you can.
The Flying Pig is a very cute restaurant located in Mount Kisco. It is a little further outside of the center of town where the main shopping complex is growing. Not wanting a repeat of the Parkway Cafe where 7 of us decended upon the establishment with no warning, this time I made a reservation, which was probably a good idea with such a large party. (Reservations are accepted, and you might want to make some if you are a larger party. It wasn’t super crowded when we were there, and no one was waiting when we left, but the restaurant was busy.) We were seated upstairs in a bright area. All around us were pictures or paintings of pigs in some form. We all sort of trickled in, and as we each arrived, our waitress was quick to get our drink orders in. I had a cup of coffee, and it was okay. Something warm on a cold rainy day. One of our guests, Bob, had tea, and it came in its own little tea pot with the tell tale tea bag that denoted loose leaf tea. Note for next time!
Blueberry Scone
The brunch menu was a menu where everything looked really delicious. It was really hard to pick something. But I was having a hankering for eggs and spinach, so I settled on the Egg White Omelette with spinach and goat cheese (and mushrooms) with a side of blueberry scone. Their pastries were whatever they made for that day, so flavors change daily. A good sign because that means the pastries are fresh and not mass produced, but the restaurant may not have what you want. The pastries came out first. They all looked homemade. The scone was very good. Just crumbly enough, moist and not stingy on the blueberries.
Our meals came out all together, and each plate was huge. Make room for the food! My omelette looked like a hearty meal. As opposed to last week, where it was literally a meat fest, my meal this week had no meat in it. A good change. The omelette was good. The egg was a little thick for my liking, but cooked well. The goat cheese was good, not overpowering and just the right amount in the entire omelette. I’m usually not a big fan of cheese in my omelettes because it tends to overwhelm the omelette, and since I eat slow, it solidifies and doesn’t taste so good by the time I reach the end of it. This one erred on the side of caution and instead of slabs of goat cheese, it was well interspersed throughout. I ate my omelette from left to right, and at first it was predominatly mushroom and goat cheese. As I made it further down the omelette, it changed to spinach and goat cheese. A little odd, but enjoyable nonetheless. The hash browns that came with the dish were really good. The potatoes were grated and had the lovely crispy outside. Mine were seasoned a bit inconsistently, and a touch heavy on the pepper. But better to have a little more pepper than too much salt! I didn’t make it to my toast. I think the scone did me in. I did have a few bites of toast, and it seemed like something I would have liked fresh out of the toaster, as opposed to having it after it had been sitting on my plate till the end of my meal.
Egg White Omelette
We also ordered a plate of pancakes for the table. It was too tough to resist, especially since they use local maple syrup. After Pat divided it up between the seven of us, I tried my slice of pancake. I thought it was a great pancake. The only real negatives I have to say is that it was not as crisp around the edges as I like, and given that the pancakes were thick, that also means they are a little softer. It was also a touch dry for my liking, but that was rectified by the very delicious maple syrup. With the maple syrup, the pancake was excellent. I don’t think they would stand up too well on their own. If I came here next time, I would definitely put more consideration into getting the pancakes.
The czar says: The Flying Pig is a nice surprise. If it weren’t for our adventures with the Westchester Breakfast Club, who knows if I would know about this place. As a farm-to-table restaurant, this place is a great choice, but coupled with their prices, it is an excellent choice. The prices rival those of the diners, but Flying Pig’s committment to the use of local and fresh ingredients gives them the clear advantage. They don’t skimp on the service or the ambiance or the quality and flavors of their food. Definitely go, because I am!
Kate
March 30, 2010 at 9:38 am
Love the slide show!