The Westchester Breakfast Club is split again! The Czar had a half marathon to run in queens. No worries, we convened at Nevaeh Cuisine in Pleasantville. It was such a nice day we even sat outside! We forgot to take pictures of the food before we started eating, so we apologize for the photos of half eaten food. The Czar fulfilled her obligation and had a remote posting from her location in Queens. Enjoy!
Nevaeh Cuisine
146 Bedford Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570 (Map It!)
Attendees: Shelley, Pat, Reid, Jeffrey
Remote Post: Sylvia
The Nevaeh Cafe is located on Route 117 next to Michael’s Tavern in Pleasantville. Aside from offering fresh, organic fare, the thing that sets Nevaeh apart from other establishments is that it is completely peanut-free. It also offers many gluten-free food options. Given the prevalence of peanut allergies and gluten sensitivities, it’s nice to have a local eatery available for people with these sorts of dietary limitations.
When we walked into the small cafe on Saturday morning, we were greeted warmly by the man behind the counter who asked us if it was our first time at Nevaeh and pointed us to the stack of paper take-out menus (which serve as the only menus in the place). The interior of the cafe is long and narrow, with the counter and cooking area behind it running along one wall and 3 or 4 small square tables lining the opposite wall. There’s a case with a variety of baked goods and several entrees, and there’s also a separate case devoted to all gluten-free dishes.
The menu is typical of a cafe menu, with omelettes, waffles, French toast, and various pastries listed under the breakfast options. There are a couple of atypical options, including the Nevaeh omelette, which is prepared with salmon, ginger, onions, and a dill sauce. Sylvia had requested that someone try this omelette in her absence, but none of us stepped up to the plate. Sorry Sylvia. The first downside was that Nevaeh didn’t have orange juice or cranberry juice. It struck me as odd that a place offering breakfast wouldn’t have these basic beverages, and the man seemed somewhat apologetic about this. All they had in the way of juice was a small selection of Nantucket Nectar bottled mixed juices, which did not appeal to me. I settled on a bottled water instead. For my breakfast I ordered a chocolate chip waffle.
We decided to eat outside at the two small tables under the awning. Like at most cafes, you seat yourself and gather your own utensils and napkins. However, Nevaeh has actual silverware, not plastic utensils like at many other cafes. Our food was brought to us and when we were done someone came out to take our plates, too. I don’t know if this is the case all the time at Nevaeh or if it just happened today because we were the only diners there, but it was a nice touch.
Chocoloate Chip Waffle
Our food arrived pretty quickly, although we did have time before it came out to discuss whether or not the iPad is a good investment (we’re geeky, ok). The waffle was visually pleasing: a large waffle that filled the whole diamater of the plate. It came with a small plastic cup filled with maple syrup. The waffle was thick and fluffy, well-cooked to a golden brown. While the helping of chocolate chips was generous and nicely melted, the chocolate chips were unevenly distributed. They were all clustered in the middle of the waffle, leaving the middle of the waffle very chocolatey and the outer edges plain. I dipped the outer edges in the syrup to add some flavor. The syrup was fine, nothing exceptional but completely acceptable. I also sampled Jeff’s and Reid’s breakfasts. The omelette was very fluffy and not overly cheesy. The French toast was not so much French toast but more like a cake or even a souffle. The diced, carmelized apples on top were a nice touch.
My overall assessment is that Nevaeh is a nice local spot that provides an alternative cafe to usual weekend-morning hustle and bustle of Jean Jacques (and the food was definitely much less greasy and less soggy than at Jean Jacques). It must be especially nice for people who live down Bedford Road in Pleasanvtille to walk to. The service was friendly and the prices were fine; my waffle and bottled water were $8.00 (although the bottled water was definitely over-priced).
Nevaeh’s not on my “oh my gosh run to it now” list, but it’s perfectly acceptable for a quick, cheap bite to eat if you’re in the Pleasantville area, and certainly a nice worry-free destination if you or your children have a peanut allergy.
What I Had: Breakfast Burrito, Coffee
What it Cost: 6.99 plus tax
Breakfast Burrito
Worth It: Close but not quite
The Rating: 3/5
The Details: I walked up to the counter and immediately thought, “gee, I’d like to come back here for lunch.” Under glass displays, Nevaeh offers many tempting lunchtime options that fall under their purview of “Healthy Global Foods,” including an entire case devoted to gluten-free foods. With that said, I’m a guy who likes his gluten, and a guy who especially likes his breakfast. Since Shelley had gone for the waffle, Reid the french toast, and Jeffrey my traditional omelet, I thought I’d branch out a bit and I ordered the breakfast burrito.
It arrived a few short minutes later. The wrap appeared to be whole grain, and was toasted to a delightful crispiness. Within I found thin layers of egg and turkey sausage, a dollop of salsa, and a generous serving of avocado. The ingredients were all fresh, but disappointingly bland, and the salsa really lacked any kick at all. It was also very spare; the order came with a small coffee, a side of sour cream, and that’s it. It was a sufficient amount of food, but even the burrito seemed a little smaller than a usual burrito. Just in terms of pure value, this place can’t compare with most diners or restaurants (especially not the Flying Pig). The coffee was nothing special but nothing bad. I also stole a taste of Jeffrey’s smoothie, which, again, was nothing special, but not too bad either.
The Bottom Line: Give it a try but don’t come too hungry or expecting something special. Maybe go back for lunch.
The Case: Nevaeh Cafe v. Westchester Breakfast Club
The Jurisdiction: Bedford Road, Pleasantville
The Venue: A new-agey twist on the glass-counter deli, Nevaeh has a decor that was clean, though hardly remarkable.
The Facts: Torn between the chocolate chip waffle and the “apple pie French toast,” Shelley made my decision for me by choosing the waffle for herself. I was pleasantly surprised when our breakfasts were brought to our outside tables.
Apple French Toast
The French toast, if you could call it that, was extremely dense, more like a coffee cake. It was nicely sweet though, with a touch of cinnamon. The presentation was very impressive for this kind of an establishment, topped with a layer of diced apples. Unfortunately, the apple chunks were somewhat bland, and functioned more as rather pervasive garnish than anything else.
I also tried a bite of Shelley’s waffle and Jeff’s turkey and cheese omelet. Both were tasty, though I will leave it to them to describe those meals in better detail.
Oh, and Vanessa Williams came by.
The Verdict: If it’s good enough for the lady from “Eraser,” it’s good enough for you. I don’t think I’d make a special trip there, but if I were nearby, I’d have no compunction stopping by.
Saturday morning was a bright, sunny morning. It turned out to be slightly colder than I would have wanted, but not cold enough to stop me from sitting outside to enjoy breakfast.
Au Claire
Nevaeh Cuisine is a small food boutique. With only a handful of tables along its wall on the inside, it seems that it caters more to the takeout crowd. There were tables set up outside just in case a group of 4 wanted to enjoy the place. Just in luck, the Westchester Breakfast Club arrived.
Ordering the food was a cinch. After a quick once-over of the paper menu, I quickly ordered the Au Claire, an organic omelet with turkey sausage and Wisconsin Cheddar. There was not another soul in the establishment so the people working there kindly served our food to us just outside. I don’t know if this is a normal thing, especially if the place were to be busy, but it was a nice touch. Another nice touch were the real plates and real silverware–ok, they may not have been real silver, but they were definitely not plastic. A big step up from another cafe we’ve been to. Maybe that place should learn from Nevaeh. I also ordered coffee. I enjoyed it. It was also a step up from that particular place that was mentioned earlier.
Calypso Smoothie
The omelet came and it was rather large. A hearty amount of meat and cheese was supplied, as well as nicely grilled toast. No butter was needed, since the omelet provided enough flavor.
After the meal, during much of the inappropriate conversation, I noticed a sign on the front window of Nevaeh that said, “We make Smoothies.” After a short conversation about the merits of smoothies and debate on basic smoothie construction, I ordered the Calypso Smoothie. It consisted of peach and raspberry. I was happy. It wasn’t overly sweet nor was it too heavy.
From the nice breakfast and the smoothie that acted like a dessert, I was quite pleased with Nevaeh Cuisine. I enjoyed the food. Nevaeh has changed the negative idea of cafes with no table service that I’ve had in my head. It also helped that we spotted a celebrity.
Q Thai Bistro
108-25 Ascan Ave
New York, NY 11375 (Map It!)
Attendees: Sylvia
Unfortunatly, due to prior committments made back in January, the Czar could not join the Westchester Breakfast Club this week. I was instead running a half marathon out in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The half marathon (13.1 miles) was okay. It was supposed to be motivation to keep us running through the winter, which it was, but not at the level that was really necessary to prepare for a half marathon. All in all, I kept a good pace in the beginning, but then right about the halfway point, I ran out of steam. I did do better than I thought, which makes me feel better about the whole race.
13.1 Miles
Post race, my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and I all went out to Q Thai Bistro for some brunch. The unfortunate part was that we didn’t make it into the restaurant till a little after 2pm. Brunch ended at 3pm. The place was empty except for another table. The place is more of a dinner place, and when I read the reviews on yelp.com, everyone gave pretty good reviews for their dinner. The brunch menu consisted of many things usually found on their lunch menu, with the addition of eggs benedict and mango pancakes. What was noticably missing, and something that many of the reviews raved about, was the Beef rotti, so that was a little disappointing.
When we ordered, we were informed that they were out of mango pancakes, which was a big disappointment. It was close to the end of brunch, so I can only assume that either the pancakes were that good and everyone ordered them, or the restaurant just didn’t plan well and ran out. I ended up getting the Q Basil Burger, which was a thai marinated burger served on Foccacia bread (it definitely did not look like it, but nonetheless, the bun was delicious), with taro-sweet potato fries and a small salad. I know, not a typical breakfast item, but it was 2pm and technically my first meal of the day, so breakfast it is! My mom got the Drunken noodles, my dad got the eggs benedict with smoked salmon, my sister-in-law also got the eggs benedict but with filet mignon, and my brother got the Twister Shrimp, which was shrimp sauteed with garlic, cilantro, and lemon. We also got the seared tuna and Q Thai eggroll to start.
The kitchen was this tiny open kitchen in the back, and it was quite obvious that only one person was cooking. The starters took a really long time to come out, and they were tiny. The eggroll was cut into four tiny pieces, and the seared tuna consisted of four thin slices of tuna. They weren’t any more special than at any other restaurant.
The main meals were better. I’ve been having a hankering for a burger for awhile. With Friday’s discussion during a bike ride about burgers, and Saturday’s half marathon, I thought the Q Thai Burger might satisfy my craving. My Thai burger was different than any other burger. I had many spices in it, and it was served with some sort of sauce that looked like Thousand Island dressing, but was totally not, and two basil leaves. The bun was excellent. It was soft ,and provided just enough bread to complement the burger and not make it so dry. It was a touch salty for my taste, but overall the burger was good. Good size, good flavors, and it definitely satiated my craving. The taro-sweet potato fries were absolutely delicious. They were perfectly fried, and the sweet potato was soft. They were also served with some of the sauce from the burger. It was good sauce. I don’t know what is in it, but it was good. I would have to venture that mayo was one of the ingredients, but it went well with the fries.
The other meals looked good as well. Those who had the eggs benedict said that it was really good, one of the better eggs benedict they have had. My brother liked his Twisted Shrimp and said the sauce was really good. The Drunken noodles were okay. We ordered them without spice for my mother, but in the end it just tasted like any other sauteed flat noodles you can get at any Chinese restaurant.
The czar says: For brunch, until I’ve had the mango pancakes, I can’t recommend it. Otherwise, the food was decent. The Thai mixed with the French bistro, to me, didn’t work out that well. It just seemed like it was an excuse to create Americanized Thai food and put the French spin on it to mark up the prices. Just like Chinese restaurants, price and flavor seem to have an inverse relationship. If you want a nice place for dinner, and impress a date, then this is a good place. If you want good Thai food, it’s Queens, I’m sure you’ll find something. I know there’s a good place out in Elmhurst…
Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ice and Ice Cream
7223 Austin Street
Flushing, NY 11375 (Map It!)
Attendees: Sylvia
After brunch we ventured down the street to Uncle Louie G’s for some Italian ice. They had so many flavors it was definitely hard to choose. But I did spy Georgia Peach in the corner of the case, so I got a small cup of that. It was very good for an Italian ice. It wasn’t too sweet, but full of flavor. It was a water ice (as opposed to cream ice, which they differentiated), so the texture was a lot more grainier. No complaints here!
The czar says: With all the available flavors, it is fun to scan through the case to see and wonder about them all. It is a nice stop if you happen to be in town in the middle of a hot summer day.