The WBC has been breakfasting all over Westchester for a whole year. One whole year. Can we make it another full year? Who knows. But for now, we decided to celebrate our one year anniversary by returning to one of the places we enjoyed the most. That place: The Flying Pig in Mt. Kisco. Read on to see how we kicked it breakfast style.
Flying Pig at Lexington
251 Lexington Avenue
Mount Kisco, NY 10549 (Map it!)
Attendees: Allison & Greg, Liz, Liz, Reid, Shelley, Jeffrey, Sylvia, Andrew
Greg and I were honored to be invited along as guests to the WBC’s anniversary brunch, held at the crack of dawn (also known as 10am). I had heard vaguely positive reviews of the Flying Pig before, but had never before tried it out for myself.
The restaurant’s atmosphere was homey and comfortable, though a tiny bit contrived, filled with antique-ish furnishings and eponymous chalkboard sketches of winged, sweater-clad piglets. The wait staff was fairly attentive, even remembering to refill my coffee mug with decaf.
The pastry tray tempted most of the table with its carb-tastic delights. Greg and I opted to split a chocolate croissant, which, while not warm, was still a buttery delight. By his own admission, Greg is not a breakfast person. He thus ordered one of the more lunchy things on the brunch menu: the “Carnitas Hash”, a mess of pork, sour cream, salsa, and corn chips that didn’t quite come together. The pork was bland and not tender enough, and overall, Greg thought the dish was “m’okay”. More successful was my “Late for the Train” omelet: eggs stuffed with gooey gruyere, chicken, and mushrooms. It was meaty and very satisfying on a cold, snowy Sunday morning. The table also split an order of the Meyer Lemon-Ricotta pancakes, which I found dense yet fluffy, with a pleasant, not-too-sweet, not-too-sour lemon flavor. While not “pancake-y” in the usual buttermilk sense of the word, they were delicious in their own right.
All in all, the Flying Pig was definitely worth the trip for both the food and the company. We hope to be invited along with the WBC sometime soon (although perhaps when the sun is slightly higher in the sky).
I had the pleasure of celebrating WBC’s first anniversary at The Flying Pig in Mt. Kisco. I had read WBC’s review the last time they had brunch there and knew exactly what I wanted to get. But first I needed to get there, which proved a bit challenging. After a wrong turn and an impromptu tour of Mt.Kisco, I managed to pass the restaurant, which looked like a house from the outside. Once I got there I was again foiled, this time by the door. Multiple signs direct you to the entrance but upon reaching the door I found it to be locked. After a quick call to Sylvia (who I’m pretty sure thought I simply couldn’t open it), Andrew came to my rescue and I was able to join the group.
When I sat at the table I found out, much to my dismay, that the restaurant only had peppermint tea. I don’t drink coffee and in the morning I like a brisk cup of black tea. Peppermint just wasn’t going to cut it, so I stuck with water. While everyone looked through the menu, the waitress took our pastry orders. It seems that the staff isn’t well versed in what items are offered. Reid ordered the cranberry scone, which turned out to be chocolate chip. Shelley ordered a poppy seed muffin which was slightly different than she expected. Jeff got a biscuit which was quite yummy. It seems that even if you don’t get exactly what you expect, whatever you get will be delicious. A plate of lemon ricotta pancakes were brought for the table. I’m not a fan of lemon, but the pancakes were delicious, with a burst of flavor from lemon zest. I ordered the egg white omelette with goat cheese, mushrooms, and spinach, which I had been drooling over since Sylvia reviewed it. I was not disappointed. There was a nice amount of goat cheese but it didn’t overwhelm the omelette. The hash browns that came with the dish were well seasoned, but not terribly crispy. There was also a single piece of toast, which was fine. It was plenty of food but I wish that I had ordered a pastry to go with my meal since they seemed so delicious.
After we were done eating, we were offered the dessert menu. As a group, we decided to sample the squash cheesecake. It came garnished with fresh cream and a few berries. Unfortunately, it looked much prettier than it tasted. I love cheesecake but this tasted like some sort of no bake variety made with gelatin.
Overall I enjoyed The Flying Pig and I would definitely go back next time I’m in the area. The food is delicious and the service is friendly. It’s a nice place to eat brunch and there is ample space for a group.
Happy anniversary WBC!!! Thanks for letting me celebrate with you!!!
The Case: The Flying Pig v. The westchester breakfast club (2)
The Venue: Lexington Ave in Mt. Kisco
The Facts: We’ve been here before, so I won’t belabor the details. In terms of what changed, I can say that my experience this time around does not measure up to my memory of the last time we were at the Flying Pig.
First of all, there was only one flavor of tea for me to choose from (or more accurately take-or-leave), and the water came tepid, not hot. The waitstaff’s ability to accurately describe what pastries they have has not improved; either that or the cranberries in my scone were awfully small, brown, and chocolate-chip tasting. While the omelet they served was not terrible, it was dense, not light and fluffy.
Overall, very disappointing.
The Verdict: Flying Pig is one for two in providing good brunches. I’m not sure if that’s such a good average.
Flying Pig, take two!
The reason for our return to the aerodynamic swine restaurant is because it was time to celebrate the WBC’s one year anniversary. That’s right, it’s been one whole year of breakfast. How time flies.
The last time we went to Flying Pig, there was a snafu with my muffin order. This time, the restaurant redeemed itself by not only telling me that they had sour cream poppy muffins, but by also giving me an actual sour cream poppy muffin. The muffin was obviously freshly baked, large, moist, and very flavorful. There was a subtle citrus zest flavor, and it was jam packed with poppy seeds. The muffin was served on a disproportionately large rectangle plate, which seemed especially unnecessary given that there were already small round plates at each setting on the table. The practical side of me says they didn’t have to waste the extra plates, but the other side of me kind of liked getting a separate plate just for a muffin. After I had polished off a large portion of the muffin, I had to stop, reminding myself that there was still a whole main course to go.
The last time around I tried the lox bagel platter. This time for my main meal I chose two scrambled eggs, which came served with hash browns and multigrain toast. The eggs were well cooked and fluffy, if not especially seasoned. But I’ll take less seasoning any day than food that is over-seasoned. (I’m talking to you, home fries at Brooklyn’s Famous.) The portion of hash browns was generous, although they were a bit mushy. These were not the same as the homefries that I got at my first visit to the Flying Pig. Last March, I raved about the well-seasoned, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside homefries that I enjoyed. The potatoes at this visit were not like those in March. I wonder why Flying Pig changed its breakfast potato recipe? I’d prefer if they went back to the type of potatoes they had when we first visited. The multigrain toast provided a nice alternative to the usual toast. The side of ketchup that I requested was served in a small metal cup. The portions were very generous; because of having a couple of bites too many of my muffin, I was unable to finish my eggs and hash browns, even though I really wanted to. But, I had to save room for…
Lemon ricotta pancakes. As I recall, only regular pancakes were on the menu at our first visit, lemon ricotta pancakes were not offered. We placed an order for the table to share. We were excited to sample this new offering, especially after having some disappointing lemon ricotta pancakes at other places. The piggy’s lemon ricotta pancakes, fortunately, didn’t disappoint. They were smaller pancakes (I’m probably used to diner-type pancakes that fill up the whole diameter of the plate), but where these lacked in size they more than made up for in flavor. The texture of these pancakes seemed to be what lemon ricotta pancakes should be: they were fluffy and moist, with the ricotta consistency really coming through. The lemon flavor was not overpowering; like the muffin, it was more of a zest-flavor than full-blown lemon. We were brought some maple syrup, but I had my portion of pancakes without any syrup, instead enjoying the natural flavor of them. Last March I complimented Flying Pig on their regular pancakes. This time I’m complimenting them on their lemon ricotta pancakes. Flying Pig, you’re 2 for 2 in the pancakes department.
We also decided to try a dessert for the table, and selected the squash cheesecake. We should have just ended the meal with the pancakes; they were more of a dessert than the cheesecake. The cheesecake didn’t have the flavorful sweetness of butternut squash. Instead, this dessert was, to me, practically flavorless. The flavor that I did taste I didn’t like. And the consistency was not at all like cheesecake. Instead of smooth and creamy this was dense and a bit fibrous. The crust was just thin and hard, not buttery and crumbly as should be the case on a good cheesecake.
Gratuity was included in our final bill, so for the 8 of us the damage came to about $20 each. Not bad considering all the food we got. I was happy overall with the quality of my food, particularly the muffin and the pancakes. I’d skip the squash cheesecake (maybe I don’t need dessert after breakfast, after all). I stick with my assessment from our first trip to the Flying Pig that it offers a hearty, well-priced brunch in a relaxed, comfortable setting.
For our birthday celebration, we decided to pay a second visit to a place we had all enjoyed, The Flying Pig. Unfortunately, for me at least, the second visit was not as pleasant as the first. It was a little like buyer’s remorse.
I ordered the Late for the Train Omelet with slow roasted organic chicken, sautéed cremini mushrooms, mornay sauce, and gruyere. I shared some of Andrew’s chocolate croissant and ordered up the Meyer Lemon Ricotta pancakes for all of us to share.
To drink, I felt like having tea, but the only tea available that morning was peppermint, so instead I got coffee. I didn’t really understand the lack of tea available. We were there at opening, and the first ones there. This was brunch service, and no tea? No one could have run out to purchase some tea? Who knows!
Anyway, the pastries arrived first. The chocolate croissant was very good. It was flaky and light, as a croissant should be.
Soon after, our entrees arrived. I was immediately a little perplexed by my dish. It seemed the chef may have been running late for the train because it wasn’t an omelet in any sense. The eggs were so thick that they didn’t even wrap around the filling effectively. It tasted over-whipped and just generally badly cooked. The filling was better, except mushroom heavy. There were maybe a few pieces of chicken, a ton of large slices of mushroom, and just a touch of mornay sauce and cheese. In fact, I don’t really recall tasting any sauce or cheese to tell you the truth. It just felt like I could have made this omelet myself and it would have been more enjoyable. But, on the positive side, the few pieces of chicken I did eat were really good. It was white meat, and it was perfectly cooked, and moist.
The hash browns that came with the omelet were a bit disappointing. A bit too much mush and not enough crisp.
However, the highlight of the meal was the Meyer Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. Those were really good. I kind of wished I had just ordered those as my meal. They were perfectly lemony, and the pancakes were airy and not at all gummy. They were excellent, and were served with some blueberries and raspberries, which made them even better.
For dessert, we all shared a slice of Kabocha Squash Cheesecake. The best part of the cheesecake? The whipped cream that came with it. The cake itself was dense, but not in a cream cheese kind of way. It had an odd sticky texture which did not translate well.
All in all, my general feelings for the Flying Pig remain the same, if not slightly tempered by our most recent visit. I still think the food is good, generally. The pastries still have yet to disappoint. The service this time around was good, but not at all an indication of the service in past and future visits.
The czar says: Inconsistent, but I’ll be back for those pancakes.
The ambiance at the Flying Pig is like a rustic tavern with modern accents; there are copper-topped tables and wooden chairs. The upstairs dining area is spacious and quite comfortable. The brunch menu, while fancy, is really just a step up from your local diner, but below a place like La Provencal Bistro. For example, the Flying Pig doesn’t offer champagne mimosas to go along with brunch, although they do have a wide selection of top-shelf scotches.
I ordered the eggs benedict, which came with a side of hash browns. The hash browns were good, but a touch soggy, not as crispy as I would like. They were the good hash browns, though, as in the shredded potato kind of hash, and not the scalloped potato kind of hash. The eggs were very perfectly runny. The hollandaise sauce could have used a touch of spice, but otherwise it was delicious. In addition I had some chocolate croissant, which was good, not great.
This is a fine place to go for brunch, although you can tell brunch is more of an “also have” at this place. For the money, I’d rather go to The Cookery.