Westchester Breakfast Club

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 51 Rte 100  Katonah, NY 10536    (Map)

(914) 864-7282

http://www.muscootfarm.org/

 

 

The WBC found itself shortstaffed this week. Reid was off in Vietnam spending Dong like there was no tomorrow; Andrew was off running some race; and Pat, well, he’s still in exile in Minnesota. So, to fill the void we invited some very fun friends to join us at a family-friendly/kid-friendly/Jeff-friendly pancake breakfast up at Muscoot Farm in Katonah. We ate pancakes, and then saw some piggies and horsies and chickens. And Shelley accidentally taught a 2-year-old to say “Jeffrey scary.” Which may be true, but probably not a great thing to teach a kid to say. But how were the pancakes, you ask? Well, you know the drill…

 

Attendees: :jump_to_Sylvia:, :jump_to_Shelley:, :jump_to_Tracey and Gabriel:, Jeffrey

 

:a_Sylvia:

It’s that time of year again!  Maple Syrup time!  To celebrate this season’s Maple Syrup harvest, there were two local places offering up an all you can eat maple syrup pancake breakfast: Teatown Lakes Preserve and Hummingbird Ranch hosted at Muscoot Farms.  We chose Muscoot Farms because it was only $8 (Teatown was charging $10 and reservations were required), and because there was a farm to explore afterwards.  The pancake breakfast was run by a bunch of tireless volunteers.

They were working off of one griddle top and two griddles set up over two sets of electric ranges.  Unfortunately no matter how small and thin you make a pancake, it still takes time to cook up.  This resulted in a line, which, while not long, required a little patience.  We could ask for as many pancakes as we wanted, but I felt bad about the people behind me on line, so I requested just 3, and 1 sausage patty to go with it.  To drink, I had some maple-flavored tea.  On the table was a squeeze jar full of Grade B maple syrup. (Why not Grade A, the usual pancake topper?)  My little pancakes went for a swim as we all tried to figure out which pair of glasses Shelley should get.  I ended up going for another round.  While the pancakes were not the best, and the breakfast in general was a wee bit on the lighter side, I thought it was fun.  Given what they had to work with, those volunteers did a wonderful job keeping up while maintaining positive spirits.

The czar says:  Next year we’ll try Teatown.  But, the pancake breakfast at Muscoot Farms is definitely an activity that is super duper child friendly.  Bring the family!  Get a little breakfast in them then go tour the farm.  Lots of fun for all!

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:a_Shelley:

Spring is in the air. And so was St. Patrick’s Day. How did the WBC choose to celebrate? Well, we headed on north to Muscoot Farm, where a pancake breakfast was taking place. For $8 you get a paper plate. This is your ticket into the pancake breakfast, where you can partake of unlimited pancakes and sausage patties. Now, on my way up to the farm, I was picturing large fluffy pancakes, hot off the griddle, stacked and topped with genuine maple syrup. The pancakes were indeed hot off the griddle, but they were also thin and about 3 inches in diameter. To be fair, this was so that the line could keep moving quickly–easier to churn out little pancakes instead of the large ones of my dreams. And, also, this was really a kid-centric event, and little pancakes are perfect for little hands. (Just ask Gabriel.) So I enjoyed my first 3 pancakes and sausage, and then headed up for 3 more. I was still hungry, but I felt like I would look like a glutton if I went up again. Plus, the line was a bit long, and I didn’t want us to be sitting at the table eating pancakes all day. There was fun on the farm to be had!

Muscoot Farm looks small at a first glance, but it actually takes awhile to wander the grounds, especially with a kid or two in tow. (Jeffrey really slowed us down.) There was a demonstration of how maple syrup is made, there were some beautiful black horses, there was a very leaky cow, and there was a pig that I’m pretty sure was featured on one of those monster hog shows that they have on Animal Planet from time to time. My highlights were milking a cardboard cow (not very successful) and taking a tractor “ride” with Gabriel to a far off land, during which we had the following exchange:

Me: Are we going on a ride?

Gabriel: Yeah.

Me: Where are we going?

Gabriel: Patootatoot.

It’s the new travel destination.

So, yes, I left Muscoot Farm still hungry. The pancakes were filling for a child but not really for an adult. But you know what? I left really happy. And I bet that’s worth more than the best pancakes in the world. (Insert your collective “awwwww”s here.)

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:a_Tracey and Gabriel:

Tracey

Gabriel and I were thrilled to dine with the WBC and meet legends Sylvia and Jeffrey at the annual Maple Sugarin’ Series pancake breakfast held on an exceptionally sunny and beautiful St. Patrick’s Day at charming Muscoot Farm, part of the Westchester County Parks system.

The pancake breakfast culminates the Maple Sugarin’ Series that starts the last Sunday in February and runs through mid-March. Families are invited to see the process of making maple sugar from beginning to end, starting with tappin’ the farm’s maple trees, to seeing the boiling process, and finally enjoying the final product during a pancake breakfast.

Eight dollars bought us a Chinet plate (Gabriel got to slide under the “2 years and under” free radar) that we could fill repeatedly with tiny pancakes hot off the griddle, McSausage-type sausage patties, orange juice, tea (including maple-flavored), coffee, milk—and, of course, as much pure maple syrup as you like from sticky bottles.

The volunteers were cheerful and the atmosphere fun and down-homey in a farm building filled with long common tables, friendly families, and lots of strollers. But the line got long quickly so if you plan on eating your fair share, plan to arrive earlier rather than later. We met at 11am and should’ve doubled up when we had the chance. The griddles were being worked as fast as possible but it was tough to meet the pancake needs of the growing crowd.

The pancakes were sweet, tasty, and warm. Juice was fine, milk had something to it that made it seem like it was derived from powder and not the cows outside.

Plenty of syrup and honey products for sale and we happily bought a bottle for home.

 

Gabriel

G! G! G! (Gabriel’s favorite and only letter he recognized 100% of the time. And only in capital form. Still, not bad for 2!)

I had a great time with Mama, Shelley, Sylvia, and her brother Jeffrey. I was very impressed with how tall Jeffrey was. I loved my pancakes! Perfect size for me and I could stuff a lot of them in my mouth. Good thing Mama brought Wet Ones because everything got pretty sticky. I loved the honey samples outside at the man’s table and went through a lot of sample sticks because nobody would let me put the stick back in the jars for more. Loved seeing all the animals, especially the giant pig, and running up to other kids and roaring at them and shaking my hands, which we now all refer to as “Dinosaur Jazz Hands”. Loved riding the tractor with Shelley. Was disappointed the gallery house was closed because there’s a really cool miniature house in there that I love to look at. I did find an old-fashioned outhouse with some other kids, but it was just for show. Big YAY for pancakes!

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