One rainy Sunday 50% of the WBC learned that Pumpernickel isn’t just a bread, it’s also a restaurant in Ardsley. This outing also saw the establishment of a new WBC rule. Want to know the rule? Read on hungry masses, read on.
Pumpernickel
925 Saw Mill River Road
Ardsley, NY 10502 (Map it!)
Attendees: Jeffrey, Pat, Sylvia
8:30 am was our meeting time. It was the time we thought we could meet up for an early breakfast. The website for this place said they open at 8 AM! We arrive on time and discover this was NOT the case. The signs in the windows said breakfast starts at 9 AM. A word of advice to restaurants or even any type of establishment: Keep the information on your website UP TO DATE! If you can’t manage your own website, you might as well not have one. How many times has the WBC gone somewhere early only to find out that the time stated on the website was completely different than the actual time they opened? (Editor’s note: 2 times.) Ridiculous!
We finally go in at 9 AM. This place is a bar first and a restaurant second. I’m fine with this fact, as long as the food is good. A quick look at the menu and to our relief, real maple syrup from Vermont is served. One small problem was that they charge extra for it. $2! Why are you charging extra for maple syrup?! Secondly, why are you charging so much?! If I didn’t pay the 2 extra dollars, what would they serve me? Propylene Glycol?
What to order? There were so many choices. I settled on the Pumpernickel Pancakes. It’s a banana pancake with root beer flavor in the batter served with root beer butter. Now, I love pancakes. I also love root beer. Putting them together must be my dream come true, right? Well, that’s what I thought initially. Our food arrived and boy was I excited to try these things out. First bite was AMAZING! Banana pancakes with a delicious explosion of root beer. It’s almost like eating a warm root beer float. Amazing! To my delight, there were three large pancakes all stacked up and waiting for consumption. Well, on I go, bite after bite, until I hit a wall. It wasn’t like there was a drop in flavor. No, the flavor stayed at the same level throughout the whole meal. It’s just that the flavor was very strong. It become overpowering. Luckily, Pat ordered a good amount of food and shared it with the rest of us. A few bites of his offerings helped cut through the strong flavor of my pancakes, which leads me to a suggestion for the Pumpernickel pancakes. The pancakes are delicious. However, I think offering it as a standalone big menu item might be a little overwhelming for people. I know I was a bit overwhelmed. Maybe they should consider changing the item into a short stack that is served as a side to other breakfast items. I noticed that Pat’s meal had a side of pancakes with it. Had those been the Pumpernickel pancakes, I probably would have ordered that. It’s a good idea, but having alternating bites would help the experience.
I have to mention that the little bit of Pat’s food I ate was very good. I especially enjoyed the sausage. I can’t put my finger on exactly why I liked it so much, but I just remember it being delicious.
The price of this weekend’s endeavor wasn’t too terrible. We shelled out about 17 dollars each which included tax and tip. If I find out that they turn the Pumpernickel pancakes into a small side dish, I would definitely revisit this place. Just remember that the hours posted on the website are not the actual time the place is open.
What I Had: Breakfast Lover’s Meal (2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon, 2 pieces of sausage, potatoes, pumpernickel toast) and coffee
What It Cost: ~$18 tax and tip included
Worth It: Sure
The Rating: 4/5
The Details: Really, I should have known better.
When I sat down at Pumpernickel, a bar/restaurant in a strip mall in Ardsley, I knew full well I didn’t have the capacity for the Breakfast Lover’s meal, their version of a lumberjack breakfast. But I couldn’t decide what I wanted, and when Sylvia pointed at me and insisted that I order first, my synapses fired desperately, and I blurted out the first thing I saw.
What came was a bounty, which I will now rate in order of quality
1. Pancakes (a perfect golden brown, and YES: REAL MAPLE SYRUP – though it’ll cost you two dollars for a generous bowlful)
2. Sausage (crisp, salty, flavorful, fatty, well-cooked)
3. Bacon (salty and crispy)
4. Potatoes (occasionally crisp, mostly soft, well-made, but undistinguished)
5. Pumpernickel Toast (fine)
6. Eggs (much less impressive than the rest of the platter)
I didn’t come close to eating it all. But I’d love to go back and try again.
The Bottom Line: Well worth a trip.
I got tricked again! First, it was The Tavern, and now Pumpernickel. On the website, it states that breakfast is served between 8am and 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. We pull up to the parking lot at 8:30 on a rainy spring morning perfect for sleeping in to find out we were a whole half hour early! That was an extra half hour I could have spent in bed! According to new policy at the WBC, enacted in that parking lot as we waited, points will now be taken off if the hours of operation listed on an establishment’s website do not match the actual hours of operation. Therefore, points off for Pumpernickel, and we haven’t even walked in the door.
Finally 9am rolled around and we were in. We received menus and ordered coffees and teas. I had a tea, which was the regular Teatly tea variety, with a little milk out of a single serving carton like you would find at a diner. The restaurant had a pub-like interior, complete with dark wood fixtures and high back booths. According to the website Pumpernickel serves the best root beer around. So, a bar the whole family can enjoy!
The day before, I had attended the Captain Lawrence 5th Anniversary party and consumed a few beers along with a pulled pork sandwich supposedly made from pork from Hemlock Farms, and oodles of pretzels, which was then followed by a very filling dinner at Bartaco. So, I was really looking for something light for breakfast, but not boring. However, nothing was really light on this menu. I was flip flopping between the Pumpernickel Pancakes (made with their famous root beer), the TexMex Johnny cakes, or the Sunshine French Toast. Since Jeff got the Pumpernickel Pancakes, and the Johnny cakes seemed too heavy, I decided on the Sunshine French Toast (citrus infused challah bread served with sunshine honey syrup and candied orange peel) and opted to pay the extra $2 for the real Vermont maple syrup.
Portion wise, this was perfect. Two slices of Challah French toast cut into four triangles, with each triangle topped with a little candied orange peel. The French toast was perfectly crisped along the edges and not soggy in the middle. It was very well cooked, one of the better French toasts I’ve had. Although I tasted neither the citrus infusion nor the sunshine honey, it was probably better that way, since then I could make good use out of the maple syrup I paid extra for.
I also sampled some of Jeffrey’s Pumpernickel Pancakes, and all I can say is, they do love their root beer. I also had some of Pat’s breakfast. The sausage was excellent. The casing was cooked to a nice crisp while the insides were still juicy and well seasoned. The potatoes were a bit large and chunky with no discernible crisp one would come to expect. Maybe next time I’ll have some French toast with a side of sausage.
The czar says: Even though Pumpernickel started off in the red, they were able to redeem themselves through some very well made French toast and sausage. The service was friendly and coffee refills were a-plenty. However, hot water refills for tea were non-existent. They never offered, I never asked. The offerings are pretty interesting and a nice departure from the usual breakfast menus found everywhere else. A nice alternative to the local diner, but don’t show up before 9.
kristen
May 17, 2011 at 11:29 pm
i’m glad my suggestion worked out! i’ll have to try breakfast there some time 🙂