Westchester Breakfast Club

What a fantastic weekend. We traveled south to Yonkers and visited Katie’s Cottage, a fine Irish establishment perched above Interstate 87. We even ate outdoors!

Katie’s Cottage
521 Central Park Avenue
Yonkers, N.Y. 10704 (Map It!)

Attendees: Sylvia, Shelley, Andrew, Kate, Johnny, Pat, Jeffrey

Sylvia

This week, the Westchester Breakfast Club decided to celebrate St. Patty’s Day (better late than never!) and enjoy breakfast with an Irish theme. We ventured to the largest city of Westchester, Yonkers, for breakfast at Katie’s Cottage.

The place is located, literally right across I-87 from The Empire City Casino at the Yonker’s Raceway. We opted to sit outside since it was an absolutely gorgeous day out, as opposed to the rain and wind we experienced last weekend. Our table consisted of three wire patio tables pushed together, thankfully with umbrellas shading us from the bright (but much welcome) sun shining overhead.

Since we were at an Irish establishment, I figured I should go for the Irish Breakfast. Man…I am so glad I went for a bike ride before hand. It was protein fest (or as Shelley called it, a Heart Attack on a plate)! There were eggs (scrambled), irish sausage, black and white pudding, and irish bacon. I had an option of french fries or home fries. I love french fries, and this was brunch, so I got french fries. The eggs were good, not overcooked, which is really the only way to mess that up. The sausages were actually really good. They were small, but the skin was crispy and the insides were soft and flavorful. I’ve never had black and white pudding, nor do I really know what they are. After a quick google search which directed me to the all knowing Wikipedia, it was not what I thought it was. Contrary to the name, it isn’t actually a pudding as I would have thought pudding was (picture vanilla pudding cup), instead it is apparently a sausage where one of the main components of the filling is blood. The white pudding is a similar sausage without the blood aspect to it. Now that I know what it is, I’m a little weirded out, but yet again, I am a girl who loves congealed pork blood, which is basically a similar type of dish that is popular in Asia (just not in sausage form). Even so, I enjoyed it. It was flavorful and crispy and probably my favorite thing on the plate. The irish bacon was okay. It was basically two slices of pork, but only with a little fat along the edge, and was a little dry. The french fries were plain. Nothing special. But they did come unsalted, which suited me, since I am one who likes to salt her own fries.

The service was good, our waitress was attentive and nice, and complete with an irish accent. The food took a really long time to come, and I didn’t go inside, so I couldn’t tell if there were many other people there. At the same time, we were also waiting for Johnny’s arrival, so they could have been holding back? Although, when he ordered, his food took a long time to come out too. Who knows….

The czar says: Go if you’re in the mood for an Irish Breakfast, and have the time to kill while on your way to any point South of Westchester.

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Shelley

Happy Spring! And what a day we had to usher in the new season. I’ll tell you, we may not like global warming in, say, 50 years when we have to wear special UV suits and can only go outside between the hours of 2am and 4:30am since the lack of a protective atmosphere and the intensity of the sun at any other time of day would fry our skin, but for now, it sure is grand. Thanks global warming, Saturday was gorgeous.

Anyway, we knew before we even arrived at Katie’s Cottage in Yonkers that we were going to eat outside. As we rode down the Sprain in the Louie’s minivan (yeah, that’s how we roll), we eagerly anticipated enjoying a leisurely meal out in the fresh air on this beautiful Saturday. Unfortunately our air was not so fresh. Our table was fine, and thankfully it was covered by an umbrella (the Pale Force members of the Westchester Breakfast Club needed some shade to protect us from the mighty March sun). However, the dining patio is right next to the parking lot, someone was using power tools nearby, and just steps away was a man who appeared every ten minutes or so to smokea new cigarette. It wasn’t the best outdoor dining patio.

After scanning the one-page brunch menu, I opted for a Western omelette. (Side note: all of the brunch items are served with a complimentary Bloody Mary or Mimosa, which is known on the Katie’s Cottage menu as a “minosa.”)  Although our orders were taken promptly, it seemed to take awhile for our food to actually come out, probably because some members’ breakfast came with an unusually large amount of meat. The wait was OK because Jeff’s friend Johnny Wong was running late anyway. (Something about traffic on the FDR drive. Traffic on the FDR on a Saturday, whoever heard of such a thing). While we waited we got to hear about the bike ride that some members had taken earlier that morning (not me, though. I get my early morning exercise by rolling over in bed and pulling the covers higher over my head.). This led to a rousing discussion about how bike seats can hurt one’s tuchus. This conversation continued on and off for the next several hours. If you’re thinking it was as fascinating as it sounds, you’re right. I was enthralled.

When our food finally arrived, I was presented with a rather large omelette and a generous portion of homefries, which was quite photogenic.  Unfortunately the omelette did not come with toast (no one’s eggs came with toast). The omelette was quite greasy, and some toast would have provided a good complement to the heaviness of the eggs. Seriously, there was a lot of grease. I don’t like eating things that leave that oil film in my mouth. Makes me feel heavy and gross, which is how I felt for the rest of the day following this meal. When I talk about the eggs in my omelette, I use the word “eggs” loosely, because there didn’t seem to be very many in my omelette at all. Instead, it was overwhelmed by the filling of ham, peppers, and onions. And the grease. Did I mention the grease? The homefries were large cuts of potato, which was much nicer than the thin, hard slivers of potatoes that you can expect at some other establishments. The potatoes were sprinkled with nice bits of onion and red pepper. However, like the omelette, the home fries were (all together, now!) too greasy for my liking.

The price was reasonable; including tip and tax my portion was just $9.00. However, given its distance from where I live (Katie’s Cottage is in the south end of Yonkers, near the Empire City casino and race track), the fact that brunch doesn’t start until noon on Saturdays and Sundays, and the cook’s love of oil, I wouldn’t be eager to go to Katie’s Cottage for breakfast again.

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Andrew

Overall not great

It took forever for the food to come out. All they have to do is fry alot of eggs and meat and it still took half an hour at least.

The omelette was over cooked and dry and so were the sausages. The home fries were dry as well and the whole thing was poorly seasoned, there was not alot of flavor.

The only good thing was the mimosa which was just orange juice and chamange.

I’d come here just for drinks.

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Kate

I entered the restaurant through the bar entrance and there before me was, well the bar. I scanned the room for a hostess, but none was apparent so I approached a man and a woman who were not actually drinking at the bar and announced to them that seven people would be coming in for brunch. After several minutes it was established that we would like to dine outdoors on the patio at which point, the hostess ran into the ladies room. I wasn’t sure what to make of this, so I went outside and began to arrange the tables to accommodate a party of seven.

The tables all had umbrellas and pushing them together was a challenge since the umbrellas wedged together and didn’t allow the tables to be flush against each other. At this point the hostess came out to assist me, but it was too late, one of the umbrellas had broken and was closing in around me. Of course, this was the moment that Jeff and the rest of the Westchester Breakfast Club arrived.

Anyway, I ordered home fries and the Irish Omelet with bacon and sausage. In good Irish tradition, the meal came with a complimentary alcoholic beverage (Minosa or Bloody Mary) and coffee was an additional charge. The omelet arrived as a plethora of meat thinly veiled in egg with a fair helping of home fries. I would have preferred more egg in my omelet but, the home fries were quite tasty.

I would say Katy’s Cottage is the place for anyone who wants a meaty, traditional Irish breakfast. Johnny, who arrived late and ate after all of us were finished actually ordered the “Irish Breakfast”. I couldn’t help but stare at the pork chop included in his meal as it glistened in the sunlight. If I had a choice, I probably wouldn’t return for breakfast, but it was a worthwhile experience and I would definitely consider it again for lunch or dinner.

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Johnny

I had the fortunate opportunity to have brunch “with” the Westchester Breakfast Club over the weekend. I use “with” loosely due to the fact that I was stuck in traffic for two hours on the way to meet up with everyone, putting me about an hour late. Here’s a tip: traffic approaching the George Washington bridge on both sides is horrendous close to noon on Saturdays. I ended up ordering my food around the time that everyone else was receiving theirs. It was a little hard to concentrate on eating when you’re the only one in a table of 7 doing it. Katie’sCottage did not have much of a view and there was some construction going on but the place was nice and the weather was surprisingly beautiful and sunny. The back and forth jabs taken by the regular crew in their conversations while I was enjoying my meal formed a nice accompaniment.

As for the food itself, I need to start with a quick explanation. I ordered the Irish Mixed Grill, which may have been the largest item on the menu. The meal itself came on two separate plates as opposed to everyone else’s one. It might be odd that I ordered something with a large pork chop for brunch but it was close to lunch time around the time I ordered. I figured I’d have the one meal carry me through most of the day. Even though I had not had breakfast the meal turned out to be quite overwhelming.

The Irish Mixed Grill consists of a broiled pork chop, Irish sausages, black & white pudding, Irish bacon, half a tomato, choice of home fries or french fries, with an egg and sauteed onions on the side. There was a nice compliment of textures and flavors. The Irish sausages were cooked in a manner in which portions of the sausage were very crispy. The sausage had a nice mix of chewiness, crunchiness, sweetness, and saltiness. Black and white pudding are baked morsels of beef and pork mixed with bread crumbs, pigs blood, and various seasonings. The pudding they had here came in tater tot like sizes and the meat was concentrated in the center. Biting into them released the delicious juices. The Irish bacon reminded me of Canadian bacon in shape and texture. The home fries’ mushiness was a nice complement and it was well seasoned.

What really brought the whole meal together for me were the thoughtful additions of the onions and the tomato. The tomato and onions were great pallet cleaners whenever it felt like I was being overwhelmed by the grease in the meal. The tomato was firm and juicy. The onions tasted more like they were braised then sautéed but that worked quite well in my opinion.

The only portion of the meal I did not enjoy was the pork chop. I asked for my pork chop cooked medium but the pork chop I received, though it had a nice crust on the outside, was far too dry for my tastes. I guess that was why I was given A1 steak sauce with my meal. I wonder if I misunderstood the question of how I would like it cooked. I’ve never been asked that for pork chops before.

Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed the complexity in the meal. No particular item overpowered all the rest. It was quite balanced. The meal and the rest of the day I spent with members of the club more than made up for the annoying drive to start the day.

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Pat

What I Had: Eggs Benedict with hash browns, coffee, mimosa

What It Cost: $12.50 plus tax and tip ($15 in total)

Worth It: No

The Rating: 2/5

The Details: As the WBC’s token Irishman, I was extremely excited to pay a visit to Katie’s cottage, an Irish bar just off the NY State Thruway that also happens to offer brunch. I got even more excited when our server took our orders with a delightful, and to my ear authentic, Irish accent. I’m not a good enough Irishman (or perhaps I’m too good an Irishman) to enjoy the traditional Irish breakfast (plus several others were sampling that offering) so I went for the Eggs Benedict. After a long wait (too long, in my opinion) the food arrived. It looked delicious, and I was famished. The mimosa was refreshing. Sadly, it all went downhill from there. The coffee was some of the worst coffee I can remember tasting. While the eggs were nicely poached, the ham was dreadfully bland. The Hollandaise was superior to the version at Terra Rustica, and came in its own dish for you to apply as you see fit, which was a nice bonus. The hash browns were okay at best (and my plate had significantly less than every other). The real let down, however, was the English muffin. It was rock hard, virtually unchewable and almost impossible to cut with the butter knife. It was akin to eating eggs Hollandaise on, say, an inch thick flaxseed cracker. It’s not overstating it to say that the English Muffin, what really should be the simplest part of the dish, ruined the entire meal.
As for non-food related issues, the server was pleasant and always available, though, as noted earlier, the food took much too long to arrive. The setting was as nice as could be expected, on the patio outdoors on a beautiful day. We were surrounded on two sides by tall plants, on one side by the white exterior of the building, and on the last side by plants that weren’t tall enough to block the view of power lines and Empire City across the highway.

It may be that I caught Katie’s cottage on a bad day. And it may be that their usual offerings are superior to what I had on Saturday. But I can only report on the meal I had. And that was an overpriced, overcooked, underwhelming brunch.
The Verdict: Skip it.

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Jeffrey

It was a beautiful day to be outside. So, we ate outside. There are a few tables out on the patio at Katie’s Cottage that were shoved together. The umbrella situation was complicated, but in the end it all worked out. The group enjoyed the warmth of the sun as we ordered our breakfast. Hats off to this Irish pub/restaurant/cottage for having a waitress with an Irish accent. I don’t know if it was a real Irish accent, but I don’t think they would go through all the trouble of telling the staff to learn an accent just for work.

Since Katie’s Cottage opens at 12, this breakfast wasn’t really breakfast. I guess it technically was brunch. In any case, it was a later start for the Westchester Breakfast Club. Ordering was easy. Since it was an Irish establishment and an Irish holiday had just passed, I decided on the Irish Breakfast. To be quite honest, I originally decided on the Irish Grille, which is the Irish Breakfast plus a pork chop. I realized that might be too heavy of a breakfast, so I decided to cut back on it. Johnny, however, decided to throw caution to the wind and go for the extra pork chop. I must say, kudos Johnny for finishing the plate.

The Irish Breakfast consisted of eggs (over easy), home fries, some sort of pork meat cut, and black and white blood pudding. Research later on revealed that blood pudding is sausage that has congealed blood in it. I was disgusted until I realized I’m Chinese and I’ve eaten worse things. Did I enjoy the food? It was filling. It wasn’t flavorful. I feel like I could have ordered that same breakfast at a local dinner, minus the blood pudding. But I’ve had better blood pudding! The eggs didn’t seem to be fresh and were over cooked. What I did like was the complimentary mimosa that came with the breakfast. Granted, it was called “Minosas” in the menu, but it was still tasty.

Should one venture to Yonkers to try out Katie’s Cottage? Only if one lives in Yonkers, right off 87, and close to Empire City. I was not impressed. Hopefully next week’s choice will be a better one.

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