Cafe Orlin: Love Affair to Remember

This is probably one of my favorite places in the city to get breakfast. I first came upon it when I was looking for a place to take my two out of town friends for breakfast during the summer and I've been fond of it ever since. It's on St. Marks right off of 2nd ave. You'd probably walk right past it because it kind of blends in, accept for the fact that there are always a bunch of people waiting out front for a table. That's how I knew the place would be good though, because any restaurant that has a bunch (and I do mean a bunch) of people waiting around has to be worth the wait.

The buttermilk pancakes at Cafe Orlin are absolutely sumptuous and what I order every time I go there. I've had the experience of eating buttermilk pancakes that are either way too sweet or super bland, but these pancakes are what dreams are made of. They're sweet, but not too sweet. And even thought they only serve two in an order, two is almost too much (at least for me). They're pretty big and are quite thick and are served with room temperature syrup. I'm also a fan of their pumpkin pancakes.

When I first saw this item on the menu, I was kind of skeptical. Call me limited, but I'd never heard of pumpkin pancakes. And since it was no where near Thanksgiving at the time, I was really confused as to why they were on the menu. I'm the kind of person who doesn't get too loose with their pancakes, I'm not that kind of girl. I like straight up buttermilk pancakes. Millet, buckwheat, whole wheat or what have pancakes? Yuck! Tastes like bark sprinkled with dirt! Fruit mixed into my pancakes? Gag!! All of that stuff is just really extra. And the fact that they were serving the pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon yogurt really threw me. But I was, however, very curious about them, so I did what I normally do when I want to try something without having to really try it: I encouraged my friend to get it. That way, if I thought they were gross, I wouldn't have to suffer through a whole plait of them. Having tried them though (or rather having tried my friends), I must say that I'm a fan of pumpkin pancakes now. I'm not their groupie (that status is reserved for my buttermilk baby), but I can't deny the fact that they were good. They kind of taste like warm pumpkin pie: a little sweet, a little spicy. As for how they taste with the cinnamon yogurt? I don't know, I don't get down with yogurt in any way, shape, or form. Once again, gag (I think that it's the consistency)!! Something else that I'd recommend trying is the brioche french toast brunch special.

Just like how some men just aren't that into some women, I'm really not that into french toast. It doesn't really matter to me what kind of bread it's made out of: white, wheat, challa, what have you...it's all kind of so-so to me. I mean, I'll eat it if they're there, but like I said buttermilk pancakes and I are best friends. I guess it's the fact that they always tend to either be so try that you could choke on them or so soggy squidgy that they end up having the consistency of something close to that of whipped yogurt's which in turn makes me want to...gag! But, just like the pumpkin pancakes, I was curious about the brioche french toast. And just like the pumpkin pancakes, I got my other friend to order them so that I could try them without the commitment of having to order them myself. In the word of Rachel Ray herself, yummo!! I was absolutely pleasantly surprised. The toast was perfectly cooked. I neither choked or gagged. The crust of the toast was nice and crispy while the center was suuuper moist, yet firm. And they're sweet, but they have this bite to them that keeps the sweetness from being too much. I've never ordered them personally (because I just eat them off the plate of whoever does), but I think in my next couple of visits I'll have to forsake my pancakes and order them. Even though I'm very very fond of their buttermilk pancakes, I cheat on the pancakes with their home fries.

I'm absolutely in love with their home fries, they taste like Christmas in heaven. I'm not sure what they use to season the potatoes besides salt and pepper, but whatever it is, it really makes the home fries amazing. They're kind of spicy and a little bit salty, but they taste great and are a wonderful compliment to an order of pancakes or any of the omelets that they offer. They use what I think are red potatoes, which I prefer to the russet potatoes that a lot of other restaurants tend to use. Since red potatoes aren't as starchy, they don't leave that potato after essence that sometimes tends to overpower the seasoning of the food. Cooked with the potatoes are caramelized onions. Even though I'm really not a fan of onions in a bug way, I happily eat the caramelized onions. I also really like how they prepare them with the skin on and crisp them. I've been to other places where the potatoes are kind of hard, but these always tend to be perfectly cooked: light and fluffy but still firm. If there's one dish that have to get when you go to Cafe Orlin, it would be the home fries.

Something else that I've tried at Cafe Orlin is their chicken sausage. It kind of looks like a prettier version of scrapple (which isn't a good thing). It was definitely the most interesting chicken sausage I've tried. It came out in squares, had pistachio nuts in it and was kind of dry. The chicken sausage is the only thing that I would pass on from the cafe's menu. Since I don't eat pork (I'm allergic) and no one in this city seams to believe in turkey sausage, I thought that the chicken sausage would be a good alternative. Guess not!

Over all, I would highly highly suggest Cafe Orlin. It's in a really cool neighborhood (the East Village), the food is just wonderful (yummo!) and there's a lot of fun things around that you could do afterward (like free or nearly free yoga at Yoga to the people). Actually, scratch that and reverse. I would go to yoga and then go eat at Cafe Orlin. If you do it the other way around, than you really will gag!