Westchester Breakfast Club

468 Bedford Road

Pleasantville, NY 10570 (Map It!)

We couldn’t get a picture of the outside due to rain.  No one wanted to stand outside for more time then they had to.  Instead, here’s a picture of my with a heart on my nose.  Shelley’s friend from work joined us through the terrible rains storm, so please welcome Andy to the blog.  Pat was not with us, but he did submit a review from the Bed and Breakfast in Massachusetts

Attendees:  Sylvia, Shelley, Andy, Jeffrey, Reid

Remote Posting From:  Pat

Sylvia

The Czar was late again!  But, it is good to be the Czar.  I actually had a legitimate excuse.  When they say, it takes 45 minutes to pick up a new car from the dealership, they really mean 1.5 hours.  The Czar is rollin around on a new set of wheels!

When I finally got there, the parking lot in the back was full, which forced me to park over by the Train station.  The spots there are metered spots that require payment Monday thru Saturdays, which stunk.  But it was still close enough to Jean Jacques that I wasn’t too soaked and windblown by the time I was able to run over.  By the time I got there, the group was already settled into their breakfast.  The place was pretty busy at this point.  There were many tables of various sizes that can accommodate larger parties.  There was a mix of younger teenagers with the older generation and some families.  The line wasn’t long, but it moved a bit slow.  I ordered the Croque Madame (spelling?), which was basically an egg, ham (or bacon, but I opted for the ham) and cheese on an croissant, and a cafe au lait.  The cafe au lait was a little bland, which either meant that the coffee was weak or the ratio of milk to coffee was really in favor of the milk.  I’m going to go with the coffee was weak in flavor.  The sandwich was decent.  The croissant was buttery and flakey, the egg was cooked well.  The ham wasn’t overly salty or overpowering, but i would have liked a little more ham flavor to come through.  The cheese was just regular american cheese.  It would have been nice if they used another type other than plain old american.  Maybe swiss?

It would have been poor form to not supplement breakfast with one of the very attractive pastries that line the display cases I had to wait in front of while on line.  Jeffrey and Reid had requested croissants.  So, we got one chocolate croissant and one raspberry cheese croissant.  When I went to Paris years ago, all I ate were the pain au chocolat.  To this day, I have not been able to find anywhere here that could emulate the pure deliciousness of the ones I’ve had in Paris (or at least what I remember).  From the piece I sampled, I though this one was good, better quality than Au Bon Pain had, but not as good as one from a place called Le Pain Quotidien (although I can’t remember who was more expensive).  The raspberry cheese one was also nice.  The filling was good, but I just wish (for both of them) the croissant was more flaky, airy and golden brown.

I also sampled a little of Shelley’s heart shaped pastry.  It was okay.  The chocolate mousse part was not overly sweet, but the cake was a bit dry.  It was pretty though.

The Czar says:  It’s a good place to go to catch up with friends over a simple meal or snack.  Since there is no table service, there is no pressure for you to leave after your meal.   The atmosphere was laid back but lively.  The food is a little more unique than most cafe’s, but the menu is limited to what is on the boards on the walls.  A good place to meet up with friends.

Shelley

Because of the impending monsoon and because we were a member short this week (although we were joined by special guest Andy!), we decided to keep it simple and local. So we were off to Jean Jacques in Pleasantville.

I’ve been to Jean Jacques many times before, but this breakfast was the first visit for some in our group. I like Jean Jacques. It’s a cafe that offers fast, simple fare in a casual atmosphere. To those unfamiliar with Jean Jacques, it may sound fancy, but it’s actually unpretentious. No surprise given its name, the cafe is decorated in a French Provence way, with wooden tables, cheerful yellow walls, and wrought iron chandeliers. There’s no table service. Instead you seat yourself, place your order at the front counter, and someone calls your name when your meal is ready. When we first arrived at 10am, we didn’t see any tables that would accomodate the five of us, and the only two empty tables that we could push together were two tall round tables right next to the beverage cases. Not an ideal location. Fortunately, while waiting for our orders to be prepared and for Czar Sylvia to arrive, a large rectangle table by the window became available and we quickly moved to it.

The breakfast menu at Jean Jacques offers a variety of omelettes, as well as egg sandwiches (you can choose a croque madame or a croque monsieur), and French toast. Since I had French toast last week, I decided to return to eggs this week and went with the omelette florentine, which is prepared with spinach and feta cheese. The eggs in this omelette were not as fluffy as you’d find at places like Wobble Cafe or City Limits, and the omelette was a bit greasy. I probably tasted more of the filling than the actual egg. The egg was well-cooked, though, no runniness, and the spinach and feta were fresh. The omelette was served with a flaky croissant. It was an adequate breakfast, if not the most filling.

Since Jean Jacques is well-known for its tempting selection of pastries, we decided to get something for dessert. Who says you can’t have dessert with breakfast? I split a petit chocolate noir with the group. This pastry came in two versions: round or heart-shaped. Jeff suggested to me that we get the heart-shaped pastry. (I have a suspicion that he’s trying to find ways to profess his long-held love for me. Someday, Jeff, someday.) Anyway, if I break out my high school French, I believe petit chocolate noir translates to small dark chocolate, and that is exactly what it is–a small pastry consisting of a thin bottom layer of cake, thin chocolate and vanilla striped cake on the sides, and a rich chocolate mousse inside. The top of the heart is covered with a dark chocolate ganache, and ours was adorned with a small red heart (a heart on a heart, does it get any sweeter than that?) and some frosting flowers. The cake portion was moist and the mousse melted in my mouth, making the petit chocolate noir a rich bit of chocolate deliciousness.

The downside to today’s breakfast was that because we ordered separately and some meals took longer to prepare than others, and because some members of the group trickled in a bit late, we weren’t able to enjoy our meals together. Some people were just about done eating when others were just starting. However, the fact that there’s no one rushing over to clear off your table encouraged us to linger after our meal and chat–and the WBC enjoyed one of its most intellectually stimulating conversations to date. We talked about the law, we talked about psychology, and we waxed nostalgic about a number of inappropriate things that happened in high school. (We had to have a little bit of inappropriateness, the word is in our slogan after all.) As you can imagine, the chance for the whole group to talk with each other was greatly welcomed after last week’s breakfast.

I guess today’s breakfast wasn’t the highest quality meal that I’ve had to date, but factoring in the ambience and camraderie, I’d say it was an enjoyable breakfast overall. Jean Jacques’ convenient location (steps away from the Pleasantville train station and close to the Burns Film Center) and its number of choices for breakfast, lunch, or dinner make it a good place to meet with a small group of friends for a simple meal at anytime of day. (I’ve been there for lunch a number of times, and rate their mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich on a baguette as one of my favorite light lunches.) The prices are reasonable: my omelette and large bottled water came to ten dollars and change (Jeff paid for the heart). Bottom line: I’ve been to Jean Jacqcues before and I’ll be there again.

Jeffrey

It was a dark and stormy morning.  Well, more like a grey morning, but it was raining.  The weather wasn’t cooperating with anyone to say the least.  There I was, sitting in my car in the parking lot of Jean-Jacques hoping that I wouldn’t be the only one in my party to go into the establishment.  All of a sudden, a dark figure approaches my car.  Okay, not so much a dark figure but more like Shelley.  Either way, the main point of this paragraph is that I met Shelley and Reid in the parking lot.  Then we went inside.

We were waiting for two other people.  Shelley’s friend, Andy, from work, was joining us. Sylvia was running late as well, she was busy signing paperwork for her new car.

The staggered arrival of people made it difficult for everyone to eat at the same time.  The three of us ordered and as the others came in they ordered as well.  The way Jean Jacques is set up is like a coffee shop that has a lot to eat.  You place your order at the counter, pay for it, and wait for your name to be called.  Then you walk over to the table you’ve already chosen, sit down, and eat.  The utensils are self-serve and are plastic.  I felt like I was on an airplane.

What I had to eat was the Brioche French Toast with a side of bacon.  To drink, I had a coffee and orange juice.  To get the orange juice, you just walk up to the chill chest embedded into the wall and pick it out.  So, what were my feelings on the food and the whole experience?

Let me start by saying I was opposed to the Westchester Breakfast Club going to a place that doesn’t have table service.  Some places can probably pull off no table service with really good food or ambiance.  This place, however, did not pull it off.  The food was served on plastic plates.  The food itself was flavorless.  The French toast was soggy and flavored only with cinnamon.  The bacon was more like salted twigs.  The coffee was terrible.  It was so bad I didn’t even finish my coffee.  Usually I drink all my coffee and have seconds, even if it’s the sub par diner coffee.  But this coffee left a bad taste on my tongue.  Even if I wanted seconds, they charge by the cup!  Finding your own seat and getting your own plastic ware to use to eat off plastic plates made it feel like I was in a glorified cafeteria.  I was not impressed by this place.  The only somewhat good thing that came out of Jean Jacques was the over-priced pastries.  After breakfast, because I was so unsatisfied with my meal, I ordered a raspberry croissant.  It was rather tasty.  It had the raspberry filling layered with a cheese filling.

Should you go to Jean Jacques for breakfast?  Sure, if you’re taking the train, which is across the street, and you have the time to wait there while they cook your food.  But then, why the push for such “nice” ambiance in the dining hall?  We did look into the catering hall.  It looked pretty, but if it’s anything like the breakfast experience, why would anyone hire them to cater their event?

To sum up, go somewhere else for breakfast.

Reid

Jean-Jacques has a generally pleasant atmosphere, especially when you consider that it is a glorified cafeteria. The service leaves a lot to be desired, however. In addition to the relatively long wait for food, I had to practically punch the cashier in the face just to get her to acknowledge me long enough to let me pay and sit down.

Aside from that, the food was rather disappointing. I had the french toast, which was made from one the very appetizing looking brioches that Jean-Jacques sells as part of their various baked offerings. What came out was rather, soggy, undifferentiated and bland. The chocolate croissant I had after was much better, which, unlike the brioche, delivered on its glass-case promises.

Between the lackluster service, middling food and lack of table service, I would say that Jean-Jacques is a definite skip for a weekend breakfast.

Pat

The Inn at Laurel Lake

615 Laurel Street
Lee, MA 01238-9180 (Map It!)

(413) 243-9749

I was unfortunately unable to attend B-Fast with the gang this weekend, as I’m marooned on a writing sabbatical in a Bed & Breakfast in Lee, MA.  Nevertheless, I still had breakfast.

What I Had:  Scrambled eggs and sausage, wheat toast, coffee

What It Cost:  …included in the nightly rate of the Bed & Breakfast

Worth It:  Uh…yes for the hotel, no for the food

The Details:  For those who don’t know, writing for this blog is not the only thing I do.  In fact, I am an aspiring librettist/lyricist for the musical theater.  In an effort to get started on a new project that doesn’t really inspire either my collaborator or me, we decided to take a weekend away from it all and try to bang out a handful of songs.  So here we are at the lovely Inn at Laurel Lake, a bed & breakfast that’s been in operation for more than 100 years.  Owned and operated by Tom Fusco, the inn has an old-timey charm and is situated right on the beautiful Laurel Lake (which would be more beautiful were it not still frozen over).  There’s a tennis court, a beautiful porch over looking the water, and a private beach for guests of the inn.  It’s also an easy walk into town, where you’ll find a number of lovely restaurants and antique shops.  This is a great place to take a new romance for a fun weekend in the summer, assuming you both can tolerate the surprisingly stiff beds (upon which I slept soundly, but woke up with back pain).  However, the breakfast…was not a major selling point.  Apparently Tom employs a chef for big groups, but since it was just me and my collaborator in the B&B, he cooked us breakfast himself.  It was about the level I can cook at, which, needless to say, isn’t quite what I hope for when I go out.

The Verdict:  Beautiful house, uncomfortable beds, great view of the lake, good idea for a summer weekend with a significant other, but don’t be afraid to go out for breakfast if the inn seems empty.