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68 Gedney Way White Plains NY 10605 (Map) (914) 683-3662 emmasalehouse.com
Emma’s Ale House in White Plains has been on our brunch list for a long time, probably since the WBC started. So, this was a visit two years in the making. Fun fact: According to its website, Emma’s is apparently the only restaurant in White Plains to have been Green Restaurant Association for its environmental efforts. Pair that with the charming dog-theme to the decor, and Emma’s seems like a wonderful place to dine. Were we satisfied?
Attendees: :jump_to_Reid:, :jump_to_Sylvia:, :jump_to_Shelley:, :jump_to_Jeff:
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The Case: Emma’s Ale House v. The WBC
The Venue: A classic bar and grill on Gedney Way in White Plains.
The Facts: That a place serves breakfast food does not necessarily make it a “breakfast place.” Emma’s Ale House is the perfect illustration of that maxim. Emma’s makes a game effort, with a relatively large breakfast menu. However, closer inspection reveals that what at first seems a fair number of options is really just French toast and a bunch of permutations of eggs + meat + potatoes.
Of course, that’s a pretty classic combo, and many a breakfast place makes their rent by selling eggs + meat + potatoes. But, when you do that, when you go after the breakfast crowd without pastries or pancakes or waffles, when you only have one bullet in the gun, you better make that bullet count.
Unfortunately, Emma’s one bullet is short on gunpowder. The potatoes were soggy with grease, and the vegetables tossed in with them were flavorless and mushy. The chicken-apple sausage tasted neither of chicken nor apple, and had a texture which called to mind a moist sponge stuffed in a latex condom. (Not that I’ve ever eaten a moist sponge stuffed in a latex condom, I’m making some assumptions.) The eggs might be in part my fault, in that I ordered them fried and well-done, but (after they came runny the first time and I had to send them back) had that crumbly-cheese consistency which made them somewhat unpalatable.
By far the best part of my meal was the root beer float I had for dessert. The portion of ice cream was generous, and a side carafe of root beer was provided to top the drink off as I went. The thought that went into that little extra shows me that the problem wasn’t the restaurant per se, but that I tried to get breakfast at a place that doesn’t really do breakfast.
The Verdict: If you go for brunch, focus on the -unch and less on the br-.
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:a_Sylvia:
Emma’s is a more upscale kind of restaurant/bar located on Gedney Way in White Plains. I was hungry as we walked in. After settling in, our waitress recited the specials. Her description of the flat bread pizza of the day caught my attention. Garlic flat bread, avocados, black bean, queso fresco, and a bunch of other stuff that sounded delicious. Sold! So, I got that along with a side of fries and a coffee.
After a little bit, the food came. The pizza was delicious. The garlic was present, but not overwhelming in the flat bread. The rest of the toppings were plentiful, albeit a bit under-flavored. The black beans kept falling all over the place, and I was making a mess (more so than usual). The fries were great. Firm, not greasy, and nicely salted. I could eat more of those.
Since we had more WBC business to discuss, we ended up getting dessert. I got the apple tart with the cinnamon ice cream. It came in a big bowl, with a caramel sauce drizzled over the ice cream. Not my favorite. It was way too sweet, not the most appetizing-looking dish. The brown clumps were either apple or this chewy crust thing that I guess was supposed to be the tart crust. I’ve had better.
The czar says: Pricier than other places, but I can’t say it isn’t worth a visit. Nice for a relaxing brunch in a nicer place. Skip dessert.
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:a_Shelley:
When we arrived a little after 11:30, only one other table was occupied. However, soon after we sat down the place quickly filled up. The main entrance to Emma’s places you in the bar area, which is warm and dim, with dark wood tones everywhere. The dining room to the left of the bar, by contrast, is much brighter, thanks to large windows in the front and a skylight toward the back of the room. The dark wood tones continue in the dining room but are softened by all the natural light streaming in. There’s a line of seating along the side wall, and some tables by the front windows. We got the middle table by the front windows.
The cocktail menu is a nice touch, with a hammered copper inset with Emma’s logo–a golden retriever–on the front.
Things were off to a good start when the plate of mini cinnamon buns arrived. You heard me right: the plate of mini cinnamon buns. You see, rather than a run of the mill bread basket, Emma’s provides the much more calorific, but so much more satisfying treats to munch on as you review the menu. And as I enjoyed my vanilla-glaze covered cinnamon bun (so good!), my eye zeroed in on the quiche of the day on the menu. Our waitress soon came over to tell us the daily specials. Turns out the quiche this Sunday contained scallions, roasted peppers, and cheddar cheese. Sounded like a good combination to me. The quiche would come served with a side salad with a shallot vinegarette. And to round things out I ordered a side of chicken-apple sausage.
The quiche was presented beautifully, with a generous portion of greens on the side. The lemon shallot vinegarette, which I requested on the side, was a wonderful flavor combination. It had the sweetness from the shallots with just a hint of the citrus zest from the lemon. It was light and I enjoyed it on my salad. The quiche was very large and pleasantly fluffly. It wasn’t gooey or heavy the way some quiches are and the ingredients were well-distributed. Even though the slice was large, the meal overall felt quite light. The crust was buttery and had just the right crumble factor. The sausage, unfortunately, was lukewarm at best and on the bland side flavor-wise. While I could taste some apple flavor, there was nothing else, no extra seasoning or spice to keep things interesting.
Since we still hadn’t gotten around to discussing official WBC business related to our Small Bites partnership, we decided to stick around and order dessert so that we could continue talking. That wasn’t our best idea. After picking out everyone else’s desserts for them, I was hemming and hawing over my own choice. In the end I went for the apple tart, thinking it would be, you know, a tart. Instead it was an somewhat unappetizing pile of browned, carmelized apple slices, which were too sticky, having been over-doused in caramel sauce. There was no tart crust anywhere in sight. The cinammon ice cream was good, but hardly enough to save this dish. I should have just left my sweet tooth satisfied by the free cinnamon buns at the start of the meal and kept the $6 I shelled out for dessert in my own pocket.
With dessert, this wound up being a more pricey brunch. The quiche platter was $12, which I think was reasonable given the size of the quiche slice and the generous side salad. The side of sausage was $6, also reasonable given that the side platter comes with 6 links; I just wish the sausage had been more seasoned and had been served hot. And dessert, as mentioned, was $6–not worth it for the particular dessert I chose.
All in all I had a pleasant experience at Emma’s. We were there for around 2 hours and we didn’t feel at all rushed, even though the restaurant had filled up. Service was prompt, friendly, and attentive. And the servers all wear cute little dog-print ties. (Emma’s is certainly a place that sticks by its theme.) I’d be happy to go back to try something else, either for brunch or for some smaller pub fare at the bar.
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:a_Jeff:
It’s been a while since I wrote up a review. This is mainly because I’ve been busy with grad school work. I just finished my last semester as a full-time student. I just have a handful of classes to go till I earn my masters. In related news, I was recently inducted into one of the two honor societies for education, Phi Delta Kappa. I never thought I’d ever make it into an honor society, but hey, life is full of surprises. Anyway, enough about me. Now about the food.
This is the third time the WBC has visited Gedney Way in White Plains. I suppose we’re just trying to exhaust all our Gedney Way options. A quick glance at Emma’s menu and I’m ready to order. It’s been a while since I had a Bloody Mary. They have one on the menu, but they also have a jalapeño Mary. It has some spice to it and it also has a strip of bacon on it. How can I possibly say no? This thing came to the table and it was delicious. The spice from the jalapeño really woke me up. This is a drink I recommend to anyone who likes Bloody Marys but wants to kick it up a notch.
As for the meal, I haven’t had corn beef hash in a while. This is a fancier place, so I figure they must have some good corn beef hash. Well, I wasn’t wrong. But I also wasn’t right. Let’s just say I wasn’t terribly impressed. The corn beef hash had good flavor to it. It was corn beef over potatoes and then eggs on top, like any other corn beef hash. But the flavor didn’t really distinguish itself over any of the other corn beef hashes that I’ve had. My biggest hang up about this meal was that the corn beef was in strips, kind of like ropes. This made it somewhat difficult to eat.
The creme brûlée I had for dessert was nothing to write home about.
Overall, the meal was decent. If you’re around town, Emma’s is a nice place for a small group of friends to have breakfast. But you could also go a few feet down the street to Sam’s of Gedney Way.
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