Five girls crammed into a bright red vinyl booth. The black and white checkered floors beneath their feet, the fumes of hot coffee and crispy bacon permeating the air.
There’s nothing better than debriefing with the girls after a wild night out on the town.
And by debriefing, we mean gossiping over a plate of short stack pancakes. It is short king summer, after all.
See Also: Culinary Mastermind Behind Bubby's Shares Secret Pancake Recipe & More
Intoxicatingly sweet syrup oozes slowly down the buttery edges, creating a carb-loaded heaven that can magically cure any hangover.
If you’re craving pancakes with a side of last night’s piping hot tea, we’ve got you covered.
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120 Hudson St, Manhattan/Website
If you’re just as addicted to pancakes as we are, then you’ve most likely waited 45 minutes *in this blaring heat* for Bubby’s famous flapjacks. Coined for having the best pancakes in all of New York City, Bubby’s James Beard pancakes live up to their reputation and then some. Simple yet in a league of their own, these pillowy clouds of deliciousness must be sent from the spirits above. If you’re feeling fancy, try the pancake flight which comes with three pancakes, caramelized banana, toasted walnuts, blueberry, nutella, strawberries, and whipped cream.
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520 Columbus Ave, Manhattan/Website
An Upper West Side classic since 1981, Good Enough To Eat is the mecca of good ol’ fashioned comfort food. Unsurprisingly, this no-frills American eatery serves some of the best blueberry pancakes in town. If you’re not the blueberry type, the local spot serves melt-in-your-mouth banana walnut pancakes, silver dollar pancakes, and Peter Paul pancakes (three cakes with Belgian chocolate topped with roasted coconut). Rest assured, any of these options are not just good, but great enough to eat.
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4 Clinton St, Manhattan/Website
Clinton St. Baking Company is absolute mayhem at 11:00 am on a Sunday morning, and for good reason. *Cue the jungle scene from Mean Girls* Famous for their wraparound lines and pancakes the size of your face, you’ve definitely seen a Clinton St. spread plastered all over your Instagram feed. If you’re able to snag a table here, you must order the pancakes. All pancakes are prepared with hot, melted butter, and diners can add wild Maine blueberries, banana walnut, and chocolate chunks. We don’t discriminate when it comes to carbs, but the chocolate takes your favorite cheat-day meal to a whole new level.
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28 8th Ave, Manhattan/Website
Similar to Good Enough To Eat, La Bonbonniere has mastered the skill of artful simplicity. In a city obsessed with the latest and greatest–the most exclusive social clubs, restaurants, and nightclubs–sometimes all we want is your run-of-the-mill diner. Preferably one that specializes in carbs, carbs, and you guessed it, carbs. La Bonbonniere provides just that, with pancakes cooked to absolute perfection. The menu is full of pancake varieties, but all the cool kids know to order the blueberry-chocolate chip combo. Why have one, when you can have both?
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90 Calyer St, Brooklyn/Website
If you think you’ve tried the crispiest pancakes in New York City, think again. The raved-about hotcakes at this Brooklyn hotspot are taking crispy to a whole new level. The key to chef Jake Leiber’s cooking is loads and loads of melted clarified butter. Probably not the best thing for our hot girl summer bods, but hey, you only live once. Plus, we’ve schlepped all the way to Greenpoint for this dish, so it better be worth it.
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88 Essex St, Manhattan/Website
The pancake offerings at Shopsin’s are so vast, you could come here every day for the rest of your life and never order the same thing. Ok, we’re being a little dramatic, but we are creatives after all. Diners have a choice of three griddlecakes from “pancakeland,” ranging from cinnamon, butterscotch chip, pumpkin, and even Mac’ N Cheese. If you’re feeling even more adventurous, order pancakes stuffed with fried chicken, Oreos and marshmallow fluff crunch, or nutella and graham crackers.
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214 Smith St, Brooklyn/Website
We made a stop at Cafe Luluc on our Brooklyn food tour, and it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. This neighborhood French eatery serves all different kinds of hearty breakfast food, but if you’re not ordering the pancakes, you’re seriously doing something wrong. Prepared with mixed fruits and highly-addictive Black Bear maple syrup, these pancakes are a perfect blend of sweet and tangy. Add two sunny-side-up eggs and thick-cut sausage, and you have the best of both worlds.
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348 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn/Website
When you’re deathly hungover on a Sunday morning, there’s no better place to recover than Sundays In Brooklyn. And on your couch watching an unhealthy amount of Grey's Anatomy reruns, but that’s a whole different story. Made with hazelnut maple praline and melted brown butter, these otherworldly pancakes are the cure for well, just about everything. Diners have an option of choosing from a single, double, or triple stack, but we all know there’s only one right answer here. If you’re not getting the triple stack, go home and eat whatever paleo, gluten-free, sugar-free, taste-free snack you have in your pantry.
Photography by: Jaqueline Pelzer
