Eatery on North
752 North Ave.
New Rochelle, NY 10801(Map it!)
Attendees: Shelley, Reid, Jeffrey, Pat, Sylvia
The members of the WBC were the few brave enough (or motivated enough) to get up early and face the pouring rain on this gloomy Sunday morning. When we arrived at the Eatery in New Rochelle a little after 9:30, the only other patrons in the establishment were a pair of police officers. At least we were safe.
The Eatery is part cafe and part deli, with a fair number of seats available. Stepping up to the counter we browsed the single board of breakfast items. Such a miserable morning warranted something comforting to eat. For me, that comfort food was pancakes.
Within 10 minutes our breakfast orders were shouted out and we went up to the counter to collect our meals. I have to say, for a small place, the presentation of the pancakes was among the better that I’ve seen with the WBC. I was expecting three small frozen-style pancakes. But what I received were three pancakes that were large, fluffy, deliciously golden, and beautifully sprinkled with powdered sugar. Small cups of butter and syrup accompanied the plate.
I was very pleased with the pancakes. They provided a comforting, filling breakfast; I couldn’t even quite finish my portion. The price was great, at about $6.00 for the pancakes. For anyone who lives in New Rochelle, or for Iona students, the Eatery seems like a good local place to grab a quick, cheap, hearty meal.
The Case: Eatery on North v. The Westchester Breakfast Club.
The Venue: A cafe on North Ave in New Rochelle
The Facts: EoN has no table service, so you had to order at the
counter. It seems like a bit of an ad-hoc operation, with a couple
of guys (who look similar enough to be brothers) running around taking
orders, bringing the food out, making change, etc.
As for the food, I had an order of French toast, a side of bacon, and
an iced tea. The toast was pedestrian: that slightly soggy, somewhat
textureless experience you get when the bread used isn’t special. The
bacon was crispy, but a little too salty. The iced tea was
unspectacular.
The Verdict: Eh.
Another trek down south for the Westchester Breakfast Club. We ended up at the Eatery on North in New Rochelle. The drive there was a smidge hairy. It was raining pretty hard, but as Sylvia said, “At least it’s not cold.”
A nice establishment almost directly across the street from one of the Iona College entrances. It may even be the main entrance. Who knows? The place even accepts the Iona College meal plan, which is convenient for Iona kids.
Ordering is easy enough. It’s not the largest selection ever, but what it looked like was a small selection of good stuff. I ordered the belgian waffles. There was a sign that said “Belgian waffles made fresh.” It was true! I watched as they poured fresh batter into the waffle maker behind the counter. The food was served on plastic plates and we had to get up to get the food. No table service. I’m really against not having table service. Either way, the waffles were okay. Nothing to get excited about. The homefries I ordered were actually pretty good. They had scallions which bumped up the flavor volume. There was a bit too much oil, but what can you really demand from a quick and cheap breakfast?
I’m happy with the Eatery. It’s a nice place to go to if you’re in New Rochelle. It’s also a nice place to go if you’re a starved, poor college student.
What I Had: Omelet, coffee
What it Cost: More than I thought
Worth it: I guess
The Rating: 3/5
The Details: I think I ordered an omelet at the Eatery on North. I think it was adequate. I think I remember the potatoes being decent. But here it is, six days later (as I slacked on writing this review) and I can’t remember a damn thing about my breakfast at this college greasy-spoon cum deli except that it cost two dollars more than it should have based on the posted prices. Continuing in the vein of 80% of the breakfasts I’ve had, this place offers nothing even remotely special, and, unless you’re a local (i.e. an Iona student) you’d do just as well in one of the hundreds of interchangeable diners throughout Westchester.
The Bottom Line: No reason to go unless you’re a local
This is a warm and cozy little eatery located across the street from Iona College, and just outside the hustle and bustle of downtown New Rochelle. Or, it was more like a well appointed deli, and seemed warm and cozy relative to the driving rain and wind outside. We ordered from the short breakfast menu at the counter and proceeded to take the tables by the window.
I ordered egg whites, spinach, and mushroom on a croissant. Actually, there were multiple choices for bread, but I felt like I can justify a croissant since it was egg whites. I also ordered a side of sausage and a medium coffee with skim milk.
After settling into our tables, the dude at the counter started calling out the ready orders. Since I was stuck behind the table, we made Jeffrey get up and get each of the orders as they came up. My sandwich was excellent. There was more stuff than there was croissant, but it was still managable and eating it didn’t create a huge mess. The spinach was fresh, and cooked just enough. The sausage was a sausage patty, nothing special. The coffee was decent.
I love egg sandwhiches. When I worked in Chappaqua, the one thing the town lacked was a good deli that could make me a fresh egg and tomato sandwich. Then I moved on to White Plains. Here, there are three places that come to mind that make a pretty decent egg sandwich, but they all lack the somewhat restrained gourmet variety that Eatery on North offers.
The czar says: If I went to Iona, I’d have breakfast here before class.