Breakfast by Salt's Cure

Yannik Leuz

“This better be worth it,” were my thoughts as I stood huddled outside in 30 degree blustery New York weather, in the line for Breakfast by Salt’s Cure. At this point, my friends and I had been standing in the February cold for over an hour while waiting for a table. Breakfast by Salt’s Cure is a cult breakfast spot in Greenwich Village, New York that does not grant reservations, hence the line. They are known for their famous oatmeal griddle cakes, which they claim are moist enough that no syrup is needed. We were quite excited to try it out, though that excitement was slowly being tempered by the cold wind.

Finally, we got out of the cold and headed to our table in the welcoming, and (thankfully) warm restaurant. After having placed our order at the counter, we sat off in a corner, where we could admire the farmhouse style décor painted in teal. While I was slightly disappointed by the lack of hot chocolate on the minimalist drink menu, the anticipation of the famous Salt’s Cure griddle cakes quickly re-captured our attention. Our food came quickly and was pleasantly hot, so we could dig right in. We tried the OG griddle cakes, chocolate chip griddle cakes, eggs –sunny side up style— with sausage, the scrambled eggs, and interestingly, a chicken cutlet with honey.

As promised, the griddle cakes were so moist that none of us missed the syrup. The texture was soft and fluffy on the inside, while the outside had a pleasant crunch to it, especially on the edge. The OG griddle cakes came with maple flavored butter, which sounded very promising but we didn’t get much of the maple flavor. The cakes could have definitely used a larger portion of the maple butter. The chocolate chip griddle cakes came with classic butter but were generously filled with chocolate chips. The flavor of the chocolate served well to enhance the taste of the griddle cake, and we were all in agreement that these cakes were superior and more interesting than the OG.

After the tasty griddle cakes, we moved on to savory items. The scrambled eggs were soft and rich, oozing wonderfully in your mouth. The sausage was quite flavorful, although it’s not a breakfast item I usually go for. The eggs sunny side up were perfectly fine, though they did not stand out. The real hero of the sides was the chicken cutlet, with a crunchy breading that had a hint of spice. This paired wonderfully with the honey, and the chicken inside the cutlet which was thick and moist. I strongly dislike dry chicken, so I was very pleased that this was not the case at all.

Overall, was it worth the long, cold wait? I have to be honest that I am not entirely sure. My friends quite enjoyed the griddle cakes, though I was somewhat unconvinced by the crunchy outside and soft inside pairing, mostly because the cakes felt slightly doughy at times. However, it was definitely a unique take on pancakes, and I am glad that I tried it. If you do go to Breakfast by Salt’s Cure on your visit to New York, definitely order the chocolate chip griddle cakes, the scrambled eggs, and the chicken cutlet.