When I think of New York, for some reason I think of breakfasts – a big old plate full of eggs and bacon, toast and, of course, a nice cup of hot chocolate. Pershing Square claims to be “The Busiest and Best Breakfast in New York” so it seemed to be a good place to start.
The café is located right across the street from Grand Central Station, tucked in the space under an overpass. Inside it looked nothing like I imagined it would from the outside. It has a very luxurious but comfortable feel to it. Large chandeliers hanging from a red ceiling with steel beams. The place is packed but we get one of the best seats, on the side in a booth with a view of the whole café (which is much bigger than you would think being squeezed under that little bridge).
Two waiters come up to our table. The first asks for our order and the second just stands there. We entertained ourselves for part of breakfast watching these two walk around, one following the other as if they were attached. I’m guessing that the one behind was a new waiter in training but they reminded me of those annoying mimes you sometimes see doing shows on the street, if one took a step to the right, the other would take a step too. They took our order, full breakfast and hot chocolate, and minutes later we had a good looking hot chocolate sitting in front of us.
I didn’t come here specifically for a hot chocolate and often these are the times when I enjoy them the most. I really enjoyed this one. The menu said that it is melted Valrhona Chocolate. The word melted when placed next to hot chocolate in a menu is usually a pretty good thing. You can’t melt sugar, or powder. It was as it should be, easy to drink, not too sweet. No bells and whistles, just a good hot chocolate that I enjoyed with my New York Breakfast.
We signalled to our waiters to bring us the bill. The two both looked at us, nodded at the same time, and came shuffling over to give us the bill and thank us, in unison, and then shuffled to the next table.
Verdict: I will be back to Pershing Square for breakfast and hot chocolate again. It looks like it would be a nice romantic spot to have dinner and a drink too and on warm sunny days they close the street next to them and fill it with tables, chairs and sun umbrellas. Pershing Square, 90 East 42nd Street, New York, USA ($3.50)
