My favorite hunks of thick, round, juicy, maple-drenched loving are located just north of Third and Market, at Blue in Green, a restaurant that boasts the highest ratio of creative, quality food and hipster clientele per square inch in the city. Though Blue in Green is tiny, with no more than seven tables and a small counter space, your coolness will increase immediately after entering. Sit on the odd smattering of weathered chairs that look as though they've washed up on shore at the restaurant's entrance. Gaze at the smorgasbord of piercings and hair colors sported by the ber-hip waitresses. Raise your cup of joe off the table and ruminate quietly on the fact that you ingeniously caught the reference to a Miles Davis song in the store-front name.
But getting back to the pancakes: They serve buttermilk, apple cinnamon -- my favorite, with the cinnamon apples baked right in -- and banana walnut, just to name a few. The hot cakes usually go for around $8. Pricey? Yes. Yet, with just one bite of the spongy, fluffy concoction, you will never look back. This kind of stimulation usually requires a $60 dinner, so in essence, it's not a bad deal. Besides melt-in-your-mouth pancakes, Blue in Green accommodates other food fetishes. Though more pretentious than your momma's basic fare, Blue in Green's egg options are guaranteed to make you go "mmmmm," like the tangy and sweet roasted red pepper and goat cheese omelette ($8.50). The disorienting smoked salmon and caramelized onion omelette ($8.50) is also great once you've let go of the fact that your lox isn't on top of a bagel. All omelettes come accessorized with a hearty serving of skillet-cooked rosemary potatoes. Despite the great flavor, the potatoes lie cold and limp on the edge of the plate, looking up at you as if to say "I swear, this has never happened to me before."
If you're bent on rabbit food, I'd recommend the Belgian endive, radicchio, watercress, gorgonzola cheese, sliced pears, and hazelnuts salad ($8.50). The produce is crisp, fresh and admittedly tasty, but with one look over your shoulder at the guy sucking maple goo off his fingers, you'll wish you had ordered something else. All in all, the mellow jazz sound-track, hip decor, and titillating menu make Blue in Green the best place to go for breakfast in the city. Ah, those pancakes. They really make the syrup start to flow.
