Turning Back the Clocks at EJ's Luncheonette

Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I think it’s safe to judge NYC brunch spots by the number of customers lined up outside. You could probably just drive around on a Saturday or Sunday around 11 AM and pick the best place this way. These people are tired and hungry…yet willing to wait for good grub. According to these standards, EJ’s Luncheonette is a clear favorite, here on the Upper East Side.

The Saturday we recently went, it was a familiar scene: there were a lots of people patiently waiting, many of them wearing team shirts from a race in Central Park. We put our name on the list and joined the ranks outside next to a whole fleet of delivery bikes. The wait wasn’t bad, and before we knew it, we were seated in a tiny two-person booth in the sunny room adjacent to the sidewalk, the ideal spot for people-watching, right at the corner at 3rd and 73rd.

EJ’s only opened 17 years ago, but, based on the throwback décor, you’d think they’d been around since the 50’s: checkered floor, stools at the counter, vintage signage and black and white photos of girls in poodle skirts. I like how the food runners at EJ’s wear the old-school paper hats and on my way past, I took note of the well-stocked pie case.

Lots of items on the menu caught my eye, like the Multigrain Flapjacks with honeycrunch wheat germ and flax seeds, and the patriotic Red, White, and Blue Cheese Blintzes with ricotta, strawberries, bananas and blueberries. I was also tempted by the Sweet Potato Flapjacks. However, I opted for my standby omelet with mushrooms and swiss with Canadian bacon on the side. My fiancé ordered the Huevos Racheros Wrap and enjoyed it. His Challah toast (pictured below) screamed to me from across the table, but I somehow managed to resist.

Everything was tasty, the servings were substantial, and our waiter, Shahen from Bangladesh, didn’t miss a beat. Our coffee was refilled (and refilled, and refilled…) without our having to request it.

There’s actually another location across the park on Amsterdam and 82nd that has also been around since the early 1990’s. Co-owner Robert Eby is proud of how much of a “neighborhood, small-town feeling” EJ’s has. He says they have regulars who come by as often as seven times a week and sometimes twice a day. They have an e-mail list of 1000 customers who receive the dinner specials around noon on a daily basis.

The concept behind EJ’s has always been to offer large portions at affordable prices. Their blue plate dinners include a Meatloaf Platter ($14.50) with gravy, mashed potatoes and a vegetable, a Roasted Lemon Herb Half Chicken ($14.95), also with mashed potatoes and vegetable.

This summer, they decided to roll back the clock and offer a Recession Buster, meaning that they have been offering all their Blue Plate dinners for just $9.95 on Monday and Tuesday nights, which is their pricing from 1992, when they opened. Granted, not exactly 1950’s pricing, but a great value for the city. I don’t know about you, but this makes me want to pull my hair back in a pony, bust out some saddle shoes, and sidle up to that counter. And, yes, in case you were wondering, they do offer milkshakes, malteds and egg creams…