As the autumn wind creeps into the lower Hudson Valley with its first gentle breeze, it nudges away the final swelter of August heat. Before long, the chill makes its presence all too known as it whips the strewn oak leaves that have fallen dead and beautiful in muted hues of ochre and auburn amid the low stone walls and manicured lawns of Westchester.
Apples aside, there’s a simple beauty to the pumpkin as a representation of New York’s most breathtaking season. If you can choose just one offering from your horn of plenty, let it be that glowing sphere, orange as the harvest moon, and delicious as the autumn breeze.
Before pumpkin spice lattes, there were pumpkin pancakes. And we like the fluffy rounds at these top stops this fall.
Croton Colonial Diner
221 S Riverside Ave, Croton-on-Hudson; 914.271.8868
At the Croton Colonial Diner, everyone seems to know each other. Smiling faces are squeezing into auburn booths, greeting friends, and cracking jokes with a pleasant waitstaff. The windows are painted with brightly colored Halloween ghouls and witches, and bittersweet steam billows from pots of drip coffee and mixes with open newspapers, rye toast, and streaky bacon to create the beautiful and unmistakable scent of a diner.
The pancakes here are perfect. They’re light, with a pleasant chew and a dollop of whipped butter on top. The poetically named Autumn Blaze is our go-to here. These three pumpkin pancakes aren’t stacked but rolled halfway, leaning against each other, loaded with a sweet lemon filling, and served with whipped cream. The tangy, electric yellow filling evokes childhood memories of bright lemon candies. With a hint of nutmeg, cinnamon, and the earthy-sweet foundation of fall squash that lends a wonderful orange hue to the cakes, this is without question a must-try pumpkin pancake in the region.
Cafe Regatta Oyster Bar & Grill
133 Wolf’s Ln, Pelham; 914.738.8686
This is an upscale haunt on the perpetually busy Pelham road. Five days a week, Café Regatta is a dinner-only, white-tablecloth oyster bar doing raw shellfish, steamed mussels, and wine pairings. But starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday mornings, it does one of lower Westchester’s most enticing brunches. Start with a peach Bellini (obviously) and then set your sights on the pumpkin pancakes, griddled to perfection and served with maple syrup and house-made whipped cream. This brunch menu has a lot to love, (chorizo breakfast burrito, lobster Benedict), so consider getting the pancakes for the table.
The Original Pancake House
170 Hamilton Ave, White Plains; 914.683.3770
This downtown White Plains mainstay has been serving up golden flapjacks to the Westchester breakfast crowd for as long as we can remember. Its pumpkin pancakes are made with real pumpkin purée and infused with warm fall spices. The Pancake House finishes its expert cakes with a heaping of whipped cream and touch of shaved nutmeg. The bonus here is that the syrups are made in-house and always served warm. You can stick with maple if you’re a traditionalist, but keep an eye out for fun flavors like apple, made with fresh apples and apple juices, and tropical, infused with oranges, lemon, and sugar.
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Countryside Kitchen
493 US-6, Mahopac; 845.803.8420
Just barely over the northern border of Westchester in the quiet suburb of Mahopac, you’ll find the adorable and always welcoming Countryside Kitchen. This cozy spot has a serious breakfast reputation, and it has hosted some heavy hitters like Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food and Fios’s Restaurant Hunter. You really can’t go wrong here, since the huge selection of pancakes, omelets, and Benedicts are all expertly made. Notably, the eatery does a pumpkin pecan banana pancake that is definitely worth the trip north. The pancakes are oversized, dusted with powdered sugar, and served with pure maple syrup, so turn your next Saturday morning into a worthwhile adventure by heading up to Countryside Kitchen.
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Nautilus Diner
1240 W Boston Post Rd, Mamaroneck; 914.833.1320
The Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck is another old-school, Greek-style diner that fills up quickly on the weekends and stays open until midnight. The menu is a few pages long, and it’s got you covered from pancakes to shell steaks and everything in between. Every fall, beginning in early September, the eatery adds a seasonal pumpkin pancake to the menu. There’s nothing particularly fussy about these pancakes, but much like everything else at the Nautilus, they are consistent and satisfying in the way that you hope a diner breakfast would be. The cakes are tinted a deep orange, and the pumpkin flavor is hardly subtle. These are the pancakes that would most satisfy a true lover of pumpkin flavor.
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Related: Croton’s Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze: What You Need to Know
