LOWER EAST SIDE — Blueberry crumb streusel pancakes and crunchy banana pancakes drizzled in cinnamon-chili-chocolate sauce are just a couple of the new pancake dishes being offered at an East Village bakery for a limited time.
Clinton Street Baking Company is offering a special menu in February for its annual celebration of Pancake Month, serving 14 pancakes, one of which will be assigned to each day of the month.
This year the menu will include two new flavors: Bananas Foster pancakes served with brown sugar cinnamon sauce and toasted pecans; and Burgundy Cherries Jubilee served with shaved chocolate and vanilla bean whipped cream.
"February is a cold, stay indoors kind of a month and we want to do something special to get people to come out," said DeDe Lahman, 44, co-owner of Clinton Street Baking Company.
"It's nice to have really cozy, comfortable food," she added.
The special menu is only available from Monday to Friday, from 8 to 11 a.m. and from 5 to 11 p.m. Other menu items are available all day and night.
The tradition of pancake month is derived from the European celebration of Pancake Day, celebrated by some people in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Australia on Shrove Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday.
It's meant as a day to indulge before Lent, the Christian tradition of abstention for the month before Easter.
Lahman said her restaurant started observing the holiday seven years ago when a customer introduced her to the idea.
Here's Clinton Street Baking Company's Pancake Month menu for each day of February:
1 — Raspberry pancakes made with homemade raspberry jam, fresh raspberries, toasted almond butter and vanilla whipped cream.
2, 3 — German chocolate pancakes made with roasted organic pecans, fresh coconut, bittersweet chocolate sauce and real caramel.
4, 5 — Crunchy banana pancakes with cinnamon-chili-chocolate sauce.
8, 9, 10 — Fresh blackberry pancakes made with Meyer lemon curd and blackberry syrup.
11, 12 — Japanese pumpkin pancakes with pumpkin seed streusel and warm maple butter.
15, 16 — Pancakes with chocolate chunks, fresh raspberries and raspberry-caramel sauce.
17, 18 — Blueberry crumb streusel pancakes with fresh blueberry sauce, blueberry fool and warm maple butter.
19 — Bananas Foster pancakes with brown sugar cinnamon sauce and toasted pecans.
22 — Raspberry pancakes made with homemade raspberry jam, fresh raspberries, toasted almond butter and vanilla whipped cream.
23 — Pancakes with chocolate chunks, fresh raspberries and raspberry-caramel sauce.
24 — Blueberry crumb streusel pancakes with fresh blueberry sauce, blueberry fool and warm maple butter.
25 — Burgundy cherries jubilee pancakes made with shaved chocolate and vanilla bean whipped cream.
26 — Fresh coconut pancakes with caramelized pineapple, bruleed bananas, roasted macadamia nuts and warm maple butter.
29 — Raspberry pancakes made with homemade raspberry jam, fresh raspberries, toasted almond butter and vanilla whipped cream.
Clinton Street Baking Company is located at 4 Clinton St. between East Houston and Stanton streets.
