bayou kitchen

dining date: 04.22.07
eatery: bayou kitchen in woodfords corner
web: bayou kitchen
pricing category: very reasonably priced -- especially for the quality of food
guest critic: none
overall grade: A

the lowdown:
- tucked away in it's own little spot, this place is a diamond in the rough.
- warm, diner-but-classy atmosphere.
- service was superb.
- bathroom was excellent, good lock, very clean and fun cause you get to go downstairs.
- seating is a tough commodity at bayou, with 6 tables, a counter and no place to wait, be prepared to amuse yourself for a bit if you go on a busy sunday.
- the stools at the counter could have used some sort of foot bar or step for those of us who are shorter and don't have legs that easily reach the floor.
- good, classic music playing.

the food

the benny girl
- the "mudbug something or other" omelette (but a scramble instead), homies, blueberry cornbread, and 1/3 of a ginger chocolate chip pancake, and tea.
- grade: A+

"i really love the bayou kitchen. this portland legend is tucked into woodfords corner, and is well worth the trip to the deering highlands of portland. plus, it's just a really unique place-- i wouldn't go so far as to say that you feel like you've been transported to louisiana when you walk in, but it's definitely unlike any other place in portland. when i first looked at the menu, i was feeling pretty unadventurous and was just going to get the usual. but then i decided that if i'm going to eat a cajun breakfast, then i need to be a little crazy. so i ordered a scramble with crayfish, cheddar, and salsa. instead of toast i opted for the blueberry cornbread based on our server's recommendation. all i have to say is that everything i ate was amazing. i wish i had a rumen like a cow so i could've eaten everything on my plate. there were a TON of little crayfish tails in my scramble. the homemade salsa was delicious and added the perfect flavor to the eggs-- slightly spicy with a ton of garlic. the homies were made with all red potatoes (a huge plus) and were seasoned with cajun goodness-- they had some spice, but not too much. i know this contradicts my review of local 188, but the spiciness just worked better at bayou. i can't really explain it. it was just the right flavor, without overpowering the food. the blueberry cornbread was delicious-- buttered and grilled. m'm, m'm! although i was too full to eat a lot of it, the ginger chocolate chip pancake was great and the perfect way to end the meal. when i ordered tea, the server brought me a mug, a pot of hot water, and a basket of tea to choose from. LOVE IT! speaking of our server, the service was great overall. we sat at the counter, so we had a front row seat for 'behind the scenes at the bayou kitchen' and got to watch the laid-back, down-to-earth staff. they had great 'diner attitudes' and enjoyed bantering with us. in fact, they said 'fuck' twice in conversation with us. they were friendly, funny and real. i.e. they were totally themselves-- not kissing our asses just to get the 20%. in fact, we all liked them so much, we gave 30%. so, moral of the story: next sunday, venture off the peninsula, sit at the counter at the bayou, and be daring when you order. i guarantee you won't regret it."

the usual
- "the swamp" omelette (broc, peppers, onions, toms, mushrooms, ched) homies, blueberry cornbread, coffee, ginger chocolate chip pancake
- grade: A

"the bayou is tiny and therefore difficult to get a table without the exact right timing. with all of the 6 tables filled when we arrived, we decided the counter would be fine. and although my butt was killing me from the stool that was too tall for me, it was totally worth it. after perusing the menu for quite some time, we ordered, though not without the help of our wonderful server. she recommended the blueberry cornbread (the plain was a little dry that day) and helped us choose from the wide variety of pancake options. as we waited, our coffee was refilled almost as fast as we could drink it and we were entertained by the staff behind the counter as we watched them seasoning homefries and cutting cornbread. our food arrived in lightning speed. my swamp omelette was one of the most gigantic i've had, more like a burrito, with no skimping on fillings. perfect ratios of egg, cheese and veggies pleased my tastebuds awake as i chowed down on the swamp. add a little homemade salsa for spice and i was pleased as a pickle. the cornbread was phenomenal, with or without butter. the homefries were dare-i-say perfect. they use red potatoes which hold their form better and look pretty on the plate, a rare but delicious change. they didn't even need salt or pepper. wow. impressive. this is one of the few breakfasts that i couldn't finish due to its humongous size. the small amount of pancake i had was fantastic-- full of ginger and amply sprinkled with chocolate chips. and really there isn't much more to say-- the bayou doesn't skimp on anything: flavor, portion, or service, making it a front-runner in the race for the best of the best in portland. and did i mention that it was delicious?"

wild toast
-huevos rancheros, homies, coffee, communal pancake
-grade: A

"arriving on time, two of us waited at the bar for benny girl to show. offered coffee for the wait, a friendly waitress brought a couple mugs on over. hoping to get a true table we kept our eyes peeled for one of the three tables large enough for 3 dining adults to empty. it didn't happen but we found it quite entertaining to chat with the stellar wait staff and cook as they enjoyed their busy mornings. continued top-offs of our coffee set the stilt-village reminiscent fare in a good light. our friendly benny girl showed up and we looked over the menus. with options ranging from granola pancakes to crawfish and kielbasa i asked our very attentive waitress for a recommendation. the jovial cook leaned over and requested at least a little bit of a challenge, so i tried. the best i could do was the huevos rancheros. our meals arrived and i was quickly satisfied as i dove into my black bean-filled quesadilla with sour cream and salsa and two over-easy eggs perched on top. mmm...very tasty bites for sure. as it was a huge meal and we had ordered a chocolate chip and ginger pancake for dessert, there was no chance of me taking the whole meal down. ice water and coffee remained a constant and once finished i felt very full and good. i would definitely like try some of the more 'bayou' type selections, that is why we have a next time. i thought for the bang of one's buck this great little joint was awesome. the service was fun and the whole experience a treat!"

local 188

dining date: 04.15.07
eatery: local 188 in longfellow square

web: local 188
pricing category: not cheap but not expensive either.
guest critic: annanna pants
overall grade: B

the lowdown:

- good location, which doesn't really matter anymore because they're in the process of moving
- funky, eclectic atmosphere
- note that this restaurant has a "spanish flare"…keep that in mind when you're deciding whether or not to give this place a shot
- local 188 also serves dinner

the food

the benny girl
- huevos rancheros, homies, and tea
- grade: B

"when we first arrived at this funky little restaurant, there were signs everywhere saying that the restaurant was closing for business that day. we were very grateful that we chose that day to go – imagine if we'd missed our chance to review it! but then we kept reading the sign, and it said that the restaurant was only closing for a month because it was moving locations. suddenly the day didn't feel quite as special anymore. so there's nothing on the 188 menu that resembles a benedict. in fact, the menu is pretty limited. so i decided to be adventurous and order the huevos rancheros. beans, cheese, fried eggs, and salsa on top of corn tortillas, with a side of homies. they were pretty good, although i remembered after the first bite that i don't love corn tortillas…so that tainted my meal a bit. not that it's 188's fault that i don't like corn tortillas, but i definitely enjoyed my meal less because of it. anyway…so the meal was really good – a little too spicy for my liking, but good. i'm sort of a "delicate little flower" when it comes to my tummy, and the spiciness was a little much for my first meal of the day. the homies were well-cooked, but again a little too spicy. if they toned the spice down a bit, the meal would have been great. but i'm sure those of you less wussy people with iron stomachs will really enjoy it. so the food was really good, but the service was not. i mean, it wasn't awful by any means – she was just really unattentive. the other server working there that day did more for us than our server did. and the one cool thing about local 188 is that they bring you a little plate of fruit and muffin pieces before your meal…our server forgot to do this, and actually, this was my second time going to 188 in a week, and the service was pretty bad both times. (take note: if you ever decide to order one pancake to accompany your meal, make sure you specify that you want it with your other food. otherwise, you might get it as an appetizer while you wait 25 minutes for the rest of your meal. don't ask.) here are a couple of other things to note about 188: great atmosphere, cool art, and an open kitchen you can sit in front of. a plus. no bacon or sides of any kind on the menu. a minus. great location on longfellow square. neither plus nor minus because they're moving. thus, a moot point. the food was all really salty. another minus. they make creative "pancakes of the day" the size of your head. another plus. so if you like food with "kick," you don't care about good service, and you enjoy eclectic décor, then check out local 188 when it reopens. otherwise, stick to longfellow square and just go to uffa! – guaranteed to be great! oh, and the tea experience was mediocre."

the usual- two eggs over-hard, homies, english muffin, and coffee
- grade: B

"a parade of ecstatic reviews flew through my head as i trudged through the rain to this well-beloved eatery: "ooh, 188 is the best…it's so delicious…blah blah, etc…." so i was excited, despite the weather. after grabbing a nice large table, we noticed the signs proclaiming their last day in this location. they're moving from their cozy spot, nestled between uffa! and cunningham books – interesting. anyway…i wasn't in the mood for anything wild and crazy this morning, so the usual it was – with english muffin instead of toast. our food arrived fairly quickly, but in the meantime we were left hanging as we stared into the deep abyss of our empty coffee cups. our server hung back in a corner as I glowered into the caffeine-free existence of my mug. long minutes passed before our cups were refilled – not by our waitress, mind you – but by another who happened to notice our predicament. also, i'd like to note that the coffee itself wasn't even really worth the wait. at one time, it may have been a decent cup – but by the time it hit my tongue, it was pretty sub-par for an establishment like this. so the food arrived and looked tasty. i bit into my english muffin with high hopes – only to be brought back to earth as the lovely flavor of bready nooks and crannies was over-powered by salt. closer examination confirmed my fears – large crystals of salt topped both halves. who does that? if someone really wants an extremely salty english muffin for breakfast, i think they would ask for one. intense. i turned my attention to my eggs, only to find the same situation repeating itself. after bite #2, it was difficult to continue as my mouth was filled with salt, salt, salt. had something gone tragically wrong in the kitchen? did the top fall off the shaker? did the cook have a strange immunity to extreme salting? i guess we will never know. i'd like to think it was a fluke, as i'd never heard of this problem before. i attempted to alter the salty powers by adding pepper, only to find my efforts thwarted by a clogged shaker. huff. oh well. the homefries were the shining stars of the meal, as they were not exceedingly salted. They were well-seasoned and thoroughly cooked without being mushy. so good job on that one 188. overall, i wouldn't be adverse to trying this place again in their new set-up. Perhaps there was just something in the air on this particular day. maybe salt."

wild toast
- 2 eggs over easy, homies, toast and coffee
- grade: B-

"i ran naked through the rain in hopes of rehydrating my parched bodice. let me explain. i went into this meal with high expectations. was i satisfied? was i enthralled? these are just two of the myriad of questions my lovely fans must be asking themselves. would local 188 with its charm and chivalry live up to its neighbor uffa! or would it crumble by the wayside, or should i mumble err...bintliff's. seated at a retro, chrysler of a table, i squeezed my knees into the awkward-legged giant table. with coffee that was maybe a little burned we ordered our meals. my eggs and friends arrived while my neglected mug of coffee sat empty and sad. oh what a mournful state for a mug, its aspirations so high, then to fall to such lows as the depth of emptiness. burn. infrequent refills. not cool. my homemade english muffin was probably the best part of the meal. with sprinkled salt of the sea glimmering back at me, this bready circle was toast-tasty. moving on to the eggs, i could have sworn i entered the morton's salt factory storeroom feeling as though i had willingly opened my mouth to the depths of the saltlake. i was a slug in salt, a plant shrivelled by an overdose of sodium. white sodium mountains raged my mind. a cold sweat broke out and death was at my door. holy crap guys, seriously contain your salt-spewing hankerings. tramatized, the 70% water of my body soon became parched and a cracked earth took over my soul. did i mention my eggs were salty? my homies were a little better, but i think i blacked out from my sodium overdose or something. the service wasn't very good either. overall i was really not impressed. what are you gonna do?

ananna pants
- scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach and goat cheese
- grade: A-
"after a failed attempt at another restaurant on a rainy sunday morning, it was wonderful to walk into local 188 and sit down right away. i was surprised to find that it was the last breakfast that they were serving in that location (the restaurant will be reopening at a congress street location in the summer). i am so glad that i had a chance to go one more time before they close. i love the atmosphere, or perhaps decor, of the place. it doesn't feel really breakfast-y but i really like the brick walls and the somewhat intense artwork. they have mis-matched chairs and tables and various dishes that seem like they came from a flea market. i guess none of this matters because the restaurant is no longer there, but if it were i would highly recommend it. i must admit that, although i can be picky about certain things, i am not usually a harsh food critic. i don't go out to breakfast very frequently so it is a delightful treat when i do. and this one definitely was. i admit that coincidentally i had been to local 188 the week before and had one of those meals that was unexpectedly perfect. because it was so good last time, i ordered the same thing --scrambled eggs with spinach mushrooms and goat cheese. this came with home fries and toast. it was just as good the second time. so delicious. the toast seemed to have been salted, which was a bit strange, but like i said in this case i'm not too critical and i can over look the saltiness ( i usually don't like really salty things) because over all the meal was just about perfect, again. aside from the ever troublesome dividing of the bill the only other thing that was disappointing was that when i went the week before the server brought a small dish of fruit and pieces of muffin and i really loved having a breakfast appetizer. for some reason they didn't do that this week. alas. and alas, what could have been my new favorite breakfast place (as long as they had my scramble and the mystery of finding out what the pancake of the day was) will never be, at least until they open again."

the good egg

dining date: 04.08.07
eatery: the good [easter] egg on middle street

web: the good egg
pricing category: very reasonably priced -- especially for the quality of food
guest critic: mamamosa
overall grade: A

the lowdown:
- the best two-for-one deal in portland: the good egg by day, pepperclub by night.
- warm, sunday morning atmosphere -- it's always very "brunchy" in there. very roomy with lots of seating, so you don't feel like you're on top of each other.
- service was superb.
- bathroom was nice and not at all gross -- although a little too dim and you don't always feel like you can trust the lock.
- they had a bowl of free dove chocolate eggs for the taking -- love it! and they always sell packages of pancake mix and cinnamon roll kits. in fact, they do fundraisers for nonprofits with those kits...very cool.
- although the hand-made menus are a nice and creative touch, we artists in TBC might recommend opting for lamination over mod podge. just a thought...

the food
the benny girl
- vegetarian eggs benedict, homies, bacon, peach mimosa, and tea.
- grade: A (service: A++)
"first of all, happy easter to all of our adoring fans. thank you for taking the time out of your holiday to read our review. since it's a special occasion, we all decided to have a little bubbly with our breaky. i chose the peach mimosa, which was great! the good egg already has a very extensive menu [note: the menu is two-sided...don't make the same mistake that wild toast did!], but this morning they also had a separate list of specials. i went with the veggie benedict and was very happy that it came with asparagus -- an unusual, but welcome touch. one thing that did not make me very happy was that the benedict did not come with homies -- a sneaky ploy by "the man" to squeeze more money from ya. everyone knows that homies and eggs go together like burt & ernie, peanut butter & jelly, and jack & coke, so obviously people will pay the extra $2 for said combination...i was one such sucker this morning. i also paid an additional $2 for bacon. the benedict was great -- very good hollandaise and the homemade english muffin was more like toast, which i really liked. the eggs were a little undercooked though. the chef probably got too confused by the "poached HARD" request by my compadre the usual. the bacon was nice and thick and tasty and the homies were quite good -- a little soft, but bursting with seasoned, peppery goodness. overall, the food at the good egg was really great and i definitely enjoy eating there. the best part of the experience this morning was by far the service. little scooter (or cricket?) was very nice and accommodating -- let us move to the back booth and got our extensive drink order all straight. at the tender age of 15, he has yet to learn the correct ratio of champagne to juice, but our server caite remedied that problem immediately. she was fabulous -- friendly, personable, adorable, and great at her job. and i liked her earrings a lot. we already liked her a lot, but the deal was totally sealed when she brought us 2 free cinnamon buns. oh DING, DING, DING!!! in all honesty, there's nothing bad that i can really say about breakfast this morning -- sorry folks. i would highly recommend this restaurant...especially if you can get caite, since i haven't always had the greatest service there in the past. definitely give this place a shot. oh, and p.s. -- the tea was perfect. (betcha thought i'd forget to mention the tea, eh?)"

the usual
- vegetarian benedict, homefries, mango mimosa, and coffee.
- grade: A
"although we thought that getting in on easter sunday was going to be a crapshoot, we waited only 5 minutes for a lovely corner booth at the good egg. the young (and i mean young) guy who seated us quickly took our drink requests and set off to make them. we all decided on mimosas -- it IS easter after all. i chose mango for a zippy new flavor not frequently offered. the drinks arrived after a few shananigans with the booze / juice ratios (our young lad was learning and was helped out by our friendly server). meanwhile, we ordered our meals and straying from my flock of usual breakfasts, i went with the benedict. i know -- i was just asking to be hit with runny yolks exploding all over everything. however -- my astute colleagues informed me of the possibility of eggs poached hard, and after confirming this rumor with our server, my decision was made. benedict it was, without all the benedict mess. benny girl and i split an order of homies, as they unfortunately don't come with the benedicts. i'm generally of the belief that homefries should come with all egg meals in the morning -- so i was a little bummed that the good egg partitioned them off into the realm of sides. anyway, as we waited for our food and giggled about how wonderful our server was, she showed up with a couple of cinnamon rolls for the table. this lovely gesture caused quite the stir at our table, as we discussed whether or not she knew of our famed reviewer status. we decided that she probably did not -- she was probably just being nice and sweet. our food arrived quickly and we dug in. my eggs were hard and perfect, mounted atop the toast, alongside asparagus bits and spinach. it was a fabulous choice -- filling and extremely well-balanced in terms of flavor. i was not disappointed. the homies, although i couldn't finish my half, were pretty decent. not the best, but certainly ranked higher than many places we've been [ahem, hot suppa!]. they were a little mushy for my taste, the flavor was right on point as my tongue exploded with light peppery fireworks. a wonderful change of pace. i left the good egg feeling extremely full and happy. the service was spectacular -- i would go as far as to say that it was the best to date. our server was phenomenal to the point of perfection, but without hovering or any misunderstandings. it was a lovely experience. very impressive."

wild toast
- traditional benedict, orange mimosa, and coffee
-grade: A
"the holiday of easter is steeped in the mysteries of fertility, so what better place to ponder these musings than the good egg? expecting a wait, we arrived ready to slip a five spot into the nearest old man's pocket as we contemplated bribing a table our way. to our surprise, we waited only long enough to snack on two dark chocolate easter eggs before we were seated in a corner booth. we were immediately offered beverages by a guy who had the aura of missing the 80s. he was all class, actually he was kinda quiet and awkward and made off-kilter "i'm only 15 and never had a drink" mimosas. having said that, he was very friendly. our server, a lovely-dressed and smiling chic named caite, quickly offered to pump up mamamosa's mild mimosa and then brought everything else over. a few minutes later, having played musical mimosas and testing the palettes of our three varied bubblies, our lovely server brought complimentary sticky buns. ah shit, free buns on easter! it's a regular ol' easter frickin miracle. coffee refills had, and a decent cup at that, our meals arrived like the great snow storm of april 2007, fast and with a sense of "yo check this shit out y'alls. i be here mo fo, faster 'dan lightenin', speedier 'dan mighty mouse, an' shit yo i be stylin'!" our meals arrived fast, so fast in fact, that i wasn't even quite ready for it. not a complaint, as typically one would complain if it were slow. anyway, the bunnies of easters past blessed my thick slab of dark forest ham that sat atop my poached eggs and thin english crispy toast that acted as the subtle flotation of my yellow bog of hollandaise. with a touch of mamamosa's rejected hot sauce, this meal was really quite tasty. i will note that unfortunately i participated in a self-induced pizza eating contest the night before and was still rather tanked from a dozen or so slices. and for my "in the know" readers, i do not have a large appetite. i am like a french bird who dines at will, grazing like a swedish buffalo on grasses long and green-swept. my flightless will, complacent by the dew's soft kiss on my inarguably scruffy chinny-chin, lavender skies and milk chocolate-leaning shadows... the good egg, you are my pride and joy. so my meal was good. the service was great. thank you caite for a memorable easter feastus for the breakfast club's first annual "easter eggs are breakfast too!" campaign."

mamamosa
-traditional Mimosa, Coffee, Eggs From Hell
grade- b+

"i hopped on down to the good egg feeling a little hesitant about the name. i have a love/hate relationship with eggs. they gross me out if I give them too much consideration, but on the other hand they are so yummy, so on that fact alone I was nervous. we entered and were promptly told by a "6 year old" that a table would be available as soon as it could be cleared. we plopped ourselves down on a couch (that all but swallowed us) and found a large bowl of chocolates in the form of eggs. these were not cheep wal-mart style chocolate eggs, but deep dark dove eggs. mmm, how festive. i have to admit i took a large handful and stuffed them in my bag. our table was cleared quickly and when we asked to be seated in the back opposed to next to the door there was no hesitation by the staff. seated, our drink orders were taken before our ready-to-please (and well dressed) waitress arrived. the mimosa i received was lightly flavored with champagne and right when i was struggling with the idea of sending it back our waitress asked if it was strong enough. i quickly said no, and it was whisked away. it came back topped off with the good stuff, making me feel as if my $4 was not completely wasted. personally, i would have liked 1/2 poured out and refilled with bubbly, but hey, what's my name? cinnamon rolls were served on the house and our food came quickly. the first thing I noticed was that my eggs were over hard as opposed to over easy like I had requested. but for that, they were good. the eggs were flanked by a herbed tortilla and a good pile of well spiced beans. a sliver, and I mean sliver, of watermelon teetered on the edge of my plate. while this was a nice touch, if you are going to put it out there at least give me a mouth full. all the components melded nicely with one another and i was generally pleased with my meal. i would have liked to see the eggs and beans on top of the tortilla, plus some cheddar cheese and more sour cream. but I was satisfied and happy. the chipotle hell sauce was on the side as i requested. i sampled it and it burned most of my taste buds, but then again i am a huge wuss when it comes to hot sauce. the bathroom was dim and i did not have much confidence in the lock but it appeared clean and the soap was not overly floral. after all, who wants to eat their food when all that be can smelled is chemy flowers. overall, i enjoyed my meal and i look forward to returning there again. most of all, the company took the cake."

hot suppa!

dining date: 04.02.07
eatery: hot suppa! on congress street across from the 7-11

web: hot suppa!
pricing category: pretty cheap (except for the benedict)
guest critic: nada
overall grade: B-

the lowdown:
- excellent service -- friendly and laid-back and was just right on the "attentiveness" scale
- comfortable, bright atmosphere
- it's important to note that one member opted to "hold it" all the way home because the bathroom was so gross -- big bummer
- good music playing and it wasn't too loud or overpowering -- just right on the volume

the food
the benny girl
- eggs benedict with fried green tomatoes, homies, tea, and one half of a piece of francais toast
- grade: B-
"i wasn't really looking forward to eating at this restaurant because i was definitely judging a book by its cover. the mismatched style of the restaurant's facade (the flag, the awning, the building, etc.) makes me cringe and hurts my eyes to look at, and i'm morally opposed to their name. not only is "suppa" an annoying word, they don't even serve "suppa" there. anyway, my point is that i shouldn't have judged this restaurant on its exterior because the interior was really nice. the cozy atmosphere and seeing some local ingredients on the menu made me very hopeful. unfortunately the food didn't really measure up. the benedict comes with a choice of canadian bacon or fried green tomatoes. loving the originality of it, and because i really like the movie, i went with the fried green tomatoes. those were definitely the best part of the meal. the hollandaise was pretty good, but lacked flavor. the eggs and english muffin were done just right. although all of the components were pretty good, the combination of it all was just okay. the homies were definitely a disappointment -- they tasted like they were either fried or baked after being frozen...kinda like oreida crinkle cut. not a quality that's complimentary for a homie. and they tasted like they were only seasoned with vinegar. last time i checked, vinegar was not a suitable replacement for salt, pepper, even rosemary perhaps. i will say that i enjoyed the various pieces of fruit that garnished my plate, although i think they accidentally put a waxed green apple slice on there. the tea was neutral -- the fact that it came in a pot (a plus) was cancelled out by the fact that the honey came in annoying packages (a minus). hence the neutrality. overall, a decent breakfast...but i won't be hankerin' for suppa again anytime soon."

the usual
- 2 eggs, homefries, toast, coffee, and one half of a piece of french toast
- grade: C+
"i'm not going to comment much on hot suppa!'s name -- an exclamation point, no "suppa" served...enough said. the inside of this quirky little place (just across from 7-11) is a pleasant surprise with interesting art, cozy (read, "tiny") booths, and high ceilings. our server greeted us promptly and let us have a window booth. although our coffee arrived quickly, it was just plain bad...certainly below par for anywhere i've been in portland. my food arrived in a timely fashion with plenty of homefries. my eggs, though not runny, were certainly not over-hard...a huge negative in my book, as i'm sure you've noticed. they were also completely round and completely white, lacking the characteristic brown highlights of eggs fried in butter. i tossed on tons of pepper and salt to give them some flavor, but still found them to be some of the plainest eggs in p-town. not bad, just plain. my toast was average, pre-buttered, which i enjoy. my homefries (if you can call them that) were certainly the low light of my meal. tough, brown, mealy little cubes that grew even chewier as they cooled. we discussed them in detail, trying to determine whether they were baked or fried -- trying to unravel the mystery of such a bland and uninteresting potato product. like the eggs, the homies seemed to be cooked without oil or butter in some sort of of low-fat, diet cooking contraption out back. my french toast was fine, bursting with flavor compared to the rest of the meal. overall, it's hard to know what to say about this meal -- it wasn't bad (although this review makes it seem so), the service was excellent and friendly, the atmosphere was quaint, but something was certainly lacking...and i think it was flavor. yes, that's it. flavor."wild toast
- corned beef hash, 2 eggs, rye toast, homies, and coffee
-grade: B
"walking into this cute little joint, we were greeted warmly and invited to grab a seat of our choice. hopping into the cramped booth by the large front window, we were offered drinks to start. ordering coffee as usual, mine arrived and quickly it disappointed my pallette. our friendly server continued to top off what was unfortunately a burned and weak mug of joe. my meal arrived and i happily dove into my much anticipated corned beef hash. highly recommended by a good friend, B., i decided to jump on the train of shredded, purple hash...that was some pretty good stuff, guy. not that i was able to finish the potato-speckled hash, but it complimented my easy eggs. the homies, which created quite a flurry of conversation as we struggled to identify how they were prepared, really were not very exciting. the blase cubes tucked in next to the hash, revealed little spunk for my well-rounded meal. the marble rye, while plentiful, was buttered to a sopping excess, but was a nice raft for my river of eggs. overall, this is not over the top by any means. i would note that the c.b. hash was probably above par, yet i have little to judge it against, other than the cat food reminiscent globs i've seen in other places, which i steered clear of. the service was really good, which was maybe the best part of the experience -- casual and available."