Constance W.
Yelp
This is sadly a One And Done kind of place. I always REALLY want to love a place like this: not a chain, quaint building, nice outdoor area... But. Very disappointing.
We went for lunch thinking nice late breakfast on a nice Spring day on a nice outdoor porch. How pleasant would that be??? One outta three ain't bad, right? It was a nice Spring day. Turns out this place is right across the street from an elementary school playground. Scores of screeching children were also out for lunch. Also turns this place is very near two Lexington Fire Department Stations and the sirens never stop for long. So don't go with an expectation of quiet conversation or a peaceful meal.
Now... Let's turn to the meal itself. Staff was great. Friendly, professional & prompt. When we asked for a "lot of butter" for the grits, that's what we got, not just one extra pat, but several.
The food, however, another matter. We both ordered the Breakfast Pick 4. Mine was eggs over medium, sausage links, hash browns & rye toast. His was eggs over medium, ham, bacon & grits. The eggs were really very good! It's hard to get eggs over medium. Usually they are over easy or overdone. These were right on. Oozy but not flat out runny. Plus, not only were they cook right, but the eggs themselves were actually tasty. Dark yellow yolks with real egg taste. Delish! The grits were good as well. Nicely tender but not mush. With that extra butter (which let's just admit, good grits just do need! ) they were very good! The amount of bacon and ham on Hub's plate was enough for two people! The ham slice was over1/2" thick! And 4 or 5 slices of bacon. Then we begin to circle the drain. The ham was flavorful & smoky, but intensely dry. Almost powdery in your mouth. And the bacon deserves extra attention. Although it was vastly overcooked, it was not burned. But it seemed to be... almost... freeze dried??? I know it wasn't actually freeze dried, but it was that dry and unusually brittle. Like biting into a sheet of ice the same size & thickness. It shattered on contact. Some shattered when picked up from the plate. Not sure how that texture was achieved, but it ain't right. Now on to my plate. Eggs were just as good as his! Yolks perfectly over medium & delicious! The rest was a different story. My sausage links numbered 3, and were about 2" long, a small portion had they been good. Too much considering. The casings on them were more in evidence than the sausage itself. It took a good bit of sawing with a knife to cut those casings & once in your mouth the sausage broke down long before the casing, leaving you in the unpleasant situation of having something in your mouth that you can't chew up and which you can't quite bring yourself to swallow. Now what? Let's leave that nasty conundrum behind and move on. The hash browns were cold & grey. Cold enough to feel cold in my mouth. Not just cooler than the eggs. Cold. And did I mention grey? And not quite soggy, but a long, long way from any semblance of crisp. Anywhere. Edges. Bottom. Anywhere. The rye bread was nice, but just that. Bread. Warm but not toasted. Warm enough to melt room temp soft butter in the sun on a 78° day, but not even toasted enough to have that "toast" feel on the surface of the bread.
And then, just to complete this epic breakfast fail, there are bright yellow notices everywhere announcing the good news that:
"Beginning April 13, 2022 a 20% Service Charge Will Be Added To Every Order. This fee ensures we can pay all of our employees at least $15 per hour. Any additional tips received will be split among the entire staff according to hours worked. Thank You"
Read carefully. This is not the ubiquitous note letting you know they are adding a 20% tip to parties of six or more that we are becoming used to seeing. This is a service charge going to the restaurant to aid them in making their payroll. And anything you tip on top of that will not go to the hardworking person providing the table-side service for which you are tipping. When I waited tables in my youth the waitstaff were intentionally paid less because a good deal of their compensation came from tips. It incentivized us to provide good service. Looks like what this restaurant is saying is 'we underpay everybody and are putting that cost on the customer, but they should tip anyway'. Pretty irritating when the meal sucks, if you'll excuse my vernacular.