Andrew T.
Yelp
The Shack on Broadway blew me away. Coming from a major U.S city to this small place in rural Fargo, the value and service I received blew me away like a prairie wind scattering the chaff.
There are three parts to any great restaurant: service, food quality, and value. I'll address all 3.
SERVICE: Jodi absolutely blew me away with her service. No, really. I experience her level of service at 5-star restaurants where an appetizer costs more than my entire Shack meal and where "intermezzo" isn't the assumed name of an Italian restaurant. Jodi was incredibly attentive to me. She gets customer service and it shows. The whole time I was at The Shack, she was pinball-ing between my table and thr kitchen, her other table and the kitchen, back to me, refilling coffee, etc. She was in great spirits the whole time. Great sense of humor. Request Jodi!!
FOOD: I ordered 2 items: Banana Nut muffin and a #3 (eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast). The Banana Nut muffin came to me first. As I bit into it, it was very moist, almost too much. As I tasted the banana flavor.....well, there wasn't a whole lot of banana flavor. The banana flavor was faint. But for $2.50, I'm not going to complain. Proper price point.
Now the #3: Whoa! I paid $6.25 for absolute mountain of food. It really blew me away. The eggs were scrambled with that familiar diner-feel. The hash browns were that perfect golden-brown on the outside but steamy and buttery rich on the inside. The bacon was properly cooked: not whiskey-dick limp, but not charcoal-dark either. Just right. Toast was lightly browned on the outside. I mean, everything was great.
The coffee: I wasn't expecting some Brazilian-trained, eco-forest-logically natural-organic bean with Indian-mound levels of flavor. I expected typical breakfast-place coffee. And that's what I got. It wasn't burned. See, here's why I'm mentioning it: it didn't take AWAY from my enjoyment. Many places burn their coffee or serve bad coffee and it detracts from the experience. Unlimited coffee that didn't detract from my meal, for $1.75? Even elementary school bake sales charge more for just a single cup.
VALUE: You can see the mountain of food in the pictures that I got for $6.25. The muffin, although lacking enough flavor for my tastes, was appropriately priced at $2.50. Lastly, I had a glass of milk which cost me $2 (industry average) and coffee which cost me $1.75. The coffee didn't detract and it was unlimited, adding to the value it gave to the meal.
All of this food for $13.44 (including tax) PLUS Jodi's world-class service?
I had my doubts about this small breakfast place in Fargo. So, I say to The Shack on Broadway: I'm sorry I ever doubted you.