What an incredibly pleasant surprise !! The Breakfast Company came to the rescue for four of us today ! What started out as an attempt to eat at Max & Helen's, which then turned into a chaotic mess and NOT getting to eat there, ended by one of us doing a Yelp search for where else to go... and THIS place popped up !! Everything about it was truly meant to be. Breakfast Company has a listed phone number, which Max & Helen's doesn't. Breakfast Company has a parking garage immediately adjacent to the restaurant. Max & Helen's has no parking anywhere normally, and try getting close enough for even a drop off on a Farmer's Market Sunday... can't get ANYWHERE NEAR it, and when one of us, namely ME, has a bad back and knee, well, walking a distance is a no-go for me. The Breakfast Company was super easy to access. Oh, and now for the piece de resistance... there was NO wait on a Sunday... we could even dine outdoors in their wonderfully large COVERED patio area, and there was even a table for FOUR in the shade !! Be still, my heart !!!
Mind you, Max & Helen's only claims to be a 4-star establishment, while this place teeters on almost 5 stars. The proof was in the pudding cuz we've now eaten here, and I'm definitely awarding a 5-star review. Starting with all of the above and of course the most important aspect, the food. It was delicious, plentiful, and we loved what we had.
Since we were going for brunch, we were all in a breakfast-y mood. My cousin ordered the Brioche Breakfast Sammie, which included 2 eggs over medium, bacon, avocado, gruyere cheese, garlic aioli on brioche toast, and was served with house potatoes. It sounded fabulous (but it had bacon, which I can't stand... don't hate me), so I didn't taste it... but all the other ingredients sounded yummy. She loved it. I didn't hear what her boyfriend specifically ordered, but it looked similar to what I had, which was called The American. My dish had 3 eggs, which I requested scrambled, linguisa sausage (which I had never had before), the house fries, and an English muffin with their homemade jam (which was DELICIOUS). The eggs were light and fluffy, the sausage had a lot of flavor, and the potatoes were so well seasoned with a perfect light crunch to each bite. The jam was so good on the English muffin, but I was so full that I couldn't eat much of it. My husband ordered The Goat, which was an omelet, which had caramelized onions, bacon and goat cheese in the omelet, and it came with the house fries, and he got wheat toast with his meal. He raced through his meal, so I know he really enjoyed it (plus he was hungry!), but he wasn't a fan of the goat cheese... just personal preference, nothing that they did wrong.
While the service was fine, I didn't love our waitress. She wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say she was good either. She was just okay. I felt like she wasn't super familiar with the menu, and she didn't return for drink refills. Her appearance at our table was minimal at best. I had regular iced tea, and my husband had coffee. We could've both used more, but we just drank water instead. Nothing horrible, though. However, my annoyance grew once I got home... that's a first for me. When I came home to write my review and looked at the menu to make sure I wasn't forgetting to list all the ingredients in our dishes, I saw online that there was a SPECIAL... it was a smoked salmon and bagel dish, and SHE DIDN'T EVEN MENTION ANY SPECIALS EXISTED !!!!!!! THAT upsets me because THAT is truly what I would've ordered !! It is the quintessential brunch dish in my opinion. How could she have not told us? And how was I supposed to ask, "Do you have any specials?" I never think to ask because, gee, the waiter or waitress usually tells us. Anyway, I was upset about that, but I had no idea back at the restaurant. Normally, I'd probably mark down for service issues, but I really was so pleased with everything else about Breakfast Company, I'm in a generous mood to keep this as a 5-star rating. Plus, I noticed how other waitresses (servicing other nearby tables) were doing their jobs perfectly... and better than our waitress for sure... like getting water bowls for little fur babies... or returning to refill human water glasses.
All in all, though, if we're ever in the area again, I'd return here in a heartbeat. It really is a GREAT place, and they let you eat, relax, and enjoy, and it's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. read more