Patcher and life-long Lafayette resident Aric Martinez provides the fodder for our Patch Poll this Monday: or ?
Sure, some of our roads are a mess and there are important issues to ponder and, hopefully, solve in Lamorinda but as Aric so rightly puts it, this thing needs to get settled once and for all.
"You see... I grew up in Lafayette and I've eaten at Squirrels for 25+ years," Aric writes. "I'm a Squirrel's guy for life, and will only go to Millie's Kitchen if I'm forced, and even then I feel guilty."
Aric has noted the often-argued attributes of Lamorinda's oldest breakfast houses, and thinks it's time the matter get settled. Perhaps not scientifically, but with a by-the-numbers Patch Poll.
"It's sort of Red vs. Blue, Good vs. Evil thing," Aric said. "Millies fans will quickly point out that they have good coffee cake. Squirrels fans will usually grant this but argue that they are not eating in a rickety house, fighting for parking and have way better omelettes. I've heard some heated debates over the years."
Judging from their parking lots and long lines both businesses are doing well and we applaud them for their longevity and commitment to customer service. But we have to know: Are you a Squirrel's Coffee Shop or Millie's Kitchen fan?
As Aric points out, most people are not both.
1. They will cook whatever you order however you want it. Crispy bacon, extra dark hash browns? No problem. 2. The service is personal and intuitive. Vicky and Shirley are the best of the best! 3. It feels like home. They remember you when you come in and that goes a long way with me. Plus, the food is delicious!
And your well-loved "hoe cakes" are well-known to my New England peeps as "johnny cakes" and seem to have their origin among the pop native to the areas around CT/RI/MA. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonnycake) Regardless of their origin, I agree they're delicious. Years ago, on a college spring break trip south of the Mason-Dixon line, I asked a waitress at a roadside diner what "scrapple" was. Her response still cracks me up: "It's everything bacon and sausage ain't."
EVerything they serve is a level or two above the fare served at all the places mentioned here and I've been to all of them. Try the souffle pancake any flavor you want, it is art.
Eileen - I think the Hawaiians have us all beat. They appreciate the culinary superiority of SPAM!
Sorry, I want to be left alone with a good cup of black coffee and something sweet. I don't want to be trendy. And the souffle pancake was not art. OK, now I am being snippy.
Kathleen is right about scrapple. It's a mid-Atlantic "delicacy" traditionally made from the leftovers of butchering, and can be a mix of meats - beef, pork, etc. I understand that modern scrapple making has a bit more quality control involved, i.e. no offals. In my family we always understood that it's origins were with the Pennsylvania Dutch. Lancaster, PA - cannot get a better breakfast anywhere! Sticking to the local haunts, I vote for Village Inn Cafe in Orinda. Makes the best corned beef hash.
happy holidays
I went to the Village Inn Cafe once and ordered a cobb salad. I asked for the dressing to be mixed in the salad and was told that would be an extra $2 . I never went back again. Dollar pancakes with boysenberry syrup at The Nugget Hotel in Reno.
I could go on. It is a gourmet attention paid to ordinary ingredients normally prepared by hacks.