D. Taylor's Food & Travel

Background – We spent the day before riding the Cog Railway and stayed in North Conway for the night.   In the morning we looked for a good place for breakfast, and a very good place we found. Arrival – We arrived at about 9:30 on a Sunday morning and they were busy.   We had about a ten-minute wait before being seated. Pre-ordering – The server arrived quickly with cups and a pot of coffee right away. We sais yes to the coffee and ordered "waters with lemon," and a Mimosa. The arrived quickly--about the time we were ready to order.     Ordering – There were so many luscious sounding items available.   My wife struggled between the traditional Eggs Benedict and Florentine and Irish versions. I wrestled with several omelets and "biscuits and gravy."   I ordered the Biscuits and Gravy and my wife chose the traditional Eggs Benedict. Traditional Eggs Benedict at Banners   Food – The food arrived quickly and without incident and was...

Restaurant Review When I lived in Minnesota, I probably drove past Keys Café & Bakery every week and I never stopped there for a meal.  There are nine Keys Café restaurants in Minnesota/Wisconsin area and although I had heard of them before, I had never eaten at one. Was that ever a mistake – I wish I had eaten there many times before. My friend, Doug, said Keys was very good, so we went to the Spring Lake Park location for breakfast one morning while I was visiting Minnesota recently. We arrived at the peak of the breakfast rush, about 10 am on a Sunday morning. The place was packed and had a waiting list. We were told it would be about a 10 to 15-minute wait. I was pleased when we were seated in about 10 minutes. The person apologized for seating us in a smaller two-person table and assured that we were okay with the smaller size. We were. Service at Keys was top notch. After being seated, our waitress, Lauren G., asked what we would like to drink an...

Hy-Vee Market Grill I often say, “I love good food that is reasonably priced and great service which makes a meal truly enjoyable. With that in mind, I may have a new favorite restaurant – Hy-Vee Market Grille. During a visit to Minnesota, a friend suggested eating at the restaurant associated with a Hy-Vee grocery store. I had never been to a Hy-Vee, as they came into Minnesota after I moved out of state.  I was skeptical, but I trusted my friend and said, “Sure. Let’s try it.” Arrival I was immediately impressed when we arrived and saw they had a very nice bar area. The restaurant was clean and bright. We were immediately greeted and taken to a booth. Although we didn’t have drinks, my friend said they make great drinks, and I believe him. Pre-ordering We ordered two coffees plus one water with lemon and one plain water and reviewed the menu.   Ordering When the drinks we ordered arrived we placed our food order. My friend decided on two eggs...

Restaurant Review – Chef George’s Auto Mile Diner, Saco Maine I’ve found a great little breakfast place in Saco, the Auto Mile Diner. It is small, but the food is excellent, and the staff is always friendly. I’ve been there several times for breakfast and have always found the breakfasts great. I was getting my Jeep serviced across the street and walked over for breakfast. I there are only eight tables, but I was able to find a good seat. Moments after arriving the Owner asked if I’d like coffee. After hearing my reply, a nice cup of coffee was placed in front of me. There is a menu on the table as well as posters on the wall suggesting other items. After several visits, I’ve found the Mexican Omelet is one of my favorites—peppers, onions, cheese, jalapenos, and tomatoes, wrapped in eggs with salsa and sour cream on the side. There are several choices for accompanying sides, I picked hash browns and a grilled English muffin. The food arrived quickly and was delicious...

As you know by now, I really like breakfasts. A great breakfast is hard to beat, and a poor breakfast is inexcusable. As the saying goes, it's hard to mess up eggs. I was out and about recently and had a chance to stop in at Lucky Loggers in Saco. It had that look of a breakfast kind of place. It is next door to Reny’s in Saco, where I was going to pick a couple winter shirts and maybe a new fall jacket so I figured it was a perfect time to give it a try. Kitchen area from my booth. Lucky Loggers, Saco, ME I arrived about a quarter after 10 and the breakfast crowd had clearly started dwindling down. I was quickly greeted and brought to a seat. A server stopped by with a menu and the offer of coffee. I ordered the coffee and started looking at the menu. The coffee arrived and I was asked if I were ready to order. I asked if the hash were made in the kitchen or if it was Mary Kitchen™ out of the can. The waitress told me they make everything locally. I also asked if they had...

Review by Don Taylor My sister and I were about during Memorial Day. After an early start and a long day of paying our respects at various cemeteries in the Detroit area, we decided we were finally done and it was time to eat. We were both famished and stopped at a place for a late lunch, early dinner. We stopped someplace, (I forget where) and learned that the place closed at 3:00 PM because of the holiday. She then suggested we go to Travis Restaurant in Clinton Township. She said they have good food at a great price. She couldn't have been more right on. Travis Restaurant, Clinton Twp, MI Photo from Google Maps .  Travis Restaurant is what I call, a "hole in the mall" restaurant -- a small strip mall with several different businesses in it. We arrived about 3:45 in the afternoon and they still would serve breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. It has been my experience that if you want to judge a place on their breakfast there are two things to order. First, if...

I love breakfast. I grew up knowing that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I also love finding new places to have breakfast. I had seen Simple Simon's on as I drove by several times and figured I’d try them. This is a local, mom & pop type of restaurant. It was open seating with the grill and the counter in sight of all the tables. There was mostly a senior crowd late on the Friday morning we visited. We arrived and were told to seat ourselves .  Simple Simon's 2 eggs (over hard), toast, ham, home fries, with an extra side of bacon. After a few minutes the waitress came, we ordered coffee and began looking at the menu. Pretty simple fare; eggs, pancakes, omelets, breakfast meats, and home fries. The omelettes looked interesting, plain eggs with toast and you add whatever you want for fillings at sixty cents per ingredient. My wife and I both decided on a number two: 2 eggs any style, home fries, toast, and breakfast meat. She ordered the bacon ...

While I was in Minnesota my brother suggested we go to breakfast at just about the best breakfast place he had been to lately.  He said it was about ten miles but would be well worth the trip.  So we loaded up our mother and headed to Rockford and the Bridge Street Cafe. The Bridge Street Cafe is a home-town cafe which is open for breakfast, starting at 6:00 AM (7:00 AM Sat & Sun) and open until 2:30 PM (3:00 PM Sat & Sun) and provides a nostalgic trip to a classic all American classic cafe.  Apparently downstairs of a Masonic Lodge the decor is pleasant. We were quickly greeted and asked if we wanted coffee or juice. We looked over the menu, my mother decided upon the “Breakfast Scramble” with breakfast potatoes (versa hash browns).  Both my brother and I decided on “The Bridge Street Breakfast.”  Three eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, and toast.  Quite unusual, one of the options is French toast and both of us selected that as well as hash...

The Varsity Terminal C, Hartsfield-Jackson Airport Sometimes you know you are doing wrong but you think it won't be so bad.  What a mistake I made going to The Varsity at Atlanta Airport.   I was running a bit later than I like in getting to the airport for flight so, I figured I'd have a bite for breakfast at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on my way to Minneapolis. The  Chick-fil-A on Terminal C had a long line but the Varsity next door had very little of a line. I thought, "I like The Varsity downtown for lunch; I'll give this on a chance for breakfast." What a mistake.  I should have moved on when they informed me they didn't have any coffee. Their machine was broken.  Oh well, I ordered a sausage and egg biscuit, hash browns and a tap water.  $7.79.  What?  Yup $1.79 for a tap water. Same as a soda, they even ring it up as a soda. More than a coffee would have been had their machine been working. Talk about a ripoff. The hash brow...

First Watch is a relatively new restaurant located at the Ivy Walk Shopping Center (corner of Atlanta Road and Cumberland Parkway, SE) in Smyrna. Although they don't like to think of themselves as a chain, they are with over 100 restaurants over thirteen states. There are two currently in Georgia; the other store is located in John's Creek.  They serve breakfast and lunch, but no dinner, seven days a week.  The restaurant in Smyrna was my first contact with them. Walking in the door, we were promptly greeted by a very pleasant person who seemed genuinely happy with life in general and with our arrival.  We were asked how we were to which we said "hungry."  The greeting person said they could fix that. Selecting from the menu was difficult.  There are so many varied items to choose from. Omelets, eggs, pancakes, healthy selections, salads, soups, and sandwiches. Our server was there quickly and found we were not ready to order. We asked for water with lemon...