The Bread Basket, 131 Park Avenue, Barrington, Illinois

I've been a regular customer of The Bread Basket since I moved to Barrington in 1993. I can't count how many meals I've eaten there. Someone once told me that the restaurant has been in operation since the 1920's, and I believe him. The Bread Basket is part of the community. Eventually, everyone goes there. Today, I got to introduce the place to a relatively new resident and do what everyone who loves the place does there--eat a square meal and talk about local issues, family stuff, baseball, vacations, movies. There was a table of gentlemen sitting close by who were planning activities for the 4th of July and the rest of the summer. Real community is built in diners like this one all over the country, and that may be what The Perfect $4.00 Breakfast is really about--building community.

The dining room has about 25 tables and booths tucked in close. You have to look at people around you to get to your seat. You have to talk to them. Good mornings are said. "Excuse me," someone will say. "Can I get you some coffee?" These are more than pleasantries at The Bread Basket. They're the fundamental tools of the trade.

I ordered the Main Street Skillet with my eggs over easy and wheat toast for $6.25. "No green peppers, please." "Of course, and what about you?" our server asked of one of the guys sitting with me. Simple. Honest. Professional. The food was good. The conversation better. We sat there for an hour and a half and talked and ate. There's no better way to eat breakfast. Any server who coordinates all that, whose presence never feels like an interruption, and who makes you feel welcome is worth at least $1.25 in Perk Pennies.

The Bread Basket might score a few more Perk Pennies if there were more space or if the chairs were more comfortable. But, then again, maybe it wouldn't. Maybe it gets the score it gets because the chairs are comfortable enough. Three of us sat at a table for four, but there's no way there was enough room on the table for even one more plate. "Excuse me," someone would have to say. "No problem. I'll just move this," someone would have to respond. "Thank you." "How are you doing?" Perhaps it gets the score it gets precisely because people are tucked in close enough to have to look at each other, talk to each other, listen to each other.

The Bottom Line:  $6.25 - 1.25 = $5.00

I know there's a perfect $4.00 on the menu here.

Richard Walker's Pancake House, 5680 Northwest Hwy, Crystal Lake, Illinois

Richard Walker's Pancake House is a family favorite. We eat there several times a year, and it's only negligence on my part that's kept me from writing about my experience there. The line can be out the door on Saturday and Sunday morning, but the service is quick, efficient, and attentive, even when the restaurant is full. We've enjoyed sitting on the patio in the summer and by the fireplace in the winter.

This morning, we went to breakfast as a family after a night of good cheer, so we went late--11:00 AM or so. We were seated immediately since the breakfast crowd had finished and the lunch crowd hadn't started yet. Nearly perfect timing for three weary partiers.

Shelby's theory about ordering the house specialty was formed at Richard Walker's, so he ordered a short stack of flapjacks. But Debbie and I ordered the Cherry Belgian Waffle, served with Cherries Jubilee Sauce on top of a golden brown waffle, sprinkled with powdered sugar ($7.50). Sprinkled with powdered sugar is not my favorite way to eat a waffle, but I forgot to ask our server to hold that. It's not so much that I don't like powdered sugar; it's that I don't need it to enjoy a waffle with Cherries Jubilee Sauce. There are few things that powdered sugar cannot make sweeter, but Cherries Jubilee Sauce is one of them. The sauce was a perfect blend of sweet and tart, and I don't use the word perfect lightly on a blog called The Perfect $4.00 Breakfast.

I ordered bacon and coffee with milk, and was thoroughly satisfied. The bacon was thick and cooked just as I like it--crispy on one end, not so much on the other. The coffee was--well, it was coffee, and I still don't like it that much no matter where it's served. But, many people who do like coffee in general have wonderful things to say about Richard Walker's coffee. As always, I prefer sweet, warm, caffeinated coffee-flavored milk. Funny thing is that the coffee's a big part of the story here. They got that right even for a guy who doesn't like it all that much.

Our server was fantastic, a pro--attentive, cheerful, warm. Both Debbie and I asked for milk with our coffee, and the second--I mean the second--she and I drained the first little pitcher, our server arrived at our table with two more. Our meals were served quickly, and everyone was satisfied. I think the mark of a real pro breakfast server is that one who can enter your table conversation with hot, fresh, good food and exit it without it feeling like an interruption. The three of us remarked that we were going to award major Perk Pennies for the service. I'd tell her name, but then other people might ask for her, and she won't be available the next time I go in.

So, what's perfect table service worth? I figure it's worth a 20% gratuity, so I'm converting that to $1.50 in Perk Pennies. We sat very comfortably in the main dining room close to the fireplace, but if we had sat on the patio on a beautiful summer day or near the fireplace on a cold winter one, I'd have awarded Perk Pennies for the atmosphere. There's potentially a Perfect $4.00 on the menu at Richard Walker's.
 
The Bottom Line:  $7.50 - 1.50 = $6.00
 
An excellent score for a topnotch place that gets all the details just right.

Lynn's Paradise Cafe, 984 Barret Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky

I waited a year to the day to revisit Lynn's Paradise Cafe, and I'm pleased that I did. As I said in an earlier post, this place needs no introduction to the world by me. Food critics, writers, pilgrims by the carload, and just about everyone else in Louisville has visited, and many were there on the Saturday morning I showed up. You'd think that would've meant I had to wait, but I was seated immediately at the counter. It was fun to see how hard-working, efficient, and joyful the servers are. They're an experienced, colorful, and lively group of professionals. Really the best part of the show was the smile on every server's face.

 



Kentucky Farmhouse Scramble

I ordered the same breakfast I had a year ago just to see if it was as good as I remember it, and my memory was right on target. This was pretty close to the best breakfast I have ever eaten. The patron sitting on my right had the Bourbon French Toast, and I thought I was going to steal a bite off her plate. I had the Kentucky Farmhouse Scramble, served with buttermilk biscuits, fried green tomatoes, and eggs scrambled with local cheddar cheese, chunks of ham, fresh diced tomatoes, and sweet red peppers. Although the price for the KFS is $15.25, our highest score is 10.00, and Lynn's is going to win many Perk Pennies. No need to order a side dish of anything. The price is all inclusive. The coffee is good, even for someone like me who doesn't really like the stuff. The orange juice is liquid orange--beautiful. The biscuits are huge and fluffy and made to melt the perfect blend of sorghum molasses and butter.

Lynn's is filled with a famous collection of ugly lamps, hand-made tiles, and tchotchkes. I couldn't resist buying bacon gummy candy, the only bacon item on the shelf that doesn't taste like bacon, according to the cashier, and a couple of gewgaws.

$1.00 in Perk Pennies to the staff for their sheer joyfulness, not the faux brand of many pretenders. Another $1.00 for the hostess who exclaimed, "There are still plenty of seats at the counter!" when she and I nearly bumped into each other in the gift shop. She had offered me immediate seating at the counter an hour earlier but mistakenly thought I'd been waiting that long for her to seat me. I assured her that she had been prompt, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Another $1.00 for the controlled chaos of the decor.

The Bottom Line:  $10.00 - 1.00 - 1.00 - 1.00 = $7.00.

The score could've been a little lower if my own server had been a little more attentive. My food came after my neighbor's. She could've updated me on the kitchen's progress. And I had to ask twice for orange juice. Of course, neither issue warrants Penalty Points. The place is Paradise, after all.

Windhill Pancake Parlor, 3307 W. Elm St., McHenry, Illinois 60050

My good friend Cheryl is a fountain of information when it comes to local diners in general and breakfast spots in particular.  I emailed her the other day to get her to remind me of a suggestion she gave me in the fall.  Her suggestion, The Windhill Pancake Parlor, was worth the 25 minute drive from my house.  And, the best part was that Shelby was with me.

The pancake parlor is down by the Fox River and features a Mid-western proverb and doodad decor. The owners obviously love the place. It shows in the decor of the parlor and the food they serve.

The menu is a book, and Shelby and I wanted to read the entire thing, so our server brought us coffee and juice and checked back with us several times to see if we were ready to order. This often leads to a server becoming less attentive, but not here. We were never overlooked. We were encouraged to read and take our time. We got a suggestion or two from our server.



My Cinnamon Roll Pancakes with
Shelby's Waffle in the Upper Left

I ordered the Cinnamon Roll Pancakes that the menu describes as "buttermilk pancakes served with a swirl of cinnamon roll filling in the cakes, topped with cream cheese icing" for $7.25, with a side order of bacon and coffee. They were simply delicious from the first bite to the last--sweet, cinnamony, hot, and buttery. There were only two things that could have made them better, and I had them sitting right next to my plate--bacon and coffee.

Shelby and I both remarked that we could taste the individual ingredients in our food--cinnamon, cream cheese, butter, eggs, and TLC. Is freshness an ingredient? It must be. Shelby ordered a Belgian Waffle, a side order of ham, and orange juice.

I'm not one to comment on the coffee in a diner since I don't really like the stuff, but this was good. I prefer my bacon to be crispy at one end and not so crispy at the other--just like these.

There are so many things to award Perk Pennies for.  Our server's attention was worth at least $1.00. The decor added another $1.00 worth of entertainment. No Penalty Pennies here!

The Bottom Line:  $7.25 - 1.00 - 1.00 = $5.25!

If I'd seen a delighted child have his food delivered by the train, the score could have been even better. I have a suspicion there's a perfect $4.00 on the menu here.