Motto

Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before breakfast, get your breakfast first.

--Josh Billings (1818-1885)

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

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.
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Scoring Guide

The best score a breakfast can receive is, of course, The Perfect $4.00. A base score is determined by the cost of the entree. That score could rise if the other factors that contribute to breakfast (service, atmosphere, and food quality, for example) warrant a penalty, scored in penalty pennies. The worst score a breakfast can receive is $10.00.

Theoretically, a breakfast could score better than a $4.00 if we walked in, were given the best seat in the place, got called by our names, were served pancakes, two eggs, bacon or sausage, and hash browns for $3.95 with great coffee or ice cold juice. But, if that happens, we won't tell a soul about it because we don't want a horde of other cheapskates messing up the place.

Let's say that Shelby ordered a plain Belgian waffle, a side order of bacon, and orange juice. Since the waffle cost $5.25 and the bacon and orange juice were sides, the breakfast's base score begins at $5.25, and Shelby could opt to begin the score at $5.00 if the conditions warranted it. If the service were bad, then Shelby might add a quarter penalty. If the seats were uncomfortable, he might add a dime, and if his syrup had that icky film on the top, he might add a nickel, resulting in a final score of $5.65. I have to say that $5.65 is a very respectable score.

Let us know how well the scoring guide works for you.