Motto

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

--Josh Billings (1818-1885)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

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.
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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.