Let me first start by explaining what it’s like to go on a trip with Bob Owen – my father. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been to the destination once or a thousand times, you’ll always feel like a tourist. He’s a man in constant need of information – “What are you known for”, “Who are the owners so that I may get a picture with our family”, “Does president Lincoln have any ties to this town?” But typically the local flare, despite your grumpy, “I hate tourists”, local, enjoy his passion for wanting to know every little detail about their town, locals shops and in this case, their breakfast spots.

Up For Breakfast is right across from the old Quality Restaurant in Manchester, Vermont. It was a sad sight to see a dark interior where the Quality once stood. From the classic jukebox to the fresh squeezed orange juice, our family has many fond memories of their breakfast. But there’s no question that a new breakfast sheriff is in town and many memories are in store for the Owen family.

Upon arriving at Up For Breakfast, you must first make it up the steep and narrow wooden stairs that lead you to the second floor of this two story building. The space below is closed and we later learned that Bonnie, the founder of Up For Breakfast, is the owner (she’s looking for renters). But don’t tell Bonnie she should open up the bottom with more tables for service because it’s not going to happen. You have to respect someone like Bonnie who doesn’t want to make any changes to a good thing. And boy, do they have a good thing going. According to their staff, the place can seat about forty-one people. On a busy weekend morning they turn the tables over about seven times, roughly 300 patrons.

Amanda and I showed up on Wednesday night and on Thursday morning we had our first experience here. However, this was already my parents, my two sisters and Emily’s now fiancé, second or third trip since Sunday. Per usual, they had already begun to be on a first name basis with the staff, especially Danielle, who happens to share her name with my other sister – and they also happen to share the same hair color so of course my father claims they could be sisters.

I decided to write this review after our second trip on Saturday morning so I’m going to focus the review on that particular meal. But I must say, the omelet I had the first time was just as satisfying.

I was feeling more of a sweet tooth this morning so it was either French toast or pancakes. I had picked at a blueberry pancake our first day and was very impressed by the consistency of the batter. The fact that they use coffee carafes to keep their pure Vermont maple syrup warm is also a huge plus on the Dear Diner meter. As I combed the specials, I immediately noticed the French toast special – Banana blueberry whole wheat oatmeal bread topped with warm bananas, walnuts and brown sugar. But to satisfy my savory taste buds, I decided to try out the special sausage – wild boar (On Wednesday the special sausage was rabbit). Huge bonus points for exotic meats. The wild boar had a milder flavor then pork sausage. It’s a bit drier with less grease. There was a hint of gaminess but not so much that it overpowered the sausage spice, which seemed to come from a combo of nutmeg and cinnamon.

The French toast wasn’t the most colorful plate but the taste made up for the lack of beauty. The tops of the bread were perfectly grilled, giving it a surface so smooth that you could skate the butter across like a frozen pond. However, you won’t need any bit of butter for these bad boys. Just a dollop of the warmed maple syrup we mentioned above and you’re ready to dig in. While the surface was crisp, the innards were warm and moist. The syrup soaked through giving it a thick, heavenly texture as you went diving in with your fork. The taste all starts with the warmed bananas and eventually makes its way to the nutty walnut flavor. In between you soak up the sweetness of the syrup and tang of the blueberry. Unlike some whole wheat bread, this one did not taste too grainy.

From the friendly service, to the open kitchen vibe, cozy interior, and most importantly the remarkable breakfast fare, Up For Breakfast gets the first 10 out of 10 on the Dear, Diner scale. Looking forward to returning and getting more pictures with Danielle, Bonnie and crew.

It’s been a staple since 1919, serving up the Cambridge locals with every, and all kinds of deli treats.  So it’s hard to imagine the food being any thing less then good.  While considered a deli and not a diner, on Sunday mornings they invite the diner crowd with open arms making them a prime target for a “Dear Diner,” review.  Yes, I’ve already been, and yes, I already know I enjoy their food.  But if you’re familiar with our past posts, you know that the food is only half of the diner experience.

This will be the first “Dear Diner,” post with an official scale.  The scale is 1 to 10 with a 10 being the best.  The key factors for each grade are as follows (ordered in importance):

• Food
• Service
• Atmosphere

Let’s begin…

The one noticeable flaw, in my opinion, about the S&S is the size.  When I want to head to a local diner the last thing I want the aurora to feel like is Denny’s.  But that’s exactly the feeling you get after you walk past the third large seating area on the way to your table.  To their credit, they do attract quite a crowd, especially on a Sunday morning.

As we took our seat next to a family celebrating grandpa’s birthday with baby Thomas practically drooling in our laps, I noticed all the old black and white photos hanging on the wall.  I’m a fan of old pictures when a place such as the S&S has been around for many years.  Seeing the old photos of Inman Square provide an interesting contrast to our immediate surroundings.  These images bring about a sense of community and family.  Goes well with your diner experience.

As you gaze down at the menu you may notice that this is not your average diner fare.  The average plate is $8, this is before you add on any sides or coffee.  I’m perfectly all right with this, it just means the food and serving better be up to high-end diner standards.  I ordered the French Eggs – A croissant that’s warmed on the griddle with scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon (better be from Quebec), home fries and cup of fresh fruit.  The fruit comes with just about every dish so all you seasonal nuts need not apply.  While I love eating seasonal food, sometimes a sweet piece of fruit is just what the doctor ordered on a crisp Sunday morning in New England.  Adrian got the Quiche Lorraine that is definitely one of the better deals on the menu.

Our food came out just as we were sipping down our second freshened up cup of coffee.  As you know, service plays another key role in the diner grading system.  S&S definitely has a “family run” type of atmosphere.  But again, because the place is so large you lose some of this appeal.  Our waiter was also not very chatty.  I typically like my diner staff to have some character and ours lacked this element.  But to his credit, he was on top of our coffee and made sure our food came out on time.

Finally, the food.  Per usual, the S&S fare is one of the finer breakfasts in the greater Cambridge area.  I especially enjoy their potatoes.  While mine were slightly over mooshed – due of course to over boiling as my esteemed friend Kevin so astutely pointed out – the grilled onions give them an awesome kick that had me practically wiping them off the plate before I even touched my croissant sandwich.  As for the sandwich, it was good, but that’s about all.  It needs some sharp cheddar cheese, or, since it’s called the French Eggs, a nice slab of gruyere to fuse the egg and bacon together.  Otherwise the flavor was mostly pronounced by the sweetness of the grilled croissant.

In the end, I give S&S a 7 out 10 on the “Dear Diner,” scale.  The food is worth the price tag but the atmosphere and lack of diner vibe brings it down a notch.