An Audience With Twig At Her Eponymous Diner

In my two previous visits to Twig's Diner, I had managed to show up for a rather late lunch. Today as I was driving through Barberton, I decided to go for a late breakfast / early lunch instead. I pulled into the tiny parking space just outside the diner thinking that it wasn't very full. Of course, I had forgotten to check the parking lot across the street and when I walked inside, I realized the folly of my assumption. While there were no available tables, there was room at the counter, so I took advantage of it and grabbed a seat. The good news was that I finally got to meet the one and only Twig.

Twig was clothed in a multi-hued ensemble and had a personality to match. She was every bit the extrovert I had figured she would be, but she was also a wonderful hostess and concerned owner. As I was finishing my late breakfast today, I had a chance to speak with her for several minutes and I found her to be gracious, informative, and delightful. I don't know if I am making a bad assumption, but my guess would be that she only works until the majority of the lunch rush is finished. My previous two visits had me showing up in the 1:30-2:00 PM range. It would behoove you, gentle reader, to show up when Twig is there because it takes the experience of eating at Twig's Diner and puts it over the top. It turns out that Michael Symon isn't the only one with a distinctive laugh.

By the time I sat down in the restaurant they were officially serving lunch (starts at 11 AM); however, I decided to settle on a longtime breakfast favorite of mine, Eggs Benedict ... or in Twig's vernacular, Twig's Benedict:


Twig's Benedict comes with a side of homefries. Here was a closer shot of one of the Eggs Benedict:


I tasted a bit of the hollandaise sauce that had been advertised on the menu as being homemade. You can see from the photograph above that it was on the verge of "breaking" (where the fat comes out of emulsion and globs of melted butter start to pool together), but it managed to hold together during the course of my meal. The flavor of the hollandaise was quite nice, being a bit more lemony than a traditional sauce. However, in this case, it worked well to counterbalance the fattiness from the egg yolk and the slice of American cheese, which some may question is traditional in Eggs Benedict.

Upon cutting into the egg, all of the wonderful eggy goodness oozed out onto the plate:


This really was a very nice Eggs Benedict. You had multiple flavors and textures happening at the end of each forkful. I had noticed that each of the poached eggs looked very similar, almost as if they had come out of a mold. When Twig stopped by to check on me, I asked her about it. It is common for restaurants to pre-poach the eggs either the night before or the morning before service, keep them cold, and then gently reheat them in water for service. Twig insisted that the poached eggs are done to order at the exact moment that a customer requested them. The downside was that only four could be done at a time this way. I consulted another friend who is in the food service industry and she said that more than likely Twig's was using egg molds which are lowered into simmering water. Whatever method Twig's was using, the eggs were properly cooked and delicious.

Along with my Eggs Benedict, I also received a portion of their potato homefries:


These were cooked nicely and had some great texture to them. I tasted them as they came and while I could detect some seasoning, they definitely needed more salt. After I applied a bit of ketchup to the potatoes, the seasoning issue resolved itself and I greedily shoveled these fried slices of potato into my mouth. My server came around and bussed my plate and silverware and offered me a slice of pie for dessert, but I had other plans so I politely declined and simply asked for the check instead.

The food has been consistently good at Twig's Diner and now that I've gotten to meet the one and only Twig herself, I am convinced that if you are looking for a wonderful way to spend some time eating breakfast or lunch, this interesting little diner in Barberton is the place to go. Even when Twig isn't there, the cast of characters still entertains and of course, the food is just as good. To me, Twig's is definitely a destination type establishment and worth seeking out, especially if you are already in the Akron area. If you aren't in the Akron area, plan a trip, it's worth it.