More Breakfasts From Mrs. J's Restaurant

Having been perplexed by the strange biscuits during my last visit to Mrs. J's Restaurant in downtown Orrville, Ohio, I found myself again in need of sustenance on a Sunday morning. Preferring to give my business to a local mom and pop place rather than a national chain, I decided to give Mrs. J's another go. When I arrived at 9 AM on Sunday morning, while the place was definitely hopping, there were still three or four booths still open. As with my first visit, it wasn't apparent whether I was supposed to wait to be seated or simply seat myself. Fortunately, another couple walked into the restaurant at the same time as I did and immediately sat themselves. Trying to fit into the crowd, I did the same.

After a few minutes, my server stopped by with a glass of water and some much needed coffee:

Between the food I had eaten last time and what appeared on the breakfast portion of the menu, it surprised me a bit when I spied packets of Sugar In The Raw sitting in the sweetener holder:

Since I had tried (and not particularly cared for) the sausage gravy over biscuits the last time, I decided to try out something else on the menu today. I wasn't feeling the love for carbs this morning, so my menu choices were simplified down to one food group: eggs. Fine, an omelet it was! While there were only a couple of specific omelettes listed, you could essentially build one to order if you chose.

Not wanting to go the route of building my own, I decided on the Western Omelet:

With my omelet, I had my choice of breads for toast; I chose wheat bread. Overall, I'd say that my breakfast today was average. Nothing in particular was wrong with it, but neither did it endear me to Mrs. J's in such a way that I would swayed to return if I didn't already happen to be in the area. Everything was hot and tasted appropriate (crunchy for the toast, tender for the eggs). The filling of American cheese, ham, and onions was nicely heated through and weren't overly salty. The only oddity I noticed was that at one end of my omelet, it was seasoned. At the other, no seasoning whatsoever. My server was attentive without being obtrusive when it came to refilling my breakfast beverages as well as checking in on me.

On my second visit for this entry, I was bound and determined to try something a little more substantial and carb-laden. During my previous meal, I noticed something on the menu called the "Pancake Sandwich." Intrigued about this interesting sounding dish, I finally decided to order it for today's breakfast. After a bit of a delay (it was Sunday during peak breakfast hours), this finally arrived at my table with maple-flavored syrup:

This was a short stack of pancakes with two strips of crispy bacon between them and finally topped with a single egg cooked to my prefernce; I chose sunny side up. As somewhat expected, the egg had been served unseasoned. I added some salt and pepper and ate the egg first. It was cooked well and the yolk was nice and runny. After finishing the egg, I skipped the cup of margarine and went straight for the maple-flavored syrup instead. The bacon and pancakes were cooked thoroughly, and the syrup added a bit of sweetness to balance out the saltiness of the bacon.

Overall, today's dish was a decent breakfast. I think what I've come to terms with over my trio of visits is that Mrs. J's serves a basic, no frills breakfast menu. While the biscuits in my original review were a bit off-putting, everything since then has been good, but not great. That being said, the price has ALWAYS been right. My pancake sandwich today cost a mere $4.35 and it was quite filling. Looking around me, I noticed lots of families and friends who were out for Sunday breakfast and some great conversation. I have no qualms about continuing to recommend Mrs. J's if you live in the Orrville area. While the food might not be particularly inventive, every small community needs a place like Mrs. J's and Orrville is well served by this simple eatery.