Extra Helpings: Breakfast At Tiff ... Err, Twig's

Ever since my first trip to Twig's Diner in Barberton, Ohio, I have been jonesing to return. The last time I went it was in the early afternoon and even though I had been told several times that Twig's is primarily known for their breakfasts, I wasn't in a breakfasty kind of mood. But the siren's song of homemade biscuits (or as Twig's spells them, bisquits) and sausage gravy kept calling to me to come back. Having recently written about the biscuits and gravy at another restaurant, I just had this feeling that something special was waiting for me at Twig's.

While it was 1 PM today when I arrived at Twig's, I was still bound and determined to order up some of their homemade goodness. As I walked in, I was greeted by a woman who turned out to be my server. Even before I had a chance to sit down, she had already asked me what I'd like to drink. As I slung my winter jacket across the back of the opposing chair, my server put down the cup of decaf and glass of water for which I had asked:


As she set it down, she told me told let her now if it wasn't hot enough. Apparently the decaf was being dispensed from a thermal carafe and she was concerned that it was too old. While it tasted hot enough to me, apparently she was worried enough that she made a fresh pot of decaf and replaced one mug with another. While the first one had been hot enough, the freshly brewed coffee was far tastier. I'm glad she took it on herself to replace my original cup.

As I looked at the daily breakfast and lunch specials, my initial thoughts of bisquits and sausage gravy seemed to suddenly come into question:


My eyes were drawn immediately to two menu items, one breakfast and the second lunch. The second breakfast special was two eggs, cheesy bacon grits, and choice of toast. The lunch special that caught my eye was the fresh beer battered fish. Oh, man! Knowing that Lent was upon us, I figured I'd be seeing the fish special again over the next couple of weeks. Which left me with the debate over whether to get the cheesy bacon grits special or stick with my original intention of bisquits and gravy. When my server finally came over, we talked it over and I decided on the cheesy bacon grits special with bisquits instead of the toast and then added a cup of the sausage gravy to round out the meal.

Since my meal took a little bit to come out, I did what I always enjoy doing at restaurants, people watch. There were a few other regulars in the restaurant today and they easily interacted with my server, as she was the only one working the front of house today. I mentioned Twig's unique decor in my last write-up and it seemed that my amped up server fit right in with that uniqueness. With that wonderfully warbly alto voice, she felt very Flo-esque from the TV show Alice without all the "Kiss my grits!" attitude. Twig's has a very down-to-earth friendly attitude to it and even when mistakes are made, people seemed good natured and easy going.

Soon enough, my meal arrived at my table:


The eggs were cooked perfectly. They were tender and the yolks were nice and creamy. Sometimes when you order "sunnyside up" eggs, the whites around the yolks haven't completely cooked. Not this time. The only criticism I had, and I consider this one a throw-away, was that there was no salt on the eggs. While I firmly believe that adding salt as one cooks is a necessity, since these eggs were never flipped over on the flattop, the salt never would've had a chance to interact with the heat. Therefore, a little salt added at the table was all that was required to remedy the situation.

At the rear of the plate was a small dish of cheesy bacon grits:


With a consistency somewhere between gloopy and semi-set, the flavor of these grits was quite good. Everything was nicely balanced and you could taste the cheese, bacon, and corn in every bite. I have had quite my fair share of horribly bland, unseasoned grits in the northeast Ohio area and it was quite a nice surprise to find that someone at Twig's realized that grits do need some seasoning, especially if they have entered savory territory (which these definitely had). Unfortunately, with all of the other food I was served today, I could only eat about half of these.

Along with my breakfast platter, I also received a cup of the homemade sausage gravy:


I tasted this by itself before slathering it over my bisquits. The good news was that this was a very tasty gravy. I got the sweetness from the milk and the saltiness and spiciness from the sausage. Not chili spice, per se, but more like black pepper spice. The bad news was that by the time this showed up on my table, it was a bit too cool. I imagine with only one cook in the kitchen, it's entirely possible that the cook served up the gravy and let it sit while she made the rest of my meal. The bisquits themselves were hot and split easily under the weight of my knife. The bisquits were tasty by themselves, but one of the bisquit halves had a bit of a hard spot. However, once I ladled sausage gravy over it, most faults were forgotten. Twig's has some very good bisquits and gravy. Not slap-your-momma good, but probably some of the best I've tasted in the area.

As my server dropped off my food, she asked if I wanted to try some of Twig's homemade jams with my bisquits. Having read some very positive things about these jams, I quickly agreed. While I was prepared for a single jar of jam, what I was presented with astounded me:


All homemade by Twig herself, you have peach and grape in the front and apple butter and strawberry in the back. Not content to try just a single flavor, I quickly employed one of my remaining bisquits as a jam delivery system:


From left to right you have peach, strawberry, grape, and apple butter. From what my server told me, they have the peach, strawberry, and apple butter year round. Other flavors cycle in whenever Twig felt like it. I noted that as I dispensed each jam, the consistency was somewhere between a sauce and what most of us think of as a hard set jam. I tasted each in turn and the one singular notion that I walked away with was the freshness of the fruit. Sure, they were each sweet, but the main flavor you get with Twig's jams was the fruitiness. The apple butter, by far the most viscous of the four, also had a nice bit of spice that reminded me of the holidays.

My sampling now complete, I was just too full to eat anything else. I paid my check and walked out into the bleak, cold February day now completely sated. My server had told me that lots of people use the jams as toppings for their waffles and pancakes and I can completely understand why. Between the wonderful cheesy bacon grits, the luscious sausage gravy and the over-the-top fresh jams, I am convinced that I have found a restaurant that I will be coming back to again and again. Two visits, two successful meals. I suggest if you haven't already given Twig's Diner a try, now is the time.

Hollandaise With A Twist At Wally Waffle

I find it interesting that the proximity of a restaurant doesn't always dictate how often one visits. The last time I wrote about Wally Waffle was actually the last time I had eaten there. For some inexplicable reason when I got up this morning, I just accepted the fact that it was time to return for another meal. With the restaurant being only a mile or so from my house, I'm not sure why I don't return more often. I suppose it is a lot like the high school and college friends who we keep in touch with maybe twice a year. Most of the time you just don't think about them and then every six months or so, you scratch your head and think, "I wonder what John is up to?"

Having gotten up fairly late today, I decided to minimize the inevitable waiting and go for a late lunch. I arrived at the Tallmadge location to find the restaurant only half full. After taking a small table near the back of the restaurant, my server brought me the menu, a glass of water, and the cup of decaffeinated coffee for which I had asked:


While I wouldn't consider Wally Waffle's coffee exceptional, it did do its part to help fully wake me up. Normally I'd give you a couple of menu photos, but unfortunately, the lighting where I was sitting was rather dim and even with the help of the Picasa photo editor I use to make the photographs I take blog-worthy, I was afraid that the menu simply wouldn't be legible. In its place, however, I decided to return to the earlier days on my blog and give you a shot of the condiment station that appears on every table:


My order at Wally Waffle normally consists of the oat bran waffle and a side of bacon, extra crispy. However, just like last time, I decided to deviate from that path and try something else. In all of the times I've eaten at the restaurant, I've never tried any of their non-breakfast offerings. While the 1/3 pound Angus burger looked pretty darn good, I wasn't really in a burger kind of mood. Instead, as I perused the omelettes available, I noticed that Wally's has a signature omelet made with broccoli and swiss cheese that was covered in a hollandaise sauce. Eureka! I guess it was to be breakfast after all.

After a short wait, my server delivered my omelet platter, complete with a side of grits and buttered rye toast:


Here was a close-up of the broccoli and cheese omelet:


I tasted the hollandaise sauce first, by itself and I'll talk more about that in a moment. The omelet was studded with broccoli florets and the swiss cheese oozed around the little nuggets of green. The eggs were fluffy and tender and had just the right level of salt to them. While the broccoli was definitely cooked, it still retained a bit of firmness so that taking a proper bite gave me a variety of textures to experience. Overall, I'd say it was a very nicely cooked omelet. Returning to the hollandaise, when I first tasted it, I thought the cheese had been placed on top of the omelet, directly underneath the hollandaise. I was expecting that glorious combination of egg yolks and butter, but instead was greeted with something different. The depth of flavor I was getting from the sauce felt much more savory than a traditional sauce.

Now curious about what was happening with this hollandaise, I decided to investigate further. After taking another taste, I realized that the flavor I was experiencing wasn't from the cheese but instead from the addition of chicken base. I rolled the sauce over my entire tongue trying to hit as many of the different taste buds as I could. Honestly, the sauce tasted like a cross between chicken gravy and a more traditional hollandaise. The sauce was seasoned perfectly and I imagine that the salty chicken base probably went a long way to accomplishing that task. The problem, as I saw it was that for me, every time I took a bite of my omelet with sauce on top, I got nothing but the chicken flavor. The delicate flavors from the eggs, cheese and broccoli were somewhat lost.

When I finally asked my server about the hollandaise, she told me that the sauce was made every day from scratch and that she believed the cook was indeed adding chicken base to make it "her own." While I applaud the fact that they are making from-scratch hollandaise sauce and the fact that the cook was trying to put her spin on a classic, in this case, it just didn't work for me. As a sauce for a chicken breast, this would've been perfect.

Here was a close-up shot of the bowl of grits that came with the platter:


These were consistent with grits that I've found at other local Ohio eateries. The problem I have with grits around this part of Ohio is that they are never seasoned. At all. If these were cheesy grits, I would expect them to be seasoned. Part of my problem with unseasoned grits is that it is such a stark contrast to the rest of the meal. I'm not looking for them to be salty, per se, just seasoned enough so that the natural corn flavor stands out. If any of my gentle readers out there know how plain grits are properly prepared and served in the South, please leave me a comment and explain how they should be correctly served.

[Ed. Note: When I wrote the above paragraph, it was before I had consulted a number of friends who have eaten or cooked plain grits from the South. Apparently, plain grits are exactly that, ground corn meal cooked in water. However, in wanting to understand this epicurean phenomenon even better, I'd love to hear from my Southern (or displaced Southern) gentle readers out there who can shed some light on this. Why aren't plain grits seasoned, even just a little bit?]

Fortunately, with the help of the salt and peppers shakers and this bottle of Frank's Red Hot,


I managed to give the grits some character. Overall the texture was fine, although it was a tad bit lumpy in spots. When I first opened the bottle of Frank's, I was immediately transported back to my college days. The smell alone was enough to remind me of the hot wings at The Euclid Tavern. Good times, good times.

Finally, a shot of the rye toast:


This was decent enough but was nowhere as flavorful and tasty as the toast I had eaten at my last Big Egg experience. Paired with some of the Smucker's strawberry jam from the condiment caddy, this satisfied my need for something a little sweet and a little crunchy.

Overall, I'd say that this visit to Wally Waffle was as consistent as my others. For the most part, Wally Waffle continues to deliver interesting and tasty versions of classic diner fare for a modest price. Every now and then they will falter, but fortunately it isn't very often.