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.

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.