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.

Restaurant Expansion At Flury's Cafe

It's been about six months or so since I last talked about Flury's Cafe located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, but after my latest meal there, I felt the time was ripe to bring them back up. In fact, having only discovered this gem of a cafe less than a year ago, I had only written about them three times. So why the need to cover them a fourth time? The food has stayed remarkably consistent and delicious during every visit (and trust me, gentle reader, I have gone WAY more than those three times). The ambiance is still small town friendly. What changed today was that as I pulled into the parking lot only to find a large number of cars, I suddenly worried that the small 14 seat restaurant wouldn't have any room for me.

As I walked through the front door ready to deal with a mob of restaurant patrons, I was delighted to see that a project that owner and chef Kim Dunchuck had been talking about for some time had finally come to fruition. It seemed that the space next to her tiny restaurant had become available and she was thinking of expanding. Every time I was able to stop in for a visit, things were getting closer, but none of the renovations had yet begun. Today as I walked through the front door, there was an enormous opening to the right of the door which led into a brand new space with extra tables and chairs.

It turned out that the work on the new room had been finished on the eve of Thanksgiving and while Kim wasn't quite ready to open the new room up for business, when a large crowd showed up for food on the day after Thanksgiving, they quickly moved the tables and chairs from the outside patio into the new space and officially christened it. It's been open ever since. Seeing as there was now twice as much space as before, I had no problems finding a seat at the original counter.

Due to a recent Flury's Cafe Facebook post, I had banana pancakes on my brain. Without even needing to consider the menu, as soon as my server came up to took my order, I quickly responded with my request and selected bacon as my included side. I then settled in and wouldn't you know it, not one, but TWO of my readers out there had also come into Flury's today to escape the cold and get a delicious meal. It's always a treat when I get to meet and talk with folks who take time out of their busy schedule to read my little dog and pony show. Thanks to you both for stopping to say, "Hello."

As my breakfast made its way from griddle to plate, my mouth began to water in anticipation of pancake goodness. Here was a shot of my banana pancakes with whipped cream and a brown sugar/butter/lemon juice syrup:


With my first bite, my taste buds went to their happy place and did a little dance. While the "syrup" that Kim makes a la minute was sweet, it wasn't overpowering or cloying. The combination of the fresh bananas (which she peeled and cut to order) with the soft cake-like texture of the pancakes and the freshly melted whipped cream was just amazing. Almost every item off the menu was made from scratch and I have always been able to tell the difference. Can you get a cheaper breakfast at a fast food place? Sure. But, you simply cannot beat Flury's for quality and flavor.

Along with my pancakes came a side of crispy bacon:


What can I say? I'm a sucker for bacon. Even not-so-good bacon. However, this bacon was salty without being too strong and was a nice way to balance the sweetness from the pancakes. I've never gotten around to asking what kind of bacon Kim uses, but it always comes out crispy with a bit of chew to it.

After I finished up my breakfast and paid the check (which came to $7.40 including tax), I decided to walk into the newly finished area and take a few snapshots to give you an idea of what the space looked like. Like I previously mentioned, the new space essentially doubles Flury's Cafe's seating capacity.

Here a shot from the west wall (same side as the entrance) looking left:


Here was another shot from the same wall, looking right:


And finally, a shot from the opposite wall:


While the space is nearly finished, Kim told me today that she still wanted to add a few more stools for the counter areas and the small tables in the middle will most likely need to be replaced with something a little more permanent as they were the tables and chairs that originally the patio outside. They've also added a new bathroom space in the renovated area that was nice and large. The door to it was actually on the left hand side of my first photograph.

When I have had the opportunity to stop in for a meal prior to today at Flury's Cafe, I have always tried to select a time when I thought it wouldn't be difficult to get a spot at the counter. Now that they have managed to pull off the Trifecta of great food, great ambiance, and lots of space to sit, I don't know that this concern will ever cross my mind again. I'm sure by this point, gentle reader, if you've read any of my previous reviews on Flury's, you'll know that I've been recommending that you check them out since my very first visit. The good news is that nothing has changed. Seek them out and you will be rewarded.