Shortcakes Diner - Review #6

Wow, I can't believe we have been writing this blog for 6 weeks already........time really does fly!  This week's review is coming a couple of days early because BJ is leaving for an 8 day vacation in Montana and Wyoming on Saturday morning (yes, I am very jealous!). So rather than drive a ways as we have been prone to the past few weeks we decided to try out one of Stillwater's local and long-lived haunts, Shortcakes Diner located on Main St.  To me Shortcakes represents the quintessential truck-stop diner, open 24-7 and serving quality greasy food.  I think the best comparision is probably to a an old Waffle House that I once went to in Auburn, Alabama.  To the local college students it is best thought of as the post-bar, drunkin', greasy spoon. In fact, the first time I went to shortcakes was about 2am one night with a couple of friends and one of the guys in the booth behind us was passed out and literally had to be carried out by his friends.  Definitely a classic Stillwater moment that I'll never forget!

As a slightly added plus, one of the waitresses from Mom's now works at Shortcakes.  According to her the rumor is that they are trying to get Mom's up and running!  Maybe I won't have to do a retrospective review after all, long live Mom's!

It definitely goes by the classic, don't judge a book by its cover scenario as the breakfast food at least is really quite good. For several weeks I had listened to BJ rave about their pancakes, and when we talk about his pancake ratings this is what all others were being compared too.  With that said it was a must have experience for our little blog. This morning we were lucky enough to have a special guest, our friend and my resident mate, Mee Ja.  She won't meet us for our 7am Saturday morning jaunts, but during the week its entirely doable.

Well on to the important part, the food!  As mentioned above, BJ loves the pancakes here so of course he got his usual pancakes and eggs.  And I think for the first time yet at least for an individual meal we have a rating of a 5 out of 5!

Now aren't those fluffy looking pancakes? Perfection!

On this morning, which I'm planning on making my one meal of the day, I had my usual hashbrowns and eggs overeasy, and for this special occasion I got the full country breakfast and got French Toast as well. Like BJ's pancakes the french toast was fantastic with plenty of butter and powdered sugar.  If I haven't said it before I'm not a user of syrup...........yes I know I'm weird.  The hashbrowns were really good and are always slightly amusing as they are cooked to a specific size within a metal ring that holds them all together.  The eggs were good, it really is tough to screw up eggs.  The only downfall was the sausage which was average, but nothing to right home about and lacking any real spice.

Mee-Ja got the same order as me, with whole wheat toast instead of French Toast, and gave her's a rating of 4 out of 5, which is pretty much inline with what I felt it was worth. To her the best part was the ambiance and good company (isn't that sweet of her!!).

And overall.......

Food: 4.5 of 5 pancakes
Cost: $$ (out of 5)
Overall: 4 of 5 cups of coffee

Overall I don't know if it quite matches the Morrison Cafe for me, but BJ's love of their pancakes definitely raises the food up a notch.  I definitely feel like the way to go at Shortcakes is with the carbs and getting the French Toast or pancakes.  The sausage and hasbrowns are a tad bit greasy, but that's not unexpected.

We may not be having a review next week as BJ is going to be out of town through the following Saturday, but we hope to have a big gathering the week after that to celebrate his retirement!  Until next time, keep on eating breakfast!

The Morrison Cafe - Review #5

Well another Saturday morning has arrived and once again BJ and I were on the road to another breakfast venue. And what a fantastic morning it has been!  I cold front really did come in and it was in the high 50's as I left to go meet BJ at the lab and is only 61 right now.  Compared to the 105 it was just two days ago its down right chilly.

This morning took us to the small town of Morrison about 12 miles north of Stillwater on highway 64 about halfway between Perry and Pawnee.  It's so small that if you blink you may miss it.   We ventured to the Morrison Cafe which BJ and I have visited once before, approximately two months ago, prior to starting this  blog.  It's a tiny little place on the south side of the road with a sign out front that says "All you can eat catfish."  This of course prompted the discussion that I definitely need to try catfish before I move out of Oklahoma.  Morrison is a small railroad town where the freight trains seem to regularly stop, and as we experienced a train worker actually hopped off and ran in for a to-go meal.

When we walked in there was a group of 4 guys who soon left, leaving us as the only patrons which in many cases wouldn't necessarily be a good sign.  However, in this case it was quite the opposite.  The place probably holds about 20 people max (in tables) and has a counter you can sit at as well.  I don't recommend the counter though as it was loose and according to the waitress almost fell off when they pushed on it yesterday.  The rest of the place has a simple, clean decor with a good view out the large front windows.

Our coffee was quickly served and it was refilled multiple times.  This morning I had the country breakfast which included the usual sausage, eggs overeasy, hashbrowns and for an added adventure a short stack of pancakes. The hasbrowns today were different than usual in that they were definitely homemade, chopped in to larger pieces and cooked with onions, a great change from the usual hashbrowns.  The sausage was tasty, though I suspect was from out of a pre-made package, and the pancakes were light, fluffy and served with plenty of real butter and syrup.  BJ ordered his usual pancakes and eggs which he felt were much above par compared to what he's had the previous few weeks.

The food was fresh and delicious and the atmosphere was top notch for our little Saturday morning conversations about the going-ons of life.  The price was definitely good for the amount of food you got and the service and coffee were above average, especially compared to last weeks adventure (misadventure??).  This maybe the closest place we've found to Mom's yet! It definitely made for a delightful way to start the weekend.

And overall...................

Food: 4 of 5 pancakes
Cost: $$ (out of 5)
Overall: 4.5 of 5 cups of coffee

This coming week we'll probably be blogging at bit early as we'll probably go to Shortcakes diner sometime during the middle of the week since BJ will be out of town on vacation next weekend.  And sorry for the lack of pictures, for some reason it just slipped the mind this week.  Until next time keep on eating breakfast!

Homestead Family Restaurant - Review #4

Time for the second review of the weekend.  Yesterday's breakfast adventures took us to the oil town of Cushing.  Cushing lacks the old town charm of Perry and never makes you wonder how nice it once might have been.  It is essentially a giant strip mall developed in a time before there were strip malls.  It essentially has two restaurants, the first of which we tried yesterday morning, the Homestead Family Restaurant. 

When we got to the restaurant the parking lot was full, always a good omen, even in a town with only two restaurants.  As we parked a large, middle-aged man, on a bicycle wearing a t-shirt that looked like he hadn't taken it off in a couple of years road up to the back of the restaurant, and BJ commented that he had probably gotten a DUI a couple weeks earlier and couldn't drive to get breakfast anymore.  Nevertheless, he sat down in a chair outside the back of the restaurant with one of the cooks or waitress.  I guess he's a regular.

The Homstead has been around since 1953 and was founded by one of the founding family's in the area.  It is clean and has a good decor with pictures of the original family on the walls, and the menu tells the story of how the restaurant got started.

The service definitely left something to be desired.  Our waitress was more concerned with talking on the phone than  with serving us.  The coffee was good and was refilled regularly by the other waitresses.  Both BJ and I ordered our usual.  I had the sausage, hasbrowns, toast and eggs, and BJ had his pancakes and eggs.  The eggs were fine, and the hashbrowns weren't bad, but the sausage definitely left quite a bit to be desired.  Both by the relatively bland taste and the shape (as you can see in the picture) these appeared to be be frozen patties just heated up on the grill.  The originality was definitely lacking.  BJ said his pancakes were good, but definitely not the best he's had recently. 

And overall...............

Food: 3.5 of 5 pancakes
Cost: $$$ (out of 5)
Overall: 3 of 5 cups of coffee

The food itself was decent and the ambiance good.  However, the service was average at the very best and it was a bit more expensive for less quality than we've gotten the past couple of weeks.  Next week the journey will continue somewhere, location still to be determined.  Until next time keep on eating breakfast!

 The town of Cushing on the drive out!

The Kumback Lunch - Review #3

Well I apologize that I am a week behind in our breakfast blogging.  Necropsy duty for two weeks straight definitely took its toll on the free time.  BJ and I didn't miss breakfast though, and this will be the first of two reviews I'll do this weekend.

Last weekend, breakfast took us to Perry to try out the Kumback Lunch cafe for the second time.  Perry is the quintessential small town America that thrived years ago predominantly on a single large company that has long since left.  Perry now seems like little more than a shadow of its former self with a large city hall in the middle of the town square surrounded by a large number of storefront business, most of which have long since closed down.  All that remains are remnants of old sporting goods and antiques stores, and in one corner the oldest cafe in Oklahoma, the Kumback Lunch.   The Kumback Lunch has been around since 1926 and is definitely a throwback to the old 50's style diners. On this Saturday morning, identical to last time, the majority of the square was desolate except for about 15 cars parked near the Kumback.

One of the great things about coming here is the ambiance, based on the retro atmosphere.  The walls are covered in old pictures and other memorabilia that can keep your eyes wandering for hours.

 

Now on to what matters........the food!  The service is exceptional, with prompt service, quick food and constant coffee refills.  As usual I ordered my 2 eggs overeasy, hasbrowns, sausage and toast.  The food was above average, with good hashbrowns and eggs, and the sausage is good as well, though not quite as spicy and tasty as what I had at the Ice House.  BJ had his regular pancakes and eggs, and compared to the week before the pancakes were a marked improvement and weren't at all dry.  And although my resident mate Mee Ja hates the word, the pancakes were MOIST and fluffy!  Definitely quality food overall, though the sausage could be a bit more flavorful but at least its not straight out of a frozen package like some places.

And overall...............

Food: 4 of 5 pancakes
Cost: $$ (out of 5)
Overall: 4 of 5 cups of coffee

Out of all the places we've been so far, this is probably the closest replacement for Mom's.  It's rating is definitely helped by the great service and fun atmosphere.  It's definitely a place where the regulars go and it's kind of fun to just sit there and look at the walls.   Next up is Homstead Family Diner in Cushing's, stay tuned the review will be up soon!