Sunday, June 30, 2013

This Week's Counter: Eat At Joe's

It's been a couple of busy weekends!  We missed getting out to each due to lots of family stuff going on - including some Father's Day festivities. Rather than eating at the counter that weekend, Cam and Ted stayed in and had breakfast on the patio instead.



But now we're back with another counter review.  Since it was closed when we tried to go there on Memorial Day weekend, we made a second attempt at visiting Eat At Joe's in South Euclid.  This place is extremely popular and it was very crowded this morning. Fortunately we only had to wait about 10 minutes for a couple seats to open up at the counter.  Joe's probably has the shortest menu of any place we've been to -- maybe a dozen regular items plus a couple specials. That makes ordering pretty easy -- Cam went with the chocolate chip pancake special and some bacon, while Ted has his usual (eggs, hash browns, toast and coffee).  Service was good but not outstanding, and the food quality was pretty good.  Maybe not as relaxing as other places with people standing around waiting for tables and the counter is bit cramped.  But it was a nice morning we had a good time.

         


Cam says: "Service was just OK, but the food was great! Not much counter space. I'll give this counter 4 frying pans. "


Ted says: "Glad we finally checked out this place, but I would rate it as just average. A little too chaotic and cramped, and food and service just OK. 3 frying pans from me."


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

This Week's Counter: Sunrise III (Oregon, IL)

This week's post is special because we took advantage of some travel to stop at a counter way outside our local area -- 300+ miles away in Oregon, IL to be specific.  While visiting family in this small town, about 2 hours West of Chicago, we noticed the Sunrise III restaurant.  So on Saturday morning we stopped in for breakfast.  This place looks like it's right out of the 1970's, both outside and inside. Mostly tables and a small but comfortable counter. We were probably the only non-locals/regulars in the place, but the staff was extremely friendly regardless.  Apparently there is a Sunrise and a Sunrise II in towns nearby -- so this is sort of like one location of a chain. Cam had a chocolate chip waffle (which was more like an order of whipped cream and chocolate with a side of waffle) and some bacon.  Ted had eggs, toast and hash browns (extra crispy).  We enjoyed the meal a lot, and it was very fun to take Eat At The Counter on the road!



Cam says: "Amazing waffles as well as amazing service. Nice family eatery atmosphere.  I will give this counter 5 frying pans."


Ted says: "Great small town atmosphere, very friendly service. Some of the best hash browns I've had -- rest of the meal was pretty good, but not outstanding. I'm going with 4 frying pans for this one."


Sunday, June 2, 2013

This Week's Counter: YT Hudson

Back to the Yours Truly chain for this Saturday's outing -- this time, we made the drive down to Hudson.  This YT has to be one of the largest in the group, although in relative terms the counter is extremely small, only 8 seats or so.  As a result, and with it being a busy Saturday morning, we had to wait maybe 15 mins before two seats together opened up.  This YT definitely has the feel of a larger chain restaurant -- less relaxed, friendly and personal than the other YT locations we've visited.  From the standard YT menu, Cam chose his usual for lunch (even though it was only mid-morning) -- 6 chicken fingers (huge) and cottage fries.  Ted had the Sun Fest special (eggs, fruit and toast), then added hash browns.  As usual at YT, food quality was very good.  and service was attentive. The counter is comfortably wide and the seats aren't crammed together like at some other places -- so we had plenty of space to read the paper while eating.  Overall very enjoyable!




Cam says: "Classic YT eatery atmosphere with great service.  I give this counter 4 frying pans."


Ted says: "Definitely a good place to go if you are in Hudson. You can count on the YT food quality and service. A little too big and busy for me -- not as relaxed as it should be.  But worthy of 4 frying pans."