Gel’s Kitchen 2, Warwick, RI

Lots of traffic in East Providence this morning, giving more time to talk Red Sox and Celtics, neither were too positive. Moving on…. as you can tell by the name, this is one of two Gel’s, the original is a little further away in West Warwick and we will probably visit that one later on. The place is really neat for those of you that are fans of memorabilia and good music. I loved all of the decorations and just the vibe of the place. Coffee is New England Coffee, and was pretty good after the first two sips. Served in a nice heavy traditional mug, it was perfect for this setting. Their website is not very good, but the menu can be found online. I had my usual, a Western omelet with home fries and a side of their home made hash. The omelet was great! I;m not a big fan of green peppers, but these were small and well cooked. The ham was right off the bone and very tasty. Their home fries were not super crisp but “perfectly buttery”( my own original phrase!!) Was it real home made hash? Absolutely and so very good. One of the best we have had. This is a place for us to try for lunch sometime with the Mrs’s . Coffee, 7; home fries, 8.5; meal, 9 Overall, 8.2. I hope that the original Gel’s is as good.

You do realize that Ray and I go out to breakfast once a week so we can talk. That’s it. We cover sports, politics, our mutual interests in the Lions Club and our church. Breakfast merely provides energy for more conversation on the ride home. Breakfast is just what we do between the ride there and back. So, it’s a bonus when the breakfast is really good…like today! We went to Gel’s 2 this morning. No, I don’t know if that’s a hard or soft “G” and I did not ask. There were lots and lots of antique-style decorations covering the walls and a juke box, of all things, in a small dining area in the rear of the restaurant. I will say, up front, that Gel’s 2 will probably not be in the running for “pick” of the year but it’s very close. Everything, from the wonderful service to the coffee, the meal and even the side of hash were above average and a pleasure to loiter and talk over. The coffee was very, very drinkable; translation-smooth, not bitter or having that “burned” taste we run across occasionally. It wasn’t a bold, deep-tasting dark roast, which I prefer, but refills were very welcome. My usual, as well, was a cut above. The home fries looked very buttery and they were. I just wish they had more crisp on them. I ate them all, anyway! If there was anything that could have been better it was the sausages. They were rather the bland-tasting breakfast sausage links. I like the spicier variety. The hash was homemade and terrific. All-in-all, great. The coffee gets a 7.8 and the home fries will get an 8.5 with the overall, not including the hash, 7.6 for a score of 8.

Your Mother’s Favorite Breakfast Place, Pawtucket

What a great day! Ray and I often lament the dearth of new or overlooked restaurants within easy driving distance and have been driving further and further away to find a place which we have yet to review. So it was a wonderful surprise, while browsing for restaurants “in the Pawtucket area” to find a listing for Your Mom’s Favorite Breakfast Place. Go there! Before I even finish the review I need to encourage you to Go There! This is such a fun place! I even enjoyed driving there! I worked in Pawtucket for about 15 years in the 80’s and 90’s and took back roads through the city to get to Mom’s at 533 Weeden St. A lot has changed including the addition of this restaurant earlier this year. Built in an old residential house there is a small parking lot with additional off-street parking. Inside there are around 10 tables in a smallish dining area with a view of the kitchen and the cook doing his thing. Misty, (the name on the receipt) was personable and fun and prompt and just an all-around great waitress. And the cook (there were just these two there) even stopped what he was doing to talk to us about their coffee…which was wonderful! Longshore Coffee. Never heard of it before but I had nearly finished my first cup before I noticed I was even enjoying it. It had a pleasant, strong flavor without any bitterness or aftertaste. Nice! The menu was so much fun that Ray and I couldn’t decide what we wanted! Happily, there was a selection on the menu that I could not resist. It is called the “Home Favorite”. This is its description: “Get what you get and don’t get upset.” Served with a side of “You can sit there all day if you don’t want to finish it.” Chef’s choice! I wasn’t disappointed. My meal was what I now describe as a ‘breakfast club’ sandwich with a side of home fries. The club was made with three slices of really good, thick-sliced French toast with fried eggs and ham. There was a big pat of butter melting on top and the sandwich was sprinkled with powdered sugar. Nice! But after a couple of bites I felt there was something missing. Who can have French toast without syrup? I grabbed some off the table next to us and, aaaahhhhhh! What a wonderful meal. All breakfast staples, just reimagined. Really, really good. The home fries were good as well. Above average and seasoned well but there seemed to be something missing with them as well. I realized after a few bites that they seemed slightly dry and some type of flavor was absent. I believe the home fries were prepared without a lot of fat…the best home fries are those (in my opinion) cooked with chourico fat. Often, a strong, buttery taste is present. Apparently, I have unhealthy tastes. The home fries were good but they won’t get “best of the year’. Still, overall, the breakfast was really good, the service was fun and great and the way Mom’s approaches breakfast is very imaginative. I will give the coffee and breakfast an 8.5 each and the home fries a 6.5 for an overall score of 7.8! Go there! If you do, please order the “Home Favorite” and tell me what is prepared especially for you!

Mike took me on a ride through Pawtucket/Central Falls, and many other Rhody sub-cities, and we wound up at Your Mother’s Favorite Breakfast Place. Our waitress said that they had only been open since February. If you have been following us for awhile, we have been to a breakfast place named “Van’s Spa”. It has what I like to call “character”, not the greatest breakfast, but it was the people that made it a really fun place to have a traditional breakfast, with non-traditional characters in attendance. Well YMFBP, is sorta like that, minus the traditional breakfast. Check the link to their website to see the menu. First up was a coffee we had never had before, another locally roasted blend, Longshore Coffee, Providence. It is an above average coffee and we enjoyed the first and second cups. That menu had us in a quandary. Unusual choices, sometimes with no idea what was coming ( see Mike’s review). Well since I have my wellness check up tomorrow I thought I’d have the Heart Attack Home fries, with a couple of eggs to add to my cholesterol. Hey the bloodwork tomorrow will tell the tale. Anyway, at first look the home fries were not from the flat top, they looked baked and were not super flavorful and a little dry. The mixture of sausage, bacon, ham, and cheese under the two eggs were super. Loved the combination sorta like a hash. They had a small lunch menu on the table, and the waitress, who was super friendly and just a hoot, told us they served breakfast all day, until 1PM. Coffee, 7; home fries, 5; meal, 7; overall 6.3. I would definitely return to try some of the other items on the menu, provided my check-up says ok.

Sunshine Cafe, Lakeville, MA

A beautiful day and looking forward to breakfast and the usual conversations. This morning we bridged the topics from the 3rd place Red Sox ( and the last placed Yankees ), to our annual Rehoboth Town Meeting as well as the usual Lions stuff. BTW both Mike and I have tickets for the 51st Chet Munroe Chicken Barbecue, Sunday June 4, a drive through pickup from 11:30-1PM, head for church and come on down for great chicken :-). Well we have been up and down Rt 44 where the Sunshine Cafe is located, many times and finally had to stop in. One waitress, called out a welcome as we entered and asked if we wanted coffee and we could sit where we liked. Lots of counter customers many looked like regulars from nearby car dealerships on the Raynham Auto Mile. The place is bright and clean, and was starting to fill up as we were finishing, we are early birds. Coffee was New England blend and was probably a little above average. They do offer a side of homemade hash but at $10 we thought it was a little much. My choice was a Western with home fries. Perfect home fries! Nice and crispy, tender on the inside with a little spice to give it just the right flavor. Like these a lot. My omelette was good, would have been better if I had chosen to add cheese. The chef used deli ham which I am not a fan of, but they did put quite a bit of it in the omelette. Smattering of well cooked red peppers and onions were just the right amount. Eggs may have been on the dry side but I enjoyed the whole thing. Just down the road from my daughter Jennifer, how she has some feedback on this local breakfast place. Coffee, 6.5; home fries, 8.5, meal, 8; overall 7.8

Even though Ray and I are spending an average of about 25 minutes traveling to new restaurants to review, the time just flies by. We have so many shared interests that a half hour each way, plus the time enjoying the meal, is not enough time to cover everything. Today was no different on the way to Lakeville. Sports, church, Lions, sports, family, sports. Kilian always asks what we talk about and, to be honest, I often cannot remember much of anything! Oh, yeah, the Sox are 8-2 in their last ten games! I liked the Sunshine Cafe. It’s a little worn in places but the service was excellent and the breakfast was pretty good. No, not a contender for the Golden Pick of the year, but a place well worth visiting or even making it your usual spot. The coffee was mild and didn’t leave any aftertaste or have any bitterness. It reminded me of a type of breakfast blend, which is fine, but I do prefer something stronger. My usual was better than most. The home fries were well cooked with a very nice crisp and nicely spiced. Very, very good. The sausages were very good as well…tasty and cooked just right. All in all, a good meal. I’ll give the coffee a 7.5 and the home fries an 8.5 with the meal getting an 8 rating. A solid 8 overall.

Persy’s, Dartmouth, MA

Go east young man! Or something like that. Headed along 195 to! Dahtmuth (yeah, I know!) today and ended up at Percy’s Place at 715 State Road…Route 6 to most folk. Ray and I visited another Percy’s, in East Providence, a long time ago. And though that particular restaurant no longer exists, there are several more in Southeast Massachusetts. Persy’s has plenty of booth seating and was decorated with many prints by Norman Rockwell. The one at our booth depicted a spring training locker room scene featuring the Boston Red Sox in the Grapefruit League. A lot of wonderful conversation ensued. The menu is extensive. What to get? Something called “The Barnyard Break Up” caught my eye. Three scrambled eggs, chopped ham and bacon, tomatoes and cheddar cheese over hash browns. The meal also comes with two sides. I ordered home fries and grilled corn bread. Yikes! And since that didn’t seem enough we ordered a side of their homemade hash. Coffee! Downeast. Just “meh”. We were disappointed after the last two weeks, so I was really looking forward to the meal. It looked amazing! The home fries, always my first taste, were pretty good, though Ray and I both thought they were a bit dry – just short of being over- cooked. They had a good taste, however, and were a little above average. Took a big bite of the meal then, which included a little of everything, and…”meh” again! I was hoping for an explosion of flavor but all I got was tomato. I gave it another shot. Same thing. You would think that with all those (individually) tasty elements that the flavors would make an exciting medley in your mouth but it was not to be. Perhaps the bits of ham and bacon were too small and too few, which they were, but, still… The best parts of the meal were the cornbread and hash! Very, very good, and when you go to Percy’s make sure these are part of your meal. Another plus was a very good, attentive, but unobtrusive waitress. It is always a pleasure when the waitstaff is outstanding. Coffee 5 and the homefries 5.5 with the meal itself getting a 5 – this is only a 5.2 average. I will judge the hash and cornbread separately and give them an 8.5 each.

“And in last place in the American League East are the New York Yankees!!” Trick questions for Mike this morning as we headed south,”What team in the American League East is not in last place?” He got that one right, but did not know that the Yankees slipped past the Sox in to last place, so we celebrated that for awhile and bemoaned the fact that the Sox have a first baseman playing regularly, batting .128! We spent quite a bit of time talking politics but this is blog is about sports…I mean breakfasts. This day we avoided a road rage driver heading over the Braga bridge and any raindrops, so that was all good. Percy’s Place has several locations in southeastern Massachusetts and we had been to the one in East Providence ( now closed) early on so we vowed to try others, and this was Mike’s choice. Coffee was DownEast, and as is often the case we can’t judge by the first sip, and then the second which turned out just a little better than the first. It is decent breakfast coffee, with nothing special. I went simple this morning with a ‘Mike Special’, two eggs over easy, home fries, and bacon. Persy’s offers multiple sides and I chose a piece grilled cornbread. Over easy means, “runny eggs”, mine were more hard than runny. The bacon was a “three bears”, one was too hard, burnt, one was too soft, basically raw, and the third was “just right”. My home fries were pretty good except for the one larger piece that was underdone. We shared some of their home made hash and it was a big hit. Persy’s does a great job with their hash. I had a couple of bites of the cornbread and it was terrific. Coffee,5; home fries, 6.5, meal 6.5; overall, 6.

Persy’s, Dartmouth, MA

Go east young man! Or something like that. Headed along 195 to! Dahtmuth (yeah, I know!) today and ended up at Percy’s Place at 715 State Road…Route 6 to most folk. Ray and I visited another Percy’s, in East Providence, a long time ago. And though that particular restaurant no longer exists, there are several more in Southeast Massachusetts. Persy’s has plenty of booth seating and was decorated with many prints by Norman Rockwell. The one at our booth depicted a spring training locker room scene featuring the Boston Red Sox in the Grapefruit League. A lot of wonderful conversation ensued. The menu is extensive. What to get? Something called “The Barnyard Break Up” caught my eye. Three scrambled eggs, chopped ham and bacon, tomatoes and cheddar cheese over hash browns. The meal also comes with two sides. I ordered home fries and grilled corn bread. Yikes! And since that didn’t seem enough we ordered a side of their homemade hash. Coffee! Downeast. Just “meh”. We were disappointed after the last two weeks, so I was really looking forward to the meal. It looked amazing! The home fries, always my first taste, were pretty good, though Ray and I both thought they were a bit dry – just short of being over- cooked. They had a good taste, however, and were a little above average. Took a big bite of the meal then, which included a little of everything, and…”meh” again! I was hoping for an explosion of flavor but all I got was tomato. I gave it another shot. Same thing. You would think that with all those (individually) tasty elements that the flavors would make an exciting medley in your mouth but it was not to be. Perhaps the bits of ham and bacon were too small and too few, which they were, but, still… The best parts of the meal were the cornbread and hash! Very, very good, and when you go to Percy’s make sure these are part of your meal. Another plus was a very good, attentive, but unobtrusive waitress. It is always a pleasure when the waitstaff is outstanding. Coffee 5 and the homefries 5.5 with the meal itself getting a 5 – this is only a 5.2 average. I will judge the hash and cornbread separately and give them an 8.5 each.

“And in last place in the American League East are the New York Yankees!!” Trick questions for Mike this morning as we headed south,”What team in the American League East is not in last place?” He got that one right, but did not know that the Yankees slipped past the Sox in to last place, so we celebrated that for awhile and bemoaned the fact that the Sox have a first baseman playing regularly, batting .128! We spent quite a bit of time talking politics but this is blog is about sports…I mean breakfasts. This day we avoided a road rage driver heading over the Braga bridge and any raindrops, so that was all good. Percy’s Place has several locations in southeastern Massachusetts and we had been to the one in East Providence ( now closed) early on so we vowed to try others, and this was Mike’s choice. Coffee was DownEast, and as is often the case we can’t judge by the first sip, and then the second which turned out just a little better than the first. It is decent breakfast coffee, with nothing special. I went simple this morning with a ‘Mike Special’, two eggs over easy, home fries, and bacon. Persy’s offers multiple sides and I chose a piece grilled cornbread. Over easy means, “runny eggs”, mine were more hard than runny. The bacon was a “three bears”, one was too hard, burnt, one was too soft, basically raw, and the third was “just right”. My home fries were pretty good except for the one larger piece that was underdone. We shared some of their home made hash and it was a big hit. Persy’s does a great job with their hash. I had a couple of bites of the cornbread and it was terrific. Coffee,5; home fries, 6.5, meal 6.5; overall, 6.