The situation: You wake up Sunday morning/afternoon after a fun, but fairly rough, weekend. The ritual: Breakfast with the roommates to recap the happenings and debauchery of the weekend. The problem: You are on the road to either the Tavern or Bodos, considering the wanted grease intake, and you discover that you have no cash -- only a credit card. The solution: Ditch the Tavern and Bodos, two restaurants that refuse credit cards, and try Sam's Kitchen, a restaurant equivalent in taste and perhaps better in service.
Sam's Kitchen is located on Route 29 directly across from -- ironically -- Bodos. It is divided into smoking/non-smoking sections with approximately 12 tables on each side and a bar in the back of the restaurant. It is surrounded by windows, allowing the restaurant to be well-lit by natural light; however, our waitress was very accommodating and quick to pull the blinds for us to avoid a glare. Sam's Kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, they serve breakfast all day. We ordered breakfast because we were there at 7:40 in the morning.
We began with chocolate -- beverages that is -- the hot chocolate and also the chocolate milk. Both were perfect. The hot chocolate was served piping hot and with a choice of whipped cream. The chocolate milk reminded me of my kindergarten days. Excellent.
Our breakfast came out promptly and with a smile. We decided to order an array of items to sample a bit of everything. The chocolate chip pancakes ($4.75) were three fluffy, buttermilk pancakes interspersed with the right amount of chocolate chips -- not too many to overwhelm you, but just enough to keep you happy. The pancakes were served hot and with a dollop of whipped cream on top.
We also ordered the egg and cheese breakfast sandwich ($2.50), but put it on a biscuit rather than an English muffin. Again, our waitress was more than happy to accommodate us. The biscuit was warm, soft and flaky, in comparison to the crispier, drier biscuits at the Tavern. We also ordered a side of home fried potatoes ($2.25) with the sandwich.
We thought it would be silly to come to Sam's Kitchen and not order from Sam's "Good Morning Breakfast" choices, so we also ordered the Eggs Benedict ($7.95). Instead of the side of home fried potatoes, the waitress was more than happy to accommodate our change to grits. The Hollandaise sauce was the perfect consistency -- not runny, but not too thick either. The two poached eggs and Canadian bacon of the Eggs Benedict were impeccable, but the English muffin could have been toasted a bit more. A minor discordant to a great "Good Morning Breakfast."
As a quick aside, we also tried the country ham biscuit (2 for $3). The country ham biscuit has always been a must, for me, at the Tavern, and I was anxious to see how Sam's Kitchen would compare. Sam's Kitchen's ham is nowhere near as greasy, causing the ham to be a bit dry, but that is what is to be expected with the extra salty country ham. Also, as with the egg and cheese biscuit, the biscuit for the country ham sandwich was softer and flakier than that offered at the Tavern.
Finally, we also sampled the strawberry crepes ($5.50), a dish unavailable at the Tavern. The crepes were obviously different than the pancakes, with an egg-based batter, making them thinner, with a different taste than the buttermilk pancakes. The strawberries were obviously not fresh, but we still enjoyed the dish. The strawberries added a needed tartness to the entire meal, so this was the perfect dessert to have with breakfast.
Sam's Kitchen also offered six breakfast specials, including chipped corn beef and biscuits covered in sausage gravy. It also has an extensive lunch and dinner menu with classic American cuisine at cheap, reasonable prices -- salads, burgers, subs, sandwiches, etc. We also hear that they serve incredible milkshakes. If you weren't already convinced that you need to try this restaurant, this should help -- Sam's Kitchen delivers! So for those days that you just can't make it out of bed, all you have to do is call and charge it!
Sam's Kitchen is just as homey as it sounds. It is good home-cooking with warm and friendly service and in an extra clean environment. Our meals came quickly and our waitress was always looking out for us. This weekend, we suggest that you add a little variety to your life, drive a little further down Route 29 and find the secret that we, as fourth years, discovered late in our college career. Try out Sam's Kitchen. You won't be disappointed.
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