No sitting is allowed until you have ordered your food. This system has always been in place, assuring that everyone has a table when their food is ready. As the sign states: high volume, limited seats, and a delicate balance of people to tables. Somehow it works in such a small place.
Properly relished and maximized, the day starts slowly as any day off should. Your watch testifies it is after 1 in the afternoon, but it looks and feels more like 10 in the morning.
A cart squishes through an overly crowded line of patrons at the food counter. A very panicked mom runs around between tables trying to manage tight quarters. A woman behind me is tentative to move forward not liking the jam of tables, people carts, and the food line. This is a place for people who love a good crowd. The crowd is a significant part of the ambiance here.
The sounds of chopping and the heat from the grill greets you. Being intimate with an open kitchen is a definite bonus as you watch your meal cooked directly in front of you. I have never seen a cook tenderize a burger by punching it! On the back of the grill is a butter roller that butters bread as you quickly slap a slice across the mesh before the bread hits the grill. The fat in the butter sticks to the holes in the mesh roller and is refreshed as the roller spins.There is a clean and clear menu in the form of an overhead sign. At first glance the menu looks limited. It is certainly environmentally conscious and scrumptious as well as fresh. They do fewer things more simply and better. Breakfast, burgers, and salad really encompass most of the menu. The pricing is reasonable. I find myself peeking to see what people order. How could I get anything besides pancakes? The question is what flavor: strawberry, blueberry, banana, apple cinnamon, or buttermilk chocolate chip.
The decision is made and we are both getting pancakes. Yes, we should try something else, but they look so amazing coming down the line! Good thing there is a long line of people, this way we have time to peruse and decide. Can't help but to wonder what table we will sit at.
The blueberry, strawberry, banana pancakes it is! While ordering I realized the line cook put blueberries in all three of my pancakes. Thinking they screwed up my all important order, I inquired. They looked at me and silently stated, Don’t mess with success. I soon realized all 3 pancakes had all three fruits and blueberries take the longest to cook. Silly me for intruding on success.
With a small cleaning job done by us we were ready to sit at the high top stainless steel table we found without a problem. They did have someone attempting to bus tables, but it was a hit and miss situation.
Before I even dive into my stack Todd is nodding with reassuring delight from across the table. The center of the stack is piping hot. There is a hit of cool whipped butter and powered sugar balances the tang of buttermilk. Not the best ever, but I find myself continuing to dive in fast. These pancakes are very alluring and yummy. My favorite part is the steaming temperature which makes them far too hot to bite into, but I do anyway.
We shared a vanilla milkshake to complement our pancakes. What should have been the first sip of our shake was really a scoop as it is was too thick to suck up. We eventually triumphed and though it was creamy and smooth it was missing major flavor with no wow factor. The straw was not quite long enough to reach the bottom and my nose is wearing the evidence. I tipped the decorative soda fountain glass to polish it off. The glass and last drop always help the indulgent factor.
The table behind me asked, 'Is it worth the wait?’. Only you can tell.
A sign hangs to mark the Best of Boston for Beacon Hill eateries yet again. Next to the sign is a pitcher of water with lemon and ice for those who are waiting. We noticed the prime spot, a front open window bench and table seating 6 friends chatting about last night.
Well worth the wait and a fun experience!
Great review! Can't wait for the next one!
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