Breakfast In Columbus

3420 Indianola Ave, 43214;  Phone (614) 262-2233

(Click for map)  Website: http://www.wildflowercafe.biz/

See breakfast menu online.

On a special day because I was setting out on a day trip with my best friend, we wanted to go to breakfast someplace we knew we liked.  It was easy to choose the Wildflower Cafe.  Since it has been more than a year since I visited this place and wrote about it, I thought it would be suitable to write about it again – sort of see if it’s still as good as ever.  It is.

We enjoyed delicious, healthy, fresh, attractive food for only slightly more than the cost of going to a mediocre diner, and a lot less than the cost of up-scale, uptown, up-sell trendy foodie places.

Good coffee – better than average diner coffee.

It’s a homey place, kind of like eating in a large farmhouse kitchen.  There’s outdoor seating.

I enjoyed the Huevos Rancheros.  I rolled up the black beans and eggs and salsa in the warm corn tortillas – ruining the beautiful presentation, maybe, but having a lot of fun.  My friend had skillet scrambler and added salmon to it.  The salmon added $2 to the bill, but even with that the whole cost was about $20 for both of us.  You could pay less for breakfast, but it wouldn’t be as good.  This is a good value.

(If you want to see the pictures full-size, click on them, then click on them again.)

46 E Columbus St, Pickerington, 43147

Phone: 837-9364

Formerly M’Lee’s Diner

Cozy neighborhood diner with 10 tables and a very dirty carpet.  Popular local hangout with the usual Midwest breakfast items and average diner coffee. The coffee is listed with two prices:  “single refill cup” for 94 cents, and “multiple refills” for $1.39.

I had “Mom’s Special” omelette, with fresh mushrooms, onions, tomato, green pepper, and the homefries in the omelet  – I chose the sausage as the meat in the dish.  It was good.  I liked the freshness of the vegetables, and there were plenty of fillings in the omelet.  Very nice.  There was pasteurized-process cheese foodlike product, both American and Swiss, even though the menu did not mention cheese.

My total was $7.79, a very nice value.  The store accepts only cash, though – so you won’t be able to use credit cards here.

1144 N High St, 43201

Phone: 291-8512

A tiny, classic diner with stainless steel counters; no tables or booths. Outside it looks like it’s falling apart, even with the improvements and paint put into it over the past year or so — you shouldn’t seen it BEFORE they spruced it up! It’s cleaner inside now.

You’d think the place would be cheap from the looks of it.  It’s not particularly cheap.  But it’s a fair value because, hey, the food is good.

The coffee is decent diner coffee; maybe a little better than average.

I got the spinach omelet with tomato, onion, and mushroom.  The veggies were plentiful and fresh, even the mushrooms.  It was delicious.  It had real cheese on it, and in it.

The potatoes were very tasty.  The toast wasn’t artisan, but it wasn’t crap either; it tasted good.

Friendly service from both the waitress and the cook.

The bill was added up wrong today; when I looked at it it said $12 – that would have been too much.  I pointed it out and they added it up again, and it came to $9, which is a decent value.

If you like classic, neighborhood diners, this is a place you’ll want to have experienced.

2563 N High St, 43202

Phone: 263-0242

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Web Site: http://www.jackandbennys.com

I guess the most notable thing about Jack and Benny’s is how much people rave about it, and the big crowds, even though there’s really nothing special going on here.

Jack and Benny’s does a whopping business;  on weekends there are often people lined up outside the door. I’m not sure why.  Jack and Benny’s isn’t bad; it’s all right.  But the number of people who give this place raving, 5-star reviews is puzzling to me. (So was the same phenomenon with regard to Nancy’s before it closed.)  “Best Breakfast” four or five years in a row???  Come on!  It’s OK, but it’s absolutely NOT the best breakfast. Then again, those “Best Breakfast” awards are from the same audience that votes for Bob Evans as best breakfast.   It’s about average for a diner, in some ways maybe slightly better than average, in some ways maybe slightly below average. Maybe it’s fashionable – people praise it because other people praise it?  Is it the only not-terrible diner that’s well-known among OSU fans?   Well, there’s Tommy’s, which is better and is also popular with OSU fans, but that’s further away from campus. (I think a lot of the people who say how wonderful this place is just don’t have much experience with eating breakfast out.  A lot of them write that Jack and Benny’s is small – it’s really not small at all compared to other diners in town.)

At first it looks like the breakfast menu is huge, but then you may notice that every tiny variation gets its own menu name and listing.   So it’s really mostly traditional local breakfast food with a lot of Latin-American variation added.

Coffee is decent diner coffee.

Today I had Huevos Rancheros.  It was OK, with fresh vegetable ingredients.  There was plenty of it.

My total was $9.  Average value.

193 Thurman Ave,  43206

Phone: 443-8900

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If you like genuine old diners, you just might love this one. With old-fashioned wood paneling, it’s the kind of genuine neighborhood diner that won’t be around forever, even though it seems like it already has been. The German Village Coffee Shop is a Columbus institution, a landmark with a large and extremely loyal following.  It’s always busy.  If it’s a Sunday, expect a line and a wait.

It’s homey and friendly, and I’ve always had good service here.

The coffee is better than average for diner coffee.

A nice selection of expected Ohio-style breakfast food: egg, bacon, omelets, pancakes and so on.  Nothing unusual, or innovative, but good, solid, tried-and-true Midwestern fare prepared with skill and care.  It’s like they actually want the person who is eating the food to enjoy it. The food is better than most diners. Portions are plentiful.

My friend and I both had the Western omelet today.  We added a side of hash browns, since the potatoes aren’t included. The omelets were plenty plump with lots of filling.

The hash browns came with American cheese and grilled onions, and they were delicious.

For two people, the total was $19.75.  This is a good value.

2932 E Broad St,  in Bexley, 43209

Phone:  236-1959

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The epitome of a neighborhood diner, Frank’s is very small, warm and cozy, with plenty of regulars chatting away,  and typically Midwest food. People really like this place.

I enjoyed my experience here very much.  The eggs tasted fresh, the smoked sausage was tasty, the toast was good. The home fries were shredded very, very thin – I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so thin. It took me a couple of bites to get used to it, but I really liked them.

Average diner coffee.

At less than $7.50 for my breakfast, it’s a very good value.

5916 Westerville Road, Westerville – 43081

Phone: 776-5788

Web Site: http://thebestrestaurant.info

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A big Thank You! to zingster for the tip on this one.  I don’t think I would ever have seen this one from the road; I know I have driven past it several times, looking for breakfast.

Choose your own omelet ingredients;  BIG omelet, fresh ingredients…  Delicious!

Potatoes very nice, good seasoning.

I had the best corned beef hash I’ve had in Columbus.  Very nice, homemade!  Absolutely nothing like the alleged corned beef hash I had the day before at another place.  This was real corned beef hash. Fat trimmed out, corned beef cut into chunks and cooked on the grill with potatoes.

Coffee a little better than average diner coffee.

BEST TOAST AWARD!  As John put it, “Intense toast.”  I’ve had breakfast at specialty bakeries where the toast wasn’t this good.  I do believe this is the best toast I’ve ever had at a breakfast restaurant in Columbus.

Friendly, efficient service — enthusiastic, even; these people seem to actually care about what they are doing.

At $20 for two, The Best Breakfast & Sandwiches is a very good value.

Hey, this little place is pretty good!

1565 West Fifth Ave, 43212

Phone: 481-8848

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Web Site: http://paulsonline.com

According to the web site, Paul’s in Grandview has been there over 35 years.  I have been pleased with the experience every time I’ve been here.

I sat outside today. The outdoor seating was very nice, but I do have to report that every now and there there was a bad smell drifting in from some garbage dumpster somewhere in the area. That was the only problem with today’s breakfast, and I don’t know if it’s the restaurant’s fault.

The coffee is good; much better than average diner coffee.

I started off with banana bread, which was good; dense and flavorful.  And it was served with real butter.

Choosing from a nice selection of omelets (you can order your own custom omelet, too), I had the Louisiana Omelet, with sausage, black beans, onion and spinach.  I chose it over the Sante Fe omele because the menu didn’t say there was cheese in it, but it did have cheese in it. It was delicious, anyway.

The Italian bread toast was good.

My breakfast was $10.35, which is a very good value.

6275 Us Highway 40 West Jefferson OH, 43162

Phone (614) 879-9321

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About 10 miles West of I-270 on Broad Street, just on the other side of West Jefferson, is a cozy little gem of a  country diner — Henry’s Restaurant.  It looks like an abandoned gas station, and I must have passed by it several times over the years even as I was searching for restaurants in the area.  It’s easy to miss, and frankly the outside appearance is not inviting.  Even after you go in the first door it still looks like an abandoned gas station; but turn to your right and go through the second door.  If you like small, friendly places where the locals go for good food, you must try Henry’s.

Henry’s is known for pies. Pie isn’t on the breakfast menu, but ask for it anyway. The last time I went there the pies were just coming out of the oven and I had the blackberry pie after breakfast, when it was just ready to serve and still warm. This morning the fruit pies were in the oven and available pies were apple, butterscotch, and custard — I had the apple.  Mmmmmm… oh MAN, that’s good pie!  Along with a cup of decent coffee (better than average diner coffee), it’ll make you feel good to be alive.

Besides the pie, there’s typical midwestern breakfast food: pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, omelets, home fries and sausage gravy. I had the combination they call “Anita’s Breakfast,” with two blueberry hotcakes, 2 eggs, and sausage. The eggs were fresh, the sausage was delicious, and the hotcakes were loaded with big, luscious blueberries. (When the plate first came out, the hotcakes looked ordinary, but I put my fork to it and then turned the cake over and discovered the treasure.) The pancake itself wasn’t wasn’t bad, but really you can’t get a bite without plenty of those great blueberries so they were really good.

Very good value.

Many locations – Always Open

Find locations by ZIP code at  www.wafflehouse.com

Waffle House is America’s great diner.  Besides being  clean, bright, and cheerful, with good coffee, good food, good service and good value, Waffle House has a special personality that starts with that friendly “HELLO!” you get when you walk in the door. The web site reminds me that  this is “the only place where you can hear classic waffle songs ‘Good Food Fast,’ ‘Waffle Doo Wop’ and ‘Waffle House Family’ on a real jukebox.”  Extremely consistent over time and from location to location, Waffle House has possibly the best-trained servers and cooks in the diner world.

The waffles are delicious.  There’s something extra special about the chicken breast.  I like to order a waffle, eggs, and a chicken breast and I put them all on the same plate.  Of course there are plenty of other choices; did you know Waffle House is America’s leading seller of cheesy eggs, grits and raisin toast?

How do you like your hash browns? You can get them plain if you like; they’re really excellent hash browns.  But at Waffle House you can get them in so many different ways.  You could just say you want them with onions and cheese, but isn’t it more fun to say “Smothered and covered?”  Get ‘em with chili (“topped”), or mushrooms (“capped”), or peppers (“peppered”), or ham (“chunked”, or any combination or permutation or even go “all the way,” and have fun with the names.

I dig the Waffle House, man.