Round 1 is over and Round 2 is starting momentarily, or at least in a few days. One thing we noticed while out and about on the first round is that none of the restaurants are using maple syrup from the local maple farm on Matfield. Service was one of the deciding factors this round and without a doubt our top places had almost flawless service. The only exception to this rule was Morrell's. They had almost flawless service, but the food was very under seasoned, and and the coffee was atrocious.
So out of 5 restaurants we have ruled out 2 for the second round. Sunnyside Cafe, which had good food, but bad service and okay coffee, and Morrell's who had great service and the best value of any of the first round, but weak food and terrible coffee.
Next round we are changing our orders, to reflect a different scope, and at the end we will rule out one of the top three. Leaving a finale round of 2 to start out the new year. If anyone knows of any breakfast places in town that we missed please let me know.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Great Breakfast Challenge: Morrell's Country Tavern
The final stop on the Great Breakfast Challenge round 1 was Morrell's Country Tavern. We had been there once before for breakfast and I did not remember anything good or bad about it. We had also gone for dinner and the burgers were okay at that point as was the service. Again nothing I remember as specifically good or bad, but as we had not been keeping score it hadn't been relevant. So Saturday morning on a blustery cold morning we headed to Morrell's for a nice breakfast. My daughter had not been in the best mood heading there but we were determined to make the most of the morning before settling in for some serious decorating for the holidays. The hostess allowed us to choose our table since the place was not terribly busy. My daughter chose a table in the back. No booths were available which she seems to really prefer. The dining area is beautifully set up, old fashioned wooden tables and chairs, give the restaurant a real feel of being in a Country Tavern. A fireplace was going and kept the bite from the air. Our server came right over to the table to offer coffee and drinks, and unfortunately that was where the downside started.
Our waitress was very nice and very attentive, however the coffee was terrible. Even I, debated having a second cup. The refills were quick though, and I certainly had no issues on keeping my cup full. I did have to make more coffee when I got home though. It was that bad. I would not order their coffee a second time. Which as anyone reading this knows by now is not a good sign. My wife and I ordered the same thing; Morell's Country Breakfast, 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, home fries, and 2 pancakes. I had over medium, my wife ordered hers scrambled, bacon extra crispy for both of us. My daughter ordered the Mickey Mouse Pancakes off the kids menu and chocolate milk.
The food arrived. Nothing was seasoned. The home fries looked like they had been seasoned well, we could see the red tinge of what appeared to be paprika, and other spices, but they just tasted like grease. My eggs were a little on the easy side rather than over medium. Not bad but a little more cooking would have made them better. The sausage was really good. It was very meaty and the seasonings accented that flavor without overpowering, and the bacon was very well cooked. Unfortunately those were the best part of the meal. The pancakes were very pale, so they had no crust or carmelization, and were almost too fluffy. They were served with butter that was still frozen, so there was no way to spread it on the ultra fluffy pancakes. My daughter did really enjoy her pancakes. They were shaped to look a little like Mickey and had a chocolate chip face which she loved.
Value wise there is no contest. This restaurant had the best prices of anyone in round 1 and since Kids eat free right now, there was no charge at all for my daughters meal. We had high hopes for Morrell's but unfortunately as far as breakfast was concerned they did not deliver. The high Value score, was not able to make up for the extremely poor coffee score. A total score of only 35 out of 50 knocks them squarely out of the running for round 2.
Our waitress was very nice and very attentive, however the coffee was terrible. Even I, debated having a second cup. The refills were quick though, and I certainly had no issues on keeping my cup full. I did have to make more coffee when I got home though. It was that bad. I would not order their coffee a second time. Which as anyone reading this knows by now is not a good sign. My wife and I ordered the same thing; Morell's Country Breakfast, 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, home fries, and 2 pancakes. I had over medium, my wife ordered hers scrambled, bacon extra crispy for both of us. My daughter ordered the Mickey Mouse Pancakes off the kids menu and chocolate milk.
The food arrived. Nothing was seasoned. The home fries looked like they had been seasoned well, we could see the red tinge of what appeared to be paprika, and other spices, but they just tasted like grease. My eggs were a little on the easy side rather than over medium. Not bad but a little more cooking would have made them better. The sausage was really good. It was very meaty and the seasonings accented that flavor without overpowering, and the bacon was very well cooked. Unfortunately those were the best part of the meal. The pancakes were very pale, so they had no crust or carmelization, and were almost too fluffy. They were served with butter that was still frozen, so there was no way to spread it on the ultra fluffy pancakes. My daughter did really enjoy her pancakes. They were shaped to look a little like Mickey and had a chocolate chip face which she loved.
Value wise there is no contest. This restaurant had the best prices of anyone in round 1 and since Kids eat free right now, there was no charge at all for my daughters meal. We had high hopes for Morrell's but unfortunately as far as breakfast was concerned they did not deliver. The high Value score, was not able to make up for the extremely poor coffee score. A total score of only 35 out of 50 knocks them squarely out of the running for round 2.
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