Thursday, February 4, 2010
Broken Egg Bistro
Words AltDaily Staff
Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Breakfast, Special
Broken Egg Bistro was exactly where I wanted to be the next morning. It’s the kind of place I could see myself at with a group of friends one summer morning, sobering up and reminding each other what they did and said the night before. The kind of place I could see myself bringing some friends and visitors and acting like I discovered it. The kind of place where people have fond memories.
Let me just say, I love a good breakfast place. One, I could eat breakfast almost any time of day. Two, my stomach doesn’t seem to do as well with a pastry and paper-cup coffee in the morning as it does a big, savory meal. So, following our rounds at Red Bones, Winstons and wxyz bar, I was ready to pile on the pancakes.
When we arrived it was clear the place was buzzing with locals; families, couples, big groups of friends. It’s tucked in a quaint little shopping center (certainly way too bourgy to be called a strip mall) next to a pottery-making place called Glazenfyre, across from a hot dog shop and a yoga studio. Like most of Chesapeake, it’s surrounded by nothing much, like an oasis in a desert.
Though the place was bustling, it was warm. The orange and red walls, the high black ceilings and blond wood bar make for a cozy atmosphere, and the open kitchen window lends a slight air of a more traditional down-home diner.
When I called ahead to reserve a table, I got Marc Rojas, one of the owners, who invited us to say hi when we arrived. “I’m the guy behind the bar,” he said, ambiguously. And you can’t miss him. As we sat down, I asked our waitress, “Is that Marc?” “Yeah, that’s him,” she said. “The tall, really loud one.” I found, as he came by and welcomed us, that Marc’s whole attitude is a big reason why Broken Egg is as popular as it is–it’s bright, it’s friendly, it’s got it together, but it’s not too serious.
“I tell everyone our secret is we’re always here all the time,” he told us. “Everyone appreciates seeing the three of us here whenever they come in.”
I don’t doubt that, but I’d bet the food has a little something to do with it. Brandy, who I met at Daikichi Friday night, recommended the pomegranate mimosa, which was sweet and tart and perfect with a cup of strong coffee. Excellent start to the meal. Between the two of us, Jesse and I went for the Mediterranean Omelet ($7.49), served with hash browns and a biscuit, and the #3–two pancakes infused with chocolate chips (other options are blueberry, strawberry, pecans and bananas), and grits on the side. Everything.Was.Amazing. Every single thing. The garlic and feta flavor comination in the omelet; the freshness of the spinach. The huge portion of thick, chocolatey pancakes. Even the grits–mixed with butter and brown sugar, per our server’s suggestion–were heavenly.
Marc came over when he saw us stuffed and ready to fall asleep (note in the picture of Jesse below, his eyes are nearly closed already). “I see you really liked it,” he said and laughed. He asked if the omelet was too garlicky. “Hell, no,” I said, straight-faced. “Oh, good. We don’t use measuring cups, so I worry if someone might get just a little heavy-handed.”
I wanted to tell him that he ought not to worry; that it just goes to show, Broken Egg Bistro has a truly handmade perfection that you cannot get from some formulaic chain restaurant; something that is imprecise and yet somehow just right. But instead I smiled sleepily and said, “I loved it.”
–HS
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This article has been published by AltDaily editorial staff. For more information on AltDaily email the editor-in-chief at jesse@altdaily.com or the publisher at hannah@altdaily.com.
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You guys picked the perfect place for breakfast in Chesapeake… We love The Broken Egg.
Brown sugar on grits? Blasphemy!
Welcome to the Broken Egg Fan Club (aka Eggheads). They have quite a following and should do well opening the Egg #2 in Suffolk this March. Next time, try the spicy bloody mary – if that doesn’t cure you, you should go back to bed.
WOW! You guys take the words right out of my mouth! I love this place…
An “egg”cellent report. We do agree with their “secret”. They may not know us by name, but we are greeted like old friends every time we walk in the door. When we leave, it’s like leaving a friend’s kitchen table…being told “bye guys” from the living room in a big voice. There is NO other place like this here. THEY ROCK!!
definitely one of the area’s best kept secrets. Their dinners are to die for too… try the stuffed flounder!
Need to go to a place for breakfast? Definitely go here! Broken Egg Bistro rules!
I have been here at least 10 times and every time I go it gets better. how do they do it? Love The Broken Egg
Went there for the firs time this past Sunday(Feb 21 2010) and was seated at the bar. I liked everything about the place. Casual and friendly. When I was there ate breakfast(veggie omelet) the wife had spiral French toast. I can not wait to go back and eat dinner there. I have finally found a local restaurant I can support and knowing I will get some good food and drinks. A must try but be prepared to wait it is that busy.
My first time going was Valentine’s day and I’ve been back two times since then..I brought my Mother and Father and now I’m trying to get my co-workers to come! I have one down..two more to go. I’m happy about the service and the food is just spectacular.
Great food, good price, terrific atmosphere, friendly wait staff and owners… what else is there?! Been at the Brokem Egg too many times to count – it’s always great!
Apparently it becomes a dinner place later in the week. I’ll be going for the second time in my life today for lunch and I’m looking forward to making memories and double-checking what I said to folks.
I don’t believe they have music yet but I love that the beer selection is decent including Sam Adams. It’s in a bottle but it’s not to have as an option. I will write back later and tell you how lunch was. So far, the grits are fantastic here.. not too buttery or drowning in other stuff.
Went for lunch. The waitress brought me mac and cheese by surprise! I’ll definitely return for an evening meal…. meatloaf!
My husband and I went last evening for dinner. We were so so dissapointed. We were looking forward to a great new restaraunt (we don’t have many in this area) and very excited about trying the Broken Egg. It was absolutley horrible..probably the worst restaraunt meal I have ever had in my life. The service was pretty good we were seated immediately. we ordered our drinks and they came quickly. we ordered the h artichoke dip and it came to the table (I am not exaggerating) in 3 minutes, so there is no way it was baaked in the oven in 3 minutes. That dip was terrible and the Tostito brand chips (recognized them) that were served alongside were stale and chewy and were from the bottom of the bag (little tiny pieces). The calamari came about 2 minutes later and it was actually worse than the spinach dip. chewy, chewy, chewy not hand battered obviously from a bag of frozen breaded calamari. so we finished our drinks and asked for the check. The server also never told us about the specials like the hostess said she would and the specials for Friday night were not the same as what was stated on their website. I really wanted it to be great and was looking forward to a great meal…that was just plain awful….will never go again
Hi, thanks for your post, it solve one of my doubt. err, but just would like to say that these spam comments r a bit messy here…
you need to start dinners at 4 pm instead of 5 pm