Just Wow….Red Mug Diner Kim and I went for breakfast this morning at Red Mug Diner, downtown on Pine Street in the old Ed Smith/AnsweRite building on Pine Street. I was concerned as I headed downtown that parking might be a problem, but at 7:30AM on Sunday morning there was parking everywhere. When we entered we were greeted promptly, and told to sit wherever we would like. The place is red and white and cheery. There was only one other table occupied in place. It’s interesting to be sitting in the space where I used to work at AnsweRite and where my brother met his wife, who was the receptionist there back in 1984. The menu is printed on the placemats. It is not a large menu, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert all on the same side. But better to do a reasonable number of things right, than a lot of things mediocre. The Coffee is from ‘get roasted…locally’, Kim spent the entire meal raving about how amazing the coffee is. It is served in a metal carafe, so you don’t have to wait for refills. Not that I had to wait for refills on my Coco-cola, because the server brought me another before I finished the first. Kim ordered the ‘Gargantuan Buttermilk Pancake’ and I ordered the ‘Old School Biscuits & Gravy’. The ‘Old School Biscuits & Gravy’ was $8.95, which was truly a deal. My meal came with two eggs, four slices of bacon, grilled tomato slices as well. The biscuits had a proper snap on the bottom but were soft and pillowy, the gravy was not the usual roux laden variety most places serve, it had more of the consistency of a Suprême sauce, and was loaded with fine ground pork and seasoning. The thick sliced grilled tomatoes were done perfectly, they were seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs, and were the perfect accompaniment to my light and fluffy scrambled eggs. The classic smoked bacon (versus the thick cut fruit wood smoked variety) was cooked just right. The plate presentation could have been used for a photo shoot. My wife enjoyed her mosterous pancake, but was unable to finish it, which I think is to be expected. It was served with whipped butter. One of the things I liked about the place, it feels like a diner or tavern from back home in Pittsburgh where I grew up. The layout does not have high booths or partitions, it feels like it was laid out to allow a sense of community. There is an informal, friendly, caring and knowledgeable style of service which will serve the well. I look forward to coming to try some of the other breakfast items, and the lunch and dinner offerings. The sandwiches and entrees on the menu all seemed very reasonably priced. The desserts at $7.95 from The Dessert Lady, I will have to reserve judgement on till I have the chance to try them.
