Belmont Diner French Toast

We went out to lunch at the Belmont Diner today. Neither of us wanted to cook, and the place had an excellent review in our local restaurant critic, John Gilchrist's new book My Favorite Cheap Eats. We've tried a few places from the book so far, and they've all be good.

There was a line out the front door so we had to wait for 20-30 minutes for a table. We'd been warned about the line from the book, so it wasn't a surprize. When we left the line had grown to a dozen people. I think the restaurant only seats a couple dozen, it was a tiny place.

I'm a sucker for diner breakfasts, especially hash browns, pancakes, french toast and waffles. They have a tiny little notice on the menu that smaller portions were available, so I downgraded my order to a single slice of french toast. It arrived perfectly cooked with a mess of crispy bacon and a serving of their bottomless hash browns.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't made with white bread. In fact, I didn't see a single slice of white bread in the place - even the toast was made with some kind of brown bread. The waitress thought it was whole wheat, but I couldn't tell for sure. It was very flavorful bread - I'm sure they're either making it themselves or buying it from a good bakery. In any case, it was really nice - not soggy, plenty of egg, and I topped it with butter and the real maple syrup they stock at each table. I don't mind fake syrup, but the real stuff was very tasty, and I didn't need much with the cinnamon sprinkled on the toast.

I'd been smelling the bacon while we waited and it did not disappoint. I think I had five or six rashers on my plate - too much for me so I passed a couple on to my husband.

I finished off with soft fluffy hash browns. Next time we go back I think I'll order eggs just so I can nibble more than a couple of bites of the hashbrowns. I love hashbrowns in all their incarnations, but these were really excellent, with a great flavor. I have no idea what they spiced them with, but it was great to enjoy hashbrowns that don't rely on salt for taste.

In any case, it's great to know there's a place to go and get a whole wheat grilled cheese or really tasty hashbrowns the next time we're having a treat for brunch.