To
kick off our new eating adventure of trying local restaurants in the
South Florida area, Cindy and I – joined by our native Sherpa guide
Eleanor – went for Sunday breakfast at the Cup ‘n Saucer.
I
very much wanted to go to the Cup ‘n Saucer because, months back, while
Eleanor and I stood in line at the Publix Deli for sub sandwiches, we
were approached by a wise (?) old man who got into a rambling
conversation with us. He brought up the Cup ‘n Saucer, and said that
they used local fruits in their dishes. That stuck in my mind lo these
many months. Finally, I had an opportunity to check it out.
First Impressions
The
Cup ‘n Saucer has a big sign out front on the marquee that says Café, a
smaller sign says “Cup ‘n Saucer”. Online, it is billed as the Cup
& Saucer Bagel Shop, but I didn’t see that title, and bagels aren’t
emphasized. It was busy, but we were able to get seated right away at
9:30 on a Sunday morning.
The
staff is genial, and there is an actual surplus of wait staff, which is
a nice surprise if you don’t like being left to fidget when you're
hungry. Ridiculous number of servers we thought. But we realized later we were early. The place filled up fast, and had a line out the door as we were leaving.
The décor was simple and traditional, as was the menu. The
restaurant was clean. Napkins
are paper, the dishes seem to come from a basic café catalog.
Sitting
in the place, you wouldn't know if you were in South Florida, Virginia
or New Jersey. That’s okay, especially if you like to ease into your
morning. If you like Florida flavor, look elsewhere.
Prices
are very affordable for just about anybody’s wallet. The menu was
plastic and legible while containing just enough punctuation errors to
provide some amusement for grammarians like ourselves.
The Food
The
food listed on the menu is basic breakfast food, with no stand-out signature dishes that I
could see. I asked about fruit, and the waitress guided me to the
specials menu and the Banana Nut French Toast. It’s billed as “Homemade
Banana Nut bread dipped in our special batter grilled golden brown with
fresh strawberries and whipped crème.”
It
was delicious. The bread was brown and crispy, the banana flavor was
strong without being overpowering, the nuts made a nice contrast, the
crème did not taste canned, and the strawberries were fresh. I received
two pieces of banana nut bread, along with
large dollops of crème and enough sliced strawberries to get
strawberries in most every bite. Syrup was on the table, and nothing
fancy.
I also had coffee, which was basic but hit the spot.
Cindy
had a spinach & feta quiche, with a side
of fresh chopped fruit (strawberries, melon and honeydew melon) and a biscuit. The quiche was great.
Eleanor had a cup of hot chocolate topped with a
skyscraper of crème, as well as chocolate chip pancakes (two large) and a
side of bacon (two). The bacon was crispy and delicious, and Eleanor
tore into the pancakes like we starve her. There were a smattering of
chocolate chips but not overwhelming, which is a contrast to the Dune
Deck Café at Manalapan/Lantana Beach, which dishes up a huge amount of
chocolate chips in its pancakes.
I
asked Eleanor which she preferred, and she said likes the
less-chocolatey texture of the pancakes at the Cup ‘n Saucer. As for
myself, I’m keen on the Dune Deck Café pancakes, because it’s like
you’re sneaking dessert for breakfast. Mmm … chocolate.
The
Service
The
service at the Cup ‘n Saucer was excellent. They gave us time to look
at the menu but did not neglect us. The waitress was helpful. My coffee
cup was filled often. We weren't rushed out of there, but we weren't
going to linger on a diner's busy Sunday morning, either.
Overall:
The Cup ‘n Saucer is a basic diner that dishes up good food, and I can
see why it has a loyal fan base. I could see eating there more than
once – I have yet to try their home fries and hash, which are two of my
weekend breakfast staples. However, there is
no local color or signature menu items, so tourists looking for that
might want to look elsewhere.
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