Jupiter Donut Factory, Jupiter, February 16, 2014

Happy birthday, Monica!

I'm always looking for an excuse to make the haul to Jupiter Donut Factory, and my friend Monica had just tried out JDF the week before and was happy to go again for her birthday.

A new twist this visit is that I tried their biscuits with sausage gravy. And while it was served on a dinky paper plate with a plastic fork, it was scrumptious. Peppery, but not too much so. Monica and family also enjoyed the hot breakfast sandwiches and declared them delicious. But none of that hot protein kept us from indulging in sweet, fresh goodness of donuts. Here's Monica's family's haul:

Unless you  live in Jupiter, this place is out of your way. But it's worth a little road trip. And I guess I will just have to come here again to get a photo of the hot breakfasts....

Jupiter Donut Factory (Tripadvisor)
141 Center St, Jupiter, FL 33458(561) 741-5290

Dune Deck, Lantana, February 9, 2014

This is the place you take your mother-in-law for her birthday. This is the place you go when you don't want to wait at John G's, and yet, you still want to get here early because a line forms at the Dune Deck as well. There is a playground nearby if you have to wait with little ones, and a lovely ocean view with benches if you are waiting with older ones.

Never forget: CASH ONLY. Always important to remember when you are a party of 6 to avoid scrambling at the end of the meal!

View: The ocean in February while the rest of the country freezes? Priceless.

Service: Friendly and fabulous. Waiter picked up on my anxiety and got my son's chocolate chip pancake order in right away, and the food back out to the on-the-edge-of-whining boy quickly. Coffee and water were refilled attentively.

Food: delicious. My in-laws didn't let me take photos of their meals. My daughter ordered a hot dog because she doesn't like breakfast much. Sean had home made corned beef hash and eggs. He loved it.

I had two eggs over easy with potatoes....

Here's what was left of my son's three large pancakes by the time my food arrived:

Mother in law: very very happy. If you talk to the host ahead of time, you can arrange for a birthday key lime pie and a low-key birthday song from the waiters.

Dune Deck
100 N Ocean Blvd
Lantana Beach, Florida. 33462
(561) 582-0472

Hobo's, North Palm Beach, February 6, 2014

I am trying to combine my breakfast eating with visiting with old friends. And this time I remembered a couple of photos, unlike poor Gabriel's in Wellington.

Sara suggested this diner called Hobo's on Northlake Blvd. The parking lot was packed because clearly some pool cleaning company was having a big breakfast meeting and all their trucks with trailers were filling up the parking lot. But I can see why they chose this place: plenty of seating and great food. Lots of police officers eating here when we left, another sign of a good place.

But the food spoke for itself. I had my standard ham and spinach omelette and it was yummy. Good mix of spinach and salty ham and eggs fluffier than I can ever get them at home. I indulged in a biscuit which was big and a wee bit dry, but I had no problem finishing it.

The staff was friendly and yet, also stayed out of the way to let Sara and I catch up. But I did forget to ask my friend how she liked her sandwich. I'll add in her comments later -- it sure looks good, doesn't it?

I can vouch for the fact that she didn't have leftovers!

Sara has a few other breakfast places in her neck of the woods to show me, but I'd have no problem coming back to Hobo's too. Its big red sign is easy to see from the road. The no frills basic diner decor was neat and clean. Family owned, which means they take pride in their work and you get to watch their adorable toddler scamper around the place.

Once my husband finds out they have two signature hot sauces called Bitch Spit and Rude Awakening, he will want to try this place out himself.

Sadly I did not make note of the wifi.

Hobo's Gourmet Kitchen
421 Northlake Blvd.
North Palm Beach, FL 33408
(561) 841-8305

Al Pan Pan, West Palm Beach, January 25

Again, late with another review, but this one has photos! I had stopped by this little Argentinian/Uruguayan cafe last year and picked up some pastries, which I enjoyed.

We visited this little bakery/restaurant again in hopes of letting our daughter practice her Spanish. The menu is in Spanish, with helpful, and sometimes amusing English translations. For example, did you know that the Spanish dish "macaroni and cheese" translates to "macaroni and cheese"?

Sadly the waitress didn't help out and only spoke English with us despite our mention of wanting to practice, though she spoke Spanish at other tables. Oh well.

The cafe is simple, about a dozen tables. Lots of big photos of Argentina, and a broken player piano in the back.

I had an egg, ham and cheese sandwich on a croissant. Ellie had bacon and cheese sandwich on a croissant, but they also threw on an egg which she hadn't wanted. She ate it anyway. Both of our sandwiches were messy, filling, but mostly unmemorable.

Sean had scrambled eggs, ham and "hash browns" which were really just tater tots.  I'll have to bug him to remember what he can about it.

The food wasn't anything spectacular for us to go back for and we will find another restaurant for practicing speaking Spanish. This place is always busy, so obviously some people like it. Never having been to South America, I can't say that this cafe makes me nostalgic for anything.

But, free wifi! And quite a beautiful display of pastries!

Al Pan Pan
1000 S Military Trl
West Palm Beach, FL 33415
561-963-4343 

Gabriel's Cafe & Grille, Wellington, January 16, 2014

Gabriel's in Wellington was ... fine. My review isn't any more complex than that. I was there to catch up with an old friend, and we had such a delightful time doing so, that I forgot to take photos or really make note of much of anything.

Let's see: my ham and spinach omelet was delicious and large. Kelly was better than me and got a veggie egg white omelet which she enjoyed. Her coffee was refilled repeatedly without prompting by a friendly and sweet waitress.

The place -- like so many that we go to -- is clearly a local institution. On a Thursday morning, it was busy but not packed, and no one ever rushed us out from our 2 1/2 hour chat session. The decor was standard country-ish, cozy, and slightly dated. It has at least three rooms and outside eating, so Gabriel's can serve many, but it doesn't feel crowded or sound loud. The food didn't blow me away, but also didn't disappoint. The seats were mighty comfortable for hanging out chatting with an old friend. Kelly said she's brought her kids there, and it's a kid-friendly place.

Sorry it took me three weeks to get around to writing this up!

I will definitely bring the family back some time to check it out more thoroughly.

Here you can see Urban Spoon for photos: Gabriels.

12793 West Forest Hilld Blvd, Suite G
Wellington, Fl 33414

561-793-0675

Boynton Diner, Boynton Beach, January 24, 2014

I don't know who is the brains behind the Boynton Diner. But whoever that person is, he or she said, "lo, for I shall serve breakfast on plates bigger than a person's head, and they shall come."

The Boynton Diner is indeed the home of the big-ass (or big-head) breakfast. It's also tasty, inexpensive, and served with a side of sass. What more could you want?

I've been driving past this place since I started working in Delray Beach. It's tucked away in a Publix Shopping plaza at the corner of Woolbright Road and US 1. I had a few minutes this morning and stopped in.

It's your basic diner layout, 2 rooms with booths and tables. It seems clean and smells pleasantly like breakfast. I took a seat at the counter, where all the single men sit, having second helpings of lives' regrets.

But seriously, I sat down and was served immediately. The menu is pretty simple.  

I ordered two eggs over easy and corned beef hash with a side of home fries, as well as coffee. The meal came with toast, and I substituted biscuits at no charge.

The eggs were perfect -- not over- or under-cooked. But it's the corned beef hash that is the standout.  It arrived lightly seared with a crispy crust. Delicious.

The home fries were bland and disappointing, but that's why God invented Tobasco sauce.  I wouldn't order the home fries again, however.

The biscuits were excellent -- light, fluffy and obviously made with butter. The coffee was pretty generic, but served hot and black, so no complaints there.

Two more important points:  The Boynton Diner has free wifi, so hooray for that.

And the diner does not accept credit cards. There is an ATM machine next to the cash register, in case you find yourself short.

All in all, I think I will visit the Boynton Diner again. Their pancake are as big as throw rugs; if they serve those with chocolate chips, I'll gladly end up in a food coma.

Mom's Kitchen, Greenacres, December 21, 2013

It is a thing of gourmet legend -- a hole-in-the-wall diner that has excellent food, great service AND it's cheap. Some people say such a place is merely a myth to entertain children (and old people, who are basically children with more money and incontinence). But I tell you, that place exists. And that place is Mom's Kitchen at 7478 Lake Worth Road, in Lake Worth, Florida.

Mom's is a place you can drive by for decades and never visit, because how good can it be, eh? It looks like a crappy box-diner on the outside, uncomfortably close to busy Lake Worth Road and next door to a motel that's a shoe-in to be a location filming spot for the Florida version of "Breaking Bad."

But once we got inside, we were pleasantly surprised. Mom's Kitchen is small. But it's very clean. It's style is rustic and kitschy, but the old-timey sentimentality isn't overwhelming.  The service was excellent, and we were seated very quickly even though we arrived after 9 am on a busy Saturday.

The menu is lengthy.  All your favorites are probably on it, and if not, the kitchen takes requests. Breakfast is served all day, but they have a good lunch and dinner menu, too.

Coffee is served hot and plentiful. Ice water comes in a large glass -- Mom's knows its customers are thirsty.  The food arrived FAST!

Cindy had a ham, spinach and cheese omelette. They were happy to add spinach to the ham and cheese omelette on the menu. She also had a huge helping of hash browns (very good!) and a biscuit.

 The biscuit wasn't  great -- a little spongey -- but it did a great job of soaking up the extra gravy on Sean's plate.

Sean had a Southern-style Eggs Bendict, which is poached eggs and sausage on a biscuit smothered in gravy.  Home fries came on the side, and Sean ordered bacon as well, because BACON!

The bacon was the kind of big, chunky bacon that doesn't come out of a supermarket package. The Southern eggs benedict was absolutely delicious. And Mom's has its own hot sauce, which is spicy without being scalding. And the hot sauce goes very well with home fries, mmm-mm!

The service was fast and friendly.  And you can pay with cash or by credit card.  Even better, the food is very affordable, so you won't be paying that much.

Inevitably, we'll have to draw comparisons between Mom's Kitchen and another local institution, Deli Inn Diner.  You know we love the Deli Inn Diner.  It's your best chance in Palm Beach County of having a waitress dressed as a superhero, or whatever fun theme they have that week. But the Deli Inn Diner is showing its age, and its food just isn't as good as the offerings at Mom's Kitchen.  Between the two, our tastebuds cast their vote for Mom's.

Revisiting Pete's Place, Greenacres, November 27, 2013

Pete's Place is a classic diner, no frills, excellent food and fast, friendly service.

It's also on the way to my office. So, I asked Cindy to join me.  I usually have the chicken portabella omelette, but something about Cindy's eggs over medium with home fries and biscuit sounded delicious.

There were two differences. Cindy had hot chocolate topped with a mountain of whipped cream ...

And I had bacon with mine. I like to put the eggs on my home fries, which I also dosed with hot sauce, because that's how I roll ...

All in all, it's a great breakfast. But I have to say, Pete's home fries were a step down from their usual "Food of the Gods" status.

Some of Cindy's home fries were only partially cooked. That's a big no-no, and something I haven't seen before at Pete's.  Perhaps it's because we were some of the first people there.  A steady stream of law enforcement officers followed us in the door. 

As for mine, I found them a bit under-seasoned, which is the first time that's happened at Pete's. That's why I used hot sauce. 

Well, you can't hit a home run every time. The coffee was hot, the service was fast and the waitress was sassy in a nice way.  And it's cheap. Pete's remains one of my favorites.