MYSTERY DINER: Worth waking up for

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

The last time I had hot breakfast on a weekday with any regularity was my senior year in high school. My best friend and I would answer the lure of fluffy omelets, hash browns and coffee every several weeks – in lieu of English class.

But this disobedient habit doesn’t fit well with a work schedule, at least with my employer. Restaurant breakfast before work means setting the alarm – and obeying it – a painful hour earlier.

The sound of coffee swooping into a mug at Egg Haven in DeKalb one morning this week, though, helped the pain melt away.

Anywhere you go, locals are passionate about their breakfast spots. No, no, no, one will insist – you gotta try my place. Someone else will explain that person is crazy and that, for the best hash browns and eggs, you gotta go to his place. And so on.

I’d heard enough crowing about Egg Haven to lose an hour of sleep for it.

Back to that swoosh of coffee. It was delivered by a pretty no-nonsense waitress who filled my mug, promptly delivered my hot breakfast and followed up with me afterward. It was the efficient, uncomplicated service most people need in the morning. Coffee? Yes. Ready to order? Yes. More coffee? Yes.

I ordered off the specials menu, a garden benedict that promised to be loaded with veggies and smothered in hollandaise sauce. Indeed, it was smothered, to the point that the sauce was pooling on the plate. No worries – this sauce had a nice lemon kick that most restaurant hollandaise seems to lack. It was great to drag my potatoes through, too – on their own, they were on the dry side.

This stack of goodness – English muffin, spinach, green peppers, red peppers, zucchini, poached eggs, hollandaise – was more than my tummy could handle. The portion was generous, even ambitious. I stopped lapping up sauce and yolk halfway through the plate and grunted, no, I didn’t want to take it with me. (Microwave a saucy poached egg? Pass.)

The menu at Egg Haven is as full as its portions. Sweet- and savory-toothed friends will find plenty of options among the pancakes, blintzes, waffles, egg-and-meat combinations and skillets. A few options jumped out as different than the typical breakfast fare, including a sweet feta-stuffed blintz and a benedict starring chorizo. Grand Marnier crepes sounded a bit boozy for a weekday morning, but they were a tempting choice on the specials menu.

Egg Haven is open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. seven days a week. Breakfast dominates the menu, but there are many lunch choices, too. Burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, soups and wraps are available.

I’m sure they’re nice (the parking lot – with its several restaurant-designated spots – seems consistently busy) but with the name “egg” in the name of the place, it seems an obvious choice. And judging by the giant fluffy omelets and mounds of potatoes sailing from kitchen to dining room, a lot of other breakfast diners there agree.

My concept of a haven on a weekday morning involves sheets and pillows, not a screeching alarm. But this wakeup call was worthwhile. It could even become a habit again.

• The Mystery Diner is an employee in the newsroom at the Daily Chronicle. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant before or during the meal. The diner visits a different restaurant in DeKalb County each week.

If you go

Where: Egg Haven, casual breakfast and lunch restaurant, 2562 Sycamore Road in DeKalb

Hours: 6 a.m.-4 p.m. daily

Phone: 815-748-1200

Prices: Entrees range from about $6 to about $11.50 (for steak-and-egg dishes)

Kids OK? Yes