Classic breakfast favorites served with an unpretentious gourmet twist. $8.25 Basic breakfast. Coffee not included but worth every penny. Friendly staff. Our new favorite!When you tell people you write a blog about Breakfast, everyone has a recommendation. We had to try Stoneface Dolly's in Little Italy because so many people have been singing its praises! We were not disappointed. In fact, if it weren't for our commitment to this blog we would have no problems making this our regular breakfast haunt!
This is no hidden gem. It was even recently featured on the Food Network's You Gotta Eat Here: Stoneface Dolly's . This means that if you want a seat you better get there early. Sundays are the busiest day and often have a lineup of hungry patrons out the door, patiently waiting for a table. They have a cozy little patio on Beech Street for people who like to eat in the morning sunshine.We were lucky enough to find a seat right upon arrival, and were quickly greeted with extremely friendly and prompt service. Our coffee came in an ample sized mug (no dainty coffee cups here, folks!), and when it came to answering questions about the menu, our server not only had fantastic explanations about the food, she also shared facts about the preparation, ingredients and presentation of all of the items in question, and managed to present them without sounding the slightest bit rehearsed or forced into it... you could tell that there was a bit of pride involved with the product!
For our first visit, we stuck to the basics, as we tend to do on inaugural visits. One order of 2 over easy eggs, capicola ham, and sourbread toast. The other a 2 over easy, sausage, and the house specialty molasses toast. We happened to mention to our server that we wrote a little breakfast blog, and as most people do, she made a few other recommendations for good local breakfasts (see next review: Art Is In). Other menu items looks fantastic as well, including a penko crusted salmon Benedict, gorgeous looking omlettes, French Toast and killer pancakes!
With expectations and hunger levels running high, our breakfast came out within just a few minutes of ordering. Both of us were thrilled with the majority of our breakfast, the eggs were cooked to perfection, the ham and sausage were surprisingly tasty, and both types of bread were absolutely delicious (the molasses toast was sweet and perfect for a little jam spread. However, one of us didn't love the potatoes as much as the other, as they were not homefries, but in fact more of a hash brown.
That said for those who like their brakfast potatoes fried, they were delicious. It didn't even slightly tarnish any of the breakfast experience. We also asked for a little taste of the Diablo sauce (their version of the Hollandaise), made with a cream-based jalapeno sauce, it was light and fluffy with a little bit of kick. This was by far the tastiest take on Benedict sauce that either of us had experienced in quite some time.
Other wonderful touches are present throughout the meal. There was a little jar of jam on the table, which was so much nicer than having the usual packages, as well as a personal favourite of having a bottle of gourmet hot sauce on the table, which were the perfect accompaniment for the sausage and hash brown (for one of us at least).
Within a few minutes, the owner of the restaurant, a lovely man named Sam, was by our table to answer any questions we had. Not only did he obviously take a great amount of care and pride in his menu, but he was also quick to point out other local spots that served great food.
Although a couple dollars more than your average greasy spoon, Stone Face Dolly's is well worth every penny for your entire breakfast experience. Expect a further review in a couple of months, as next time we will both be going outside our usual breakfast patterns to expeience some of the other fantastic treats on the menu!
