Oct 24, 201110:58 AM
Exploring the South Shore one bite at a time
Over and Easy
In my quest to identify ultimate breakfast destinations, the test is simple. I walk in, sit down and order two eggs over easy, home fries and toast. Bacon, ham, sausage or corned beef hash may factor into my choice, but it’s the eggs and potatoes that earn the resulting grade. If the food arrives quick and hot, with wet yokes but no Sunnyside jiggle, and potatoes soft inside but crusty brown on the outside, I’m sold. It comes down to this. If a place billing itself as a breakfast joint can’t get this easy dish right, what’s the point in trying anything else?
That was my mindset when I walked into Wendi Lou’s Sunrise Café. Formerly Stokesy's Egg House, the diner is situated inside a small blue dwelling in Weymouth’s Jackson Square I’d driven by countless times without noticing before my hairdresser recommended it. That first time, I was skeptical when I arrived at 9:00 a.m. and only one of the eight or so tables was occupied. Nonetheless, I slid into a stool at the empty counter, overlooking a TV and a half-completed blackboard, listing daily specials. (The “Bird’s Nest” intrigued me, but with no description, curiosity lingered.) The menu included the usual breakfast suspects and a few distinct items (The Elvis: French toast stuffed with cream cheese, jam and bananas). When I looked up, two of the seats alongside me were occupied. By the time my plate appeared, they all were, with regulars it seemed, who bantered back and forth.
Breakfast came hot and fast with eggs cooked just right and as I ate, I looked around. The diner is painted a clean, soft yellow with cheerful, striped curtains. From my seat at the end of the counter, I could see the cook in action and had a straight shot down a littered walkway to the dishwashing sink. A curtain, door, or some broom action there would go a long way toward reinforcing the bright, fresh look of the rest of the tiny restaurant, but other than that mild critique, I was a convert.
Since Wendi Lou’s passed the breakfast test, when an errand took my daughter and me down the street two days later, we decided to stop for a late morning breakfast for her; lunch for me. She ordered her eggs scrambled and dug into her plate of steaming food. I chose a hot pastrami sandwich. At my request, the accommodating waitress (Wendi Lou?) switched the standard bulky roll to marble rye. I selected coleslaw over French fries and while the salad tasted jarred (the menu says homemade), it was sweet and crunchy and complimented my seasoned meat, gooey melted Swiss, and the surrounding toasted bread. The man beside me spooned into a bowl of homemade fish chowder that looked so rich and thick I wished I ordered it; two seats down a fat hamburger arrived. We I took note of Wendi Lou’s all-day fish fry on Fridays, and put it on our list to check out.
Afterwards I was full—So full. But bread pudding is a favorite dessert and since Wendi Lou’s offers a free serving during weekday lunches, my daughter and I had to split the last square. Let me tell you, I’d go back again just for that.
Wendi Lou’s Sunrise Café, 924 Broad St, Weymouth, (781) 812-2147, http://www.wendilous.com/
Hours: Monday-Thursday, Saturday and Sunday: 6am-3pm, Friday: 6am-7pm. Breakfast is served all day and lunch begins daily at 11 am. Delivery and catering are also available.
Liza Carens Salerno is a freelance business writer from the South Shore. She works part-time at a cheese shop and can’t decide which is more fun—working with food or writing about it. Liza blogs at www.middlepassages-lcs.blogspot.com.
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