Sitting in a one-room brunch restaurant with a simple, slightly rustic décor, I began my customary panorama of the environment. I’m much more of an ambiance critic than a foodie, and this place checks a few of my boxes: peaceful atmosphere, happy & well-mannered guests (though notably all over 50), eclectic varietal of timeless jams and classic hits playing politely overhead; however, it seriously lacked color. At least until I showed up.
If anybody was alarmed by my entrance, they didn’t show it. Or more accurately, I didn’t notice it. Somewhere in the bottom of my mind I found myself concerned at just how quickly and easily my white-blinders slipped back on upon my return to Midwestern suburbia. I would have let my mind wander that path since it was so desperate to dwell on anything besides work; but I was distracted by a friendly (and supe-cute) waitress presenting a menu with reasonable prices, and a diverse (but not overwhelming) selection featuring eggs & omelets galore! Q approves.
Returning a more judgmental eye to the ambiance, the walls are adorned with whitewashed aluminum-“wood” signs with the culinary puns and fun quips you’d expect for a small, privately owned restaurant with a (most likely) pricey lease in white suburbia. “If you want breakfast in bed, go sleep in the kitchen” was my favorite. You get the sense that the owner’s wife wouldn’t allow him to open a restaurant with barren walls and she spent weeks scouring Targets, Amazon and Hobby Lobbies bargain shopping for the perfect decorations. It’s charming, though nothing novel; unless you’re me… A quarter turn to my left, tucked away in the corner in possibly the least prominent spot on the wall, hangs the only brown “wooden” sign in the possibly overdone white-washed building and it reads, simply, “Happiness is homemade.”
I dwelled on that sign for my entire meal. Happiness is homemade. Well done, bored suburban mother with too much time (and too little taste) on her hands. Amazingly, you managed to give me more with my flapjacks. I love accuracy in advertising! 3Q-review!