Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Overall, a Very Good Thyme!


The other morning, we decided to go out for breakfast, and as our destination we chose a place near us called The Thyme Cafe. It is a nice, small spot (maybe eight tables) in Norristown that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner (it is a BYOB). We are, of course, on a health kick, and since they have some healthy options on their menu, it seemed like this was the place for us.

I ordered the Breakfast Burrito, a very tasty selection with egg, black beans, and steak, while the lady had Huevos Rancheros, which came adorned with chorizo...and some other stuff (I have to work on my foodie retention skills, and, unfortunately, I don't believe they have a website to access a menu). For the little guy, we ordered the blueberry pancakes. The breakfast burrito was very good (I have actually had it several times and it is a quick go-to), and wifey reported that the Huevos Rancheros was also quite satisfactory (although probably not a good choice directly before a 5K race). I did steal a bite of Lil' Man's pancakes as well. Although these delights are probably persona non grata during my pursuit of the body of Adonis/less obese hemoglobin, I can say that the chomp I had was pleasing indeed. So basically, The Thyme Cafe has the food bit down. The owner, a guy named Andrew, has spent several years in the restaurant business and it seems like he puts a great deal of care into every meal that is released from the kitchen.

However, a bit of advice: When the place first started, Andrew used to work all of the tables. He would greet you with a smile, fawn over your baby, etc. Now it seems that the place has taken off a bit, and he has had to hire new help. Watch these folks, Andrew! Our waitress was quite surly. She just didn't seem happy. Forget service with a smile; we would have settled for service with a pulse. We had to wait quite a while for a refill of coffee (I don't drink the stuff, but the wife finds delayed coffee pouring to be a major no-no at breakfast), and a request for some hot sauce was met with a look that would have had adjoining diners believing our inquiry was something more along the line of "Thong or full-seater?" (Although I should say that when it came out, it was a very interesting mix of sriracha...and something else that I would be lying if I tried to pretend I knew what it was.) She also took the order of someone who came in after us before she took ours, which really isn't cool. I mean, we have a whiny baby. You should WANT to get us out of there!

The order also took a while to get out to us. This is a tough thing when you have a kid who is going crazy for food. This being said, I give them a pass for this. This isn't your standard diner fare. There is an extra amount of care put in to every meal (this is my perception) and therefore you really shouldn't expect it to be brought out in ten minutes like an omelette at the Greasy Spoon Diner. Then again, maybe I just think they are a cut above because they give you greens instead of home fries.

Maybe this review sounds like a bit of a slag! That is probably because I am a generally miserable person and always have a complaint (for instance, if I were not on a low-carb diet, I would certainly kvetch about the lack of bread provided with the meal). The truth is I do think this is a good spot (it will be even better if they have outside seating soon, which has been rumored). It provides a very nice meal for a reasonable price, and it is supplied in a quaint, peaceful atmosphere that is better than your average diner. I'm just sayin', Andrew: Mind the help! I don't want some 70-year-old broad named Flo telling me about her whole family history, but a starving-artist type treating the customer like a nuisance isn't an improvement.

---
3120 Ridge Pike
Eagleville, PA 19403

Thyme Cafe on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

  1. I actually used to work here. I was there from the very beginning. Started as a barista but moved to the kitchen and pretty soon was doing all the prep work and making orders. I lost my job because he said he "couldn't pay me anymore". And then he got some highschoolers to be servers (who obviously aren't gonna care about their job enough to provide quality service) so he could replace me as the cook. So I can imagine that's the reason you had such bad service. Seems to me that he kinda sold out. Oh well.

    ReplyDelete