"Twin Donuts" serves stuff besides twin donuts

The BBB went to Twin Donuts in Brighton twice this week. The first time was on a chilly Monday morning. Trav and Heather suggested that we try the diner for breakfast. My reaction was, "They serve breakfast?" I used to live in Brighton, and have passed by the diner a thousand times, never suspecting that they had a full breakfast menu. Anyway, after parking in the cramped, tiny parking space behind the restaurant (parking appears to be spotty at best), we went inside and found a few regulars inside, but plenty of open tables. The menu is pretty standard diner-breakfast-stuff; nothing exotic or fancified here. But everything was very good, food was served quickly, and we got a massive amount of food for just a few bucks. I got the Combo #1, which consisted of something like a pancake, french toast, eggs, home fries, and meat product (which I turned down), all for ~$6. It was insane. The diner appears to be run by a staff of super smiley Cambodian guys, who were all friendly and nice.

We returned to Twin Donuts this morning, and found the place packed. I guess it was expected, considering that it is New Year's Day morning. The place was full of bleary-eyed, hungover college kids and locals. We had to wait awhile for a table, and when we finally sat down, it took forever to get our coffee. We couldn't really complain that much, though- the place was packed, and the aforementioned super nice Cambodian guys were running their asses off to get everybody food and a constant flow of coffee refills. When our food finally arrived, it was hot and delicious. Trav and honorary BBB member Larry both enjoyed their breakfast sandwiches, and Heather and I loved our omelets. We also got sides of pancakes and french toast- everything was good. All that food, plus our coffee, came out to be only around $35! It was ridic.

Anyway, it was a great breakfast experience, and I highly recommend it. You can also order take-out, so if you arrive and find a long line for a table, you can always take it to go.

rude dude!

so nobody likes the busy bee diner more than me. chris (the son of peter, the owner, who resembles a greek megaphone) makes the best bacon. its crispy but not too crispy. yum! basically, i have to twist my friends' arms to make them go here, cause the service sucks. there's really just one waitress that gives us attitude, and if you've been there, you probably know who she is. she usually greets you with "whaddaya want?" and then gives you attitude if you ask for something a bit out of the ordinary, like egg whites, she freaks.
the other day i had to twist her arm to get more fries, cause they were out of home fries! look at that poor showing! sad sad breakfast maybe i'm a bitter breakfast snob, but goddamnit, if your job is to selflessly serve me breakfast treats, and part of your paycheck depends on it, then you better at least pretend to be nice.

ps. busy bee waitresses please don't spit in my food

pps. i don't like when you add the cream to my coffee for me. you always make it too light. just bring it to the table in a small cup or something!!!!

Breakfast and Books

Today, my out-of-town friend (and former Bostonian), Janice, wanted to meet up for breakfast. She first suggested Sonsie, on Newbury St, but we realized that we weren't wearing our Armani pantsuits today, and opted for the Trident Booksellers & Cafe, instead.

Trident is a favorite of mine. There's a large vegetarian menu, the waitstaff is always friendly, and it's not too terribly expensive. If you go during the weekends, there can be an incredibly long wait, but hey, you're in a bookstore... you can read snooty lit zines or whatnot while you wait. There is a surprisingly long list of teas that you can order, and alcohol is available on the menu, too. You can even get milkshakes, smoothies, and bubble tea! Yes, the menu is quite expansive for a little bookstore cafe. You can get anything from Tibetan dumplings to a simple egg and cheese sandwich.

Today, Janice got lemon ricotta stuffed french toast (topped with blueberry sauce). I was really tempted to get the apple brie omelet, but I also got a cappuccino milkshake, and the combination sounded kinda gross. So I opted for the breakfast burrito, instead. (Not sure how that combination is more savory, but anyway.) Our bill came to $28.98. A wee bit pricier than I would have liked to spend on breakfast, but there's no denying that the quality of the food is really good.

-Susan

Pros: large vegetarian menu, menu is quite diverse and has more than the usual cheese omelet offering, everything I've ever tried there is quite tasty; free WiFi, if you're into that kind of thing

Cons: a long wait on weekends, not super expensive but still a bit more than you may want to spend on breakfast

Overall (on a scale of 1-5): 4.5

clubbing breakfasts

so we finally got around to checking out The Breakfast Club, in allston. its grand, great, and all around groovy. tiny little place, but super diner feel. vinyl vinyl vinyl booths and seats, chromed out surfaces, and 80's beats.

the menu (if not the whole place) pays homage to the movie of the same name, with specials like The Jock, The Basket Case, The Nerd (or is it Dork? i don't remember), and the walls are also covered with 80's posters, and a Breakfast Club movie poster signed by the cast of the movie.

the food was solid. definite silver medal in the olympics good. not breaking any world records, but nothing to be ashamed about. i got The Basket Case, which is eggs any way, toast, home fries, bacon, and french toast/pancakes. it was delicious. the french toast is sprinkled with cinnamon, which is grand, and the eggs were fluffy and tasted great. the toast and homefries could have been better, with the former being a little burnt tasting and the latter having some funny aftertaste. but the wait staff was very friendly and the coffee refills were timely.

total for the bill was about 19 bucks. two people, french toast involved, not too bad. only problem is its out in allston kinda off the beaten path. i'd recommend, though. good eats.

this is the place to go if you really enjoy a classic diner atmosphere.

oh, and the 80's jams definitely needed to be cranked up a notch. when it comes to an 80's groove, i'm not satisfied unless i have to shout to be heard.

pros: good vibes, good food, good price
cons: weird homefries aftertaste, volume is too low, allston is smelly

grand total (out of 5): 4.3

centre street cafe!!!!

hey, so i must have biked past this place on my way to Fiore's bakery (one of my fave coffee/delicious pastry haunts) without ever knowing it was there, but today, whilst pontificating over where to enjoy a delicious brunch, my roommate suggested Centre Street Cafe, on Centre Street (duh), in Jamaica Plain. when i informed him that i had never heard of it, let alone enjoyed a breakfast there, he laughed and made fun of me. apparently this place is legendary.
soooo, a short bike ride later (its only like a quarter mile down the street from Sorella's), we're outside. for starters, this place is pretty tiny, so expect a wait. but its worth it. the wait staff are super nice, and come outside to check on you and reassure you that yes, you're waiting in a long line, but its going fast, and you should be inside in no time. you can even go inside and grab a coffee to sip while you're waiting. there are only a handful of tables inside, so they can only accommodate like 35 people, but that's ok, more face time with wait staff.
first, coffee. yum. and serve yourself. so you get up, get a mug, fill it, pour it into your belly, then get up and get some more. do this as much as you want, for 1.95. sweet.
next, food! the menu is nice, not too big, not too small. there are the basics, and then some more extravagant dishes (breakfast burrito, wacky wild omelettes). a little pricier than your usual greasy spoon fare, but well worth the extra moolah. i got the french toast for 11 bucks. now, usually i would put up a fight about that, BUT this french toast was made from delicious sourdough bread AND came buried under a mound of fresh fruit. seriously. buried. i had to use my fork like a backhoe to unearth my french toast. delicious bananas, strawberries, grapefruit? mango, pineapple, regular apple (granny smith, snitches!), grapes, kiwi... i think that's it.. usually i get french toast as a supplement to a breakfast staple (eggs, or an egg sandwich), but this meal filled me up. yum! and the sourdough FT is magnificent. add in real maple syrup and you can't even go wrong. plus their butter pats are by Beaver Meadow. random.
heather got the basic breakfast: eggs (scrambled) with wheat toast and home fries. she said the eggs and toast were good, and the home fries were magnificent. if you are a potato connoisseur you should check them out.

grand total was 22 bucks. a little more than we're used to for two people, but still won't break the bank. and for the quality (and endless coffee!) you can't go wrong.

ps. soundtrack is awesome, some kind of 80's madness
pps. to make the wait in line less tedious, there is a gadget store next door that sells overpriced knickknacks and cookware, so you can gaze in at things that you might want, but not at that price. and the girl that works there is a bitch. yeah, ok, the line for the cafe goes in front of your shop, get over it. that's no reason to come out and smoke cigarettes in the doorway just to piss people off. sorry we're not buying your 260 dollar cookpot. roar.

-t

pros: super friendly staff, good tunes, better food, bottomless coffee!

cons: the angry girl at the knickknack shop, long line, costs more than you really wanna pay for french toast but you'll do it anyway cause its that good and you get fruit
bottom line (1-5): 4.87

Decor = former Communist bloc; Food = delicious

Hello readers, it's Susan, your vegetarian breakfast blogger, this morning. Today, we traveled to Brookline Village to go breakfast at what I affectionately call "the Tiny Diner." I didn't know the actual name of this place forever (Martin's Coffee Shop) because it's so small that you can easily walk by it without noticing its existence on Harvard St. Even though we arrived sort of early-ish at 10 am, there was already a short wait. Make sure you get here early, fellow diners! This place is small, and a queue builds quickly. During the wintertime, the line spills out onto the frozen street.

Once inside, we were seated at one of the few tables and our friendly waitress immediately brought over menus and coffee. There's a relatively impressive omelet and sides list on the menu (we found it amusing that you can order a single boiled egg for $1.50, if you so desire). The menu is pretty standard diner food; don't come here expecting to find pumpkin french toast. Food was brought out quickly, and coffee refills were frequent. Strangely, we were each only given a single piece of toast this morning (an oversight? or a new toast policy?), but Trav's giant heap of bacon seemed to make up for it. Homefries were good, as were the chocolate chip pancakes that we ordered on the side. Heather pointed out that our previous tasting of their iced coffee wasn't that remarkable (in both taste and quantity), but their regular coffee was okay.

We got a pretty decent amount of food, and our bill came to ~$32. Note that the Tiny Diner/Martin's only accepts CASH, so don't be bringing your dad's black Amex card. Foo.

Pros: food never disappoints, friendly waitstaff (unlike that damn Busy Bee Diner, god how I hate that place), decent prices

Cons: frequently a long wait for a table, cash only

Overall (on a scale of 1-5): 4

School - Breakfast - School

The Busy Bee Restaurant (Brookline/Boston town line) is awesome because it's conveniently located very close to my school. It's easy to find, easy to get parking, and an amazing bike ride. Get a bike, use the Brookline bike lane.

It's a delicious break in my school day. Today I had the egg and cheese sandwich and some French Toast between pharmacology and teaching microbiology lab. I wasn't disappointed (with the sandwich or the FT). The sandwich was served HOT, which is good. They used the sandwich sized English muffins again, which are always a treat. I'm pretty sure they also use Land O'Lakes white American cheese, which is the only type of deli-cut-style cheese that I prefer. I didn't get home fries today, but if I did, I'm sure they would have been fairly delicious.

The waitress was nice today. No coffee refills, though. I got a glimpse of Peter, but it was slow so he was quiet.

Always delicious. Never un-delicious. Sometimes sassy. No sass today. Go to Busy Bee.