Shortly before we moved into our new house, I discovered a fabulous place for breakfast.
In Mesa, near Alma School and the US-60, there is a little shopping center/strip mall thing on the northeast corner. Tucked away, like most dining gems in this town, is T.C. Eggington’s. It’s a delightful little breakfast joint that the husband and I proclaimed to the best breakfast place we’ve found in three years of hunting. The decor is something like country kitsch. The menus have chicken wire on the covers, there’s lots of honey oak detailing inside the restaurant, there’s lots of cheerful prints (fabric) all over – the window treatments, the tablecloths, etc. Light colored walls and lots of windows add to the bright and cheery feeling.
My dad instilled a love of going out to breakfast on a weekend morning, very early on in life. Living in Los Angeles, we’d normally hit Dolores’ for belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, or DuPar’s (best breakfast on the planet, period) for silver-dollar pancakes with melted butter and boysenberry syrup, of Bob’s Donuts (I couldn’t find proper website for them, so this Yelp.com one will have to do) for a powdered donut and little box of milk. The two latter places were in the Farmer’s Market on Fairfax and Third. I don’t think Bob’s is there anymore, but DuPar’s sure is. What fine, fine memories I have of that place. Perhaps someday, I’ll wax poetic about it.
Late last week, Junian suggested that perhaps we go to T.C. Eggington’s for breakfast this weekend. We were going to have to do some very very late Xmas shopping for his family, so why not start out well-fueled? Fabulous plan, except for the little snafu of my stupid diet. Every place he’s suggested to go eat has inevitably ended up hurting me – even if the waiter assures me I can have what I order (safely), there’s something in it that doesn’t agree with me. Because of this, many of our old stand-bys have been left by the wayside during my food crazyness. This time, however, I figured I’d try it. I reviewed their menu online and made some logical deductions and did my research. I picked out two options that I could go with. Thus armed, we headed out.
The place was very crowded, but luckily no line. At 10am on a Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised to be seated immediately. I did get some strange looks as we walked through the restaurant… I was a bit gothed out, especially for a Saturday morning. My long hair up in pigtails, dark makeup, and wearing all black. The stares I got! And I wasn’t even really dressed that funny! Ah well, conservative town. Not entirely sure how that works with it being like the 5th biggest city in the country, but still.
We sat down, and I quickly confirmed my decision looking at the menu. I’d try the basic egg thing, with home fries, sausages, and eggs (ah, it’s called the Plain and Simple). Sounds boring, but anything is good when it doesn’t hurt. I told the waitress that I couldn’t have any wheat or dairy. I told her what I wanted, and she said she’d have to go back in the kitchen and check. After about five minutes, she returns. She says she read the ingredients of everything, and there’s no wheat or dairy in the potatoes or sausage. Rejoice! I tell her that’s what I’d like, and I get my eggs over medium.
About ten minutes pass, and she returns with our food. I gingerly start eating, and so far, so good. Junian got the Roasted Tuscan omelette with added provolone (which was going to be my other option, obviously sans cheese). The eggs were ever so slightly more runny than I like, but as I couldn’t have anything else squishy, it was good for dipping my homefries in. Homefries, which really are one of the stand-outs here. Perfectly soft in the center, ever so slightly crunchy on the outside. The only thing they’re missing is that I don’t think they are made fresh – I’m pretty sure they come frozen. But other than that, delish!
We finish up, have a last bit of tea and coffee (tea fo rme, coffee for the boy), and scoot out. My tummy is still fine. Get to the car and zip off to Home Depot, and I’m still doing good. I did have a bit of a … not quite scare, but hestitation while I was eating, but I think it was the sausage. Perhaps it was too greasy. In retrospect, I suspect there may have been sugar in the sausages. It’s a surprising addition, but often there. Especially since yesterday I felt I was relapsing a bit with the candida… I was craving sugar and was in a bit of a bad headspace and had a balloon belly (bloated). I couldn’t pin it down, but today, I’m thinking it was probably the sausage. Given that it wasn’t horrible, it just means that I have to watch how much I consume.
All in all, I’d happily recommend this place to anyone for any reason. When my parents finally come down to visit, you can be sure I’m taking them to T.C. Eggington’s.
