Over Easy...

As the weather cools, the system needs a bit more fuel in the morning to start the machinery for the days challenges. I had the opportunity to stoke the furnace yesterday morning at Linda’s, the venerable…. hmmmm, café, diner, dive, greasy spoon, (pick one) here in Lexington Park. It’s long been a gathering place for local “regulars”, characters, and notables as well as a popular luncheon spot for more professional people from “the base”. They do serve dinner, but I have never partaken of that meal.

As loyal long time readers know, I am a big fan of places that fall into the “just right” category (as in St. James Pub for lunch). I really think that maybe Linda’s deserves that accolade for breakfast. Yesterday I arrived at probably past peak hours, but there were still several tables occupied. One was a group of what looked like golfers, attired in sporty sweaters, pull over’s, and sleeveless things with script on them. Another contained a slightly disheveled elderly mother and daughter, there was a family with little kids getting a treat. At one point a gentlemen arrived with an open flannel shirt and one of those key chain things that looped below his knee, coming back up to a leather pouch tucked into well worn jeans. He went directly to the counter for a china mug of coffee..My companion observed I just missed the (almost legendary) J. Frank Raley, a daily customer. The paneled walls are covered with kitschy stuff, paper place mats with those little ads on them, rolled up tools (knife and fork). Smells of bacon and grease pervade the air, a real breakfast treat. The staff joins in the theme as some look like they just got out of bed and raced to work as well. Linda herself was ensconced in the kitchen at the flat top busily turning out the food. As a parallel with SJP, white boards are everywhere with specials listed by number (just right). The menu is still a large laminated list of the usual suspects.

Our table ordered a ham and cheese omelet, and I had the corned beef hash, with two eggs “how would you like those?” over, please. “easy or medium”, medium please. “toast or muffins?” toast, please. “white, wheat, or rye?”. Pencil busily recording selections on a green note pad. Just right. Cold beverages are served in thick plastic glasses of varying size. I was a little surprised at the length of time it took for our food to arrive, given eggs are usually pretty quick to be cooked, and probably piles bacon and other meats are kept on the grill, but anyway, arrive they did. Mine was on one of those thick oval china plates, the corned beef slightly inching its way toward the edge, the eggs a bit “off center” with the “over” side up, little pools of grease in the brown pockets. The hash was a combination of crunchy and creamy with some burned edges here and there. The eggs were the perfect consistency viscous without being runny. Great. The ham and cheese chunks of the omelet were trying their best to punch through the egg jacket, a real hearty dish. The potatoes along side were also charred on the edges, and were hunks, not those stupid little shredded things that sometimes appear as breakfast potatoes. The communal toast was served in a red plastic basket, with diagonally sliced pieces of bread lathered with that white stuff, probably applied by a brush. what else!

Everything was tasty and hot, service a bit spotty, like requiring some heavy eye contact to get a water glass refilled, but it’s all part of the show. The real deal breakfast package.

Later on in the day, as part of a little ceremony honoring some of the Jesuits who sold their land to the state, I was a hanger on for a little lunch at Café Des Artistes in Leonardtown. Was an interesting contrast from the breakfast experience as the clientele for lunch was markedly different. Neither set of diners would be comfortable if they switched venues. Have recently commented on CDA’s luncheon, so won’t do it again here. Was very good, with an excellent lentil(?) soup. The luncheon with the Jesuits was fun, they were a knowledgeable couple of guys, and I had to forgive one for being an alum of that school in South Bend. He did thank me for the Spartans gift of the football game a couple of weeks ago. We then adjourned to the Chapel Field at Historic St. Mary’s city to show them the restored brick chapel, and an excellent tour by Dr. Henry Miller. What a great place to live..

Of course, they had no issues with
DF(L)