Park it on the Bench for a hearty breakfast

John Volo

My wife and I took advantage of a break in the weather and walked

from our house to the Park Bench Cafe for a noontime breakfast.

The Park Bench Cafe is in Central Park, just east of Goldenwest

Street. Walking through the park, we witnessed the positive effects

of the heavy rains (a full lake and greener grass) as well as the

negative (decades-old trees uprooted).

On previous visits, the Park Bench has similarly shown two sides

-- fantastic breakfast fare in a nice setting, coupled with service

that rarely rose above adequate. On this day, however, our service

was as shining as the sun.

We seated ourselves at an outdoor table (one of 10 available) and

positioned ourselves (backs to Goldenwest) so we could look out over

the scenic beauty that is Central Park. Kathleen, our attentive

server, quickly brought us a couple of beverages. My wife got the

fresh squeezed orange juice ($1.99), while I enjoyed a warm mocha

($2.50) in an oversized mug (think soup bowl with a handle).

We were both famished, so we requested a cinnamon roll ($2.75).

This is no gooey mall-bought cinnamon roll, but rather a cake-like

creation smothered with a sweet homemade icing (a mixture of cream

cheese, butter, vanilla and sugar). Cinnamon roll is actually a

misnomer in this case. The brick-shaped pastry is more like a

cinnamon loaf (good thing we were sharing). It was so tasty we fought

for the last bite.

I opted for the Park Scramble ($7.75) -- crispy bacon chunks,

thinly sliced mushrooms and onions are scrambled with eggs. The

choice of sides includes two pancakes or toast, and one of the

following: home fries (my recommendation), fresh fruit, sliced

tomatoes or cottage cheese.

As I opted out of the onions, my Park Scramble had equal parts

egg, bacon and mushroom. So, depending on how you look at it, I

either got a lot of bacon and mushrooms, or not quite enough eggs.

Either way, it was delicious. I chose toast (rye) and home fries to

accompany the scramble. The home fries are poker chip-sized slices of

potato topped with melted cheese. Always a sure bet.

My wife got the Lumberjack ($8.99), never mind that she’s never

even thrown a Duraflame on the fire. This hearty breakfast consists

of three pancakes, two eggs, home fries and a choice of bacon, ham or

sausage. As advertised, the pancakes were fluffy and the bacon crisp.

She must have worked up a real hunger on the walk over, because she

ate nearly all of it. Her other favorite is the spinach and cheese

(cheddar and jack) omelet. It’s almost crepe-like, the way a thin

layer of egg envelops the spinach covered with melted cheese.

Aside from the park scramble I had, they also have a veggie

scramble, a steak scramble, and a new addition -- the chorizo

scramble, which I’ll be sure to try next time.

Taking the scramble to the next level, they have a farm breakfast

that puts a scramble over home fries and tops it with melted cheese

and fresh avocado.

On the lighter side, the Park Bench offers a ground turkey omelet,

an Egg Beaters omelet and a bowl of hot oatmeal with a choice of two

of the following: brown sugar, raisins, granola, cinnamon or walnuts.

On the sweeter side, it offers a strawberry waffle with whipped

cream; blueberry pancakes and cinnamon roll French toast dusted with

powdered sugar. For those who’d rather eat inside, they do have four

tables. And for those who’d rather lunch, they have a variety of

burgers and sandwiches.

After a fulfilling (and filling) mid-day breakfast, we lumbered

home, marveling at the splendor of Mother Nature.

* JOHN VOLO is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail [email protected]