Yolkin' It

Yesterday was as pretty close as humanly possible to a perfect day, and I credit that perfection to starting the day off perfectly with breakfast at the Broken Yolk.

Noe and I happened upon the Broken Yolk during the fall of 2007, when we had first moved to Connecticut. We used to get up early and go walking every morning (a habit we could probably use to start again). The Broken Yolk occupies a very unassuming position in the middle of our residential neighborhood. It looks like a yellow house until you get close enough to see the signs.

The exterior of the Broken Yolk
(photo by Brian Samas)

After walking past it every day for a couple months, curiosity got the best of us one weekend and we decided to walk down for breakfast.

The Yolk is very small inside. There's the grill and dish area (calling it a kitchen seems to imply that it is its own room, which it isn't) surrounded on three sides by a counter and stools and then four or five four-person booths along the back wall. There's nothing fancy about the interior - the walls could probably use a paint job and the booths are not exactly what I would call comfortable - but it's a diner. Who's looking for fanciness?

The coffee is strictly diner-grade: think of that weirdly strong yet somewhat watery cooked-down variety that you used to find in gas stations before they all went "gourmet." But the food...

Noe normally gets an omelet with two or three different things in it. The Yolk's three-egg omelets are pretty sizable, and they pack them with the selected fillings. Bacon, tomato and cheddar is always a good pick; as is standard ham and cheese. They have a good selection of meats and veggies to choose from, including soy sausage for those who want protein of the non-flesh variety.

I usually alternate between the same two menu items. Number one is the two-egg breakfast, a classic diner combo of two eggs any way you like them (I prefer over-medium); two pieces of toast; bacon, ham, or sausage; and - last but not least - the fantastic Broken Yolk potatoes, which accompany almost anything on the menu. The perfectly seasoned potatoes are always cooked to perfection - firm enough to bite into, but soft enough to melt in your mouth. Even though I can almost never finish my portion, I consider the potatoes an integral part of a Broken Yolk breakfast.

My other staple from the Breakfast Menu - when I'm feeling more decadent - is Eggs Benedict (right). I am an Eggs Benedict junkie and have ordered them in numerous restaurants and have tasted a number of creative variations. The Broken Yolk version is the classic - two poached eggs served over Canadian bacon on a split and tasted English muffin, all smothered with Hollandaise sauce. The Yolk's rich, buttery Hollandaise is the perfect consistency, and there's enough of the velvety sauce to cover and dip the rest of the dish in without it being smothered and overpowered. (However, there is nothing the Broken Yolk can do to prevent the immense guilt factor that comes with eating anything smothered in Hollandaise sauce - you can feel the calories adding up, I swear.)

I have actually never ordered any of what I refer to as the "carb-based breakfasts" - waffles, French toast, pancakes - because I really enjoy my egg-based breakfasts. However, our good friend Brian Samas, a Broken Yolk enthusiast and amateur photographer (he took some of these great Broken Yolk pictures) has ordered just about every special the Yolk has ever offered - I'd ask him if you need an opinion.

Service at the Yolk can be a bit spotty - it's generally one or two waitresses running the show, the grill is pretty small, and the restaurant can get packed with the after-church crowd on weekends. Everyone I have dealt with there has been friendly, but I wouldn't recommend going to the Yolk if you're in a hurry.

Noe, Brian, Delara and I outside the Yolk in the summer.

But if you're ever in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of New London and you're looking for a good, classic breakfast to be enjoyed at leisure, check out the Broken Yolk. You can view the restuarant and menu here: http://brokenyolkcafe.net/.