Stateside’s a sure thing for good breakfast

Meeting friends for breakfast on Sunday morning has to be one of life’s greatest quotidian joys. You talk about your week, you drink too many cups of coffee, and you laugh so hard it can create a bit of a scene. If you can find a place where the quality of food matches the company, even better! Stateside Deli has always come through, and my last visit was no exception.

 I had run out of coffee at home that morning, so I immediately downed my first cup before settling in to peruse the restaurant’s sizable menu, which includes breakfast options like biscuits and gravy, a lox platter, French toast, pancakes and waffles. It also offers turkey bacon and gluten-free toast for those with more specific preferences. I always find myself considering a pastrami or turkey-and-coleslaw sandwich for breakfast, but then I remember their size and how surviving Sunday mornings at Trader Joe’s requires a certain agility and sharpness of mind.

 I landed on the gyro omelet this time, having never tried the omelets before. It comes with a choice of hash browns, a pancake or tomato slices. I got the potatoes, which were just the right combination of crispy and tender. The omelet was overstuffed, as promised, with seasoned lamb gyro meat that was crisped at the edges, caramelized onions, diced tomatoes and melty feta. This would have been excellent on its own, but the side of tzatziki sauce really made it special. I recommend lifting the top half of the omelet and dumping the creamy, tangy sauce inside.

 Another recommendation, from one of my dining companions, is to ask for a side of Stateside’s delectable hollandaise. You’re going to dunk your toast in it and use it to further enhance your potatoes. It’s almost Thanksgiving, so you might as well be decadent until the new year!

Stateside is quiet, with plenty of booths and great servers, and the portions are generous without leaving you in need of a nap if you clean your plate. Unless it’s one of the deli sandwiches.