Carver’s
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When I walked off 1st Avenue, an offshoot of the main Diamond Springs Road through town, I would’ve sworn it was closed. A breakfast restaurant at 7:45 on a Tuesday closed? It can’t be. And, it wasn’t. From the outside, the inside looks black. Step through the doors and stained glass lampshades hanging from the ceiling accent the daylight, dominantly with a pale amber hue. It was early enough that they got to scribbling Cobb salad in creamsicle chalk on the specials board behind the booth I spotted into moments after I’d walked in. But, at around 8:20, it really began to fill up. Some took to the front counter, two gents talking baseball for a time—wins and predictions. “We’re mixing it up,” bellowed a woman as she and a bald fellow with a horseshoe mustache, landed in a booth, obviously at an unexpected time. The clientele is very much a assemblage of the town, and you feel it more probably because of the noticeable lack of music and adamant NO WIFI stance; the clicheed words “NO WIFI Talk to Eachother” chalked onto a mini chalkboard held by a hog chef above the fresh bread case. You will hear the usual breakfast clamor and the many magnificent orders, but too the tear of the paper holding your silverware with sound quite noticeably. One other thing: the Red Rooster Inn memorabilia cannot be overlooked. A hanging rooster at the front and, in the bathroom, a canvas along with a RED ROOSTER BRAND COFFEE NAVARRE, OHIO label in a hinged frame, a theme was indisputable. I asked my waiter friend with the top knot, and he passed along the question to the kitchen. “Just some decor they found when they moved in,” he, the terminal point of a radio transmission, said to me. Just keeping around the past for funsies? I cock-a-doodle-didn’t see that coming (this is what happens when you’re a writer without an editor).
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Drink: Coffee
My coffee came in a mug with a cinched waist—I don’t find myself typing that statement everyday. However, it’s an important note given that this shape is but one of the numerous options possible. When I had walked in, I noticed these deep marine turquoise no slip mats. I thought they were a bit odd when I walked in. Then, I witnessed their utility in action—the other half of the waiting duo rushing to the booth in front of me with more than one mug and spillage as she went. She wasn’t clumsy, no, she was ambitious—filling each mug all the way to the top. That’s the hustle I love to see. The coffee itself is really pleasant, definitely a medium roast seemingly with a butterscotch or toffee tasting note undergirding the entire flavor profile. While I got an omelet, I can only imagine that it goes amazingly with their pancakes (according to their menu, they are the best in New Jersey). The dude in the hoodie with the pink top knot still offered me more coffee on my last few bites. For this, they win my undying loyalty.
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Food: Garden Avocado Omelet
My first instinct was to get pancakes, but when I say I’m so glad I didn’t, I’m SO glad I didn’t. While the name seems self-explanatory to a degree, avocado is somehow not listed among the asparagus, broccoli, tomato, and red onion ingredients. This omelet was almost the length of my two forearms and definitely the width of two of my arms. It was so layered with vegetables and avocado that it had the striations of a baklava. They must give up a WHOLE DARN avocado in there. The avocado, with its less solid texture, almost adopts the cheese’s role. I couldn’t even finish it. While the egg-to-potato ratio was off, the home fries were delicious—onions smartly added. I asked for hot sauce and got Cholula. Acceptable. This breakfast spot also deserves a standing ovation for the bread options. They bake is all fresh: WHITE, WHOLE WHEAT, RYE, MULTIGRAIN, CINNAMON RAISIN, MULTIGRAIN RAISIN, ONION RYE, SOUR DOUGH WHITE. I had to try the multigrain raisin, and it was an experience. The flavor was so different from what I’m used to. I’d go in every day just to change up all the elements of my classic diner breakfast, from the bread to the main course. I’ll conclude with this: without a doubt, this breakfast is one of the most beautiful I’ve had in years.