Day 268: Orphan Breakfast House (revisited)

On Saturday morning, Mr. E and I decided to go out for brunch and chose to revisit Orphan over in East Sac, as we hadn't been there since June when we met up there with L and R (see previous post). This has been one of our favorite spots, and we've been several times with our monthly brunch group as well. Since the restaurant is open 365 days a year, we also have enjoyed going there for breakfast on Christmas Day a few times when we haven't traveled for the holiday.

We were surprised to notice a significant increase in the menu prices, however (despite the old version of the menu online -- that's poor form).  Almost everything is now $1-$2 more than it used to be, which will likely take this out of circulation for the monthly group, as we try to stick with more affordable options. As an example, Mr. E's French toast (3 big pieces) was $11.50. The only slight redeeming factor is that all of Orphan's prices include tax, so what you see on the menu is the exact cost that appears on the bill.

We had decided in advance to get a pound of Brazil coffee, which was now priced at $17 (previously around $14). The benefit here is that you get 2 free cups of coffee if you buy a pound, so that's a $5.50 value to bring the per pound cost back down to a reasonable level. And Mr. E even got a free refill on his coffee, so the final price of our ground coffee to bring home ended up at $8.75, which is quite a bargain.

All of the food is still fresh and wonderful. We waited about 10-15 minutes to be seated, and our food came out quickly, so we were in and out in about 1 hour total. Much, much better than the lunch experience at 33rd Street Bistro that I described in an earlier post. And frankly, Orphan was much busier and had a steadier stream of customers, and yet somehow the staff and kitchen have figured out how to expedite the food in an efficient manner. Yay!