The Fort - 10

Date: 7/8/10

Address: 151 Heater Rd.
City: Lebanon
Phone: 448-5512

Breakfast Hours: 24 hours/day

Sven and I were on our way to see the Ryan Montbleau Band play a free show in Colburn Park in Lebanon and decided we would take advantage of a nearby 24-hour breakfast joint and have breakfast for dinner. We were pretty excited about this place, as I had read some reviews online and was eager to check it out.

I think it is fair to say that Sven and I both have mixed feelings about this place. How could we not love a truck stop restaurant that houses an amazing pastry case filled with homemade pies, cakes and muffins and offering whoopie pies the size of your head for sale in the attached store! The people were great and the menu looked intriguing. Unfortunately the food was a bit disappointing. Everything I saw come out of the kitchen looked really good. The burgers looked great, as did the homemade onion rings. Maybe being dinner time, the cook didn't really know how to knock out a killer breakfast. Who knows, but we both left feeling like we wanted to give the place another chance.



STANDARD - 2 eggs OE, potatoes, bacon, toast

Eggs *** 


Potatoes ***
Kind: Deep fried.
Even though they were deep fried, they were not overly greasy and they accommodated Sven's "extra done, please". 


Toast ****
Kind: Wheat
Homemade? Y
While we were waiting for our breakfast I asked our server if the bread was homemade. She said they had both and that she had ordered the homemade for Sven without asking him, because it was better. Definite bonus points for that!


Bacon ***
Not a lot of flavor and kind of chewy like it had been nuked.
 


Muffin ****
Kind: Blueberry
Homemade? Y
They had 4 or 5 different homemade muffins to choose from, and I kind of wish we had gone with the Strawberry Cheesecake muffin, but Sven is the "muffin guy" and I agree with him, there is nothing like a good blueberry muffin. Well, it was huge, grilled and loaded with blueberries, unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of flavor.
 


SERVER RECOMMENDATION
The server recommended the omelets and raved about the Cruller French Toast. We really debated this one. Seriously, a donut made into french toast? Probably pretty stinkin' good, but Sven wouldn't commit to eating half of it, and that was way more sweet than I wanted to have for dinner.


SPECIAL/OMELET **
There were two Mexican-themed items on the menu. One of them came in a tortilla and since Sven had Huevos Rancheros last week I felt, for variety sake, it would be best to order the Eggs Las Migas...Corn tortilla chips cooked with scrambled eggs and salsa, topped with melted cheddar and served with home fries. Unfortunately the salsa had a bit of a funky thing going on, like it was just on the verge of going bad. I should have mentioned something to the server while I was eating it, but I didn't. Sven mentioned it after the meal, and hopefully they checked it out. The chips were kind of rubbery. We suspect this was due to them nuking the dish to melt the cheese on top. Over all, it was pretty poor. I like to eat a lot, often even if the food isn't all that great, but I couldn't eat much of this dish. I am, however, more than willing to give these guys another chance. I may just have to get the Cruller French Toast next time!

SERVICE ****+
Our server was great. She was super friendly and helpful. Her mother, who does all the baking, was sitting at the end of the counter, and our server engaged her in a conversation with us about the muffins and what kind we should get. Her mother wasn't any help saying "I don't eat them, I just bake them". I don't recall our coffee cups being refilled, but we were so enamored with the place we didn't notice.
 


DECOR ****
The place consisted of a U-shaped counter and booths. Sven, being the thoughtful guy he is, led me around to the far side of the counter and sat me down at seat #13, my favorite number. This added to my fondness for the place. There were lots of Independence Day decorations still up, but it seemed that even without them, there would be quite a number of American flags decorating the place.


CLEANLINESS ****
Neither of us noticed it not being clean.


BATHROOMS ***
The restrooms were pretty clean for being heavily used. I didn't notice them in the Women's room, but the Men's room had showers available.

SVEN'S TAKE
Olga is really not exaggerating about the whoopee pies as big as your head, which reminds me (sounds of music playing as the the screen spins counter clockwise and fades to flashback mode) . . . It was the early 90s and my band had just finished playing a gig at the Newport in Columbus, OH, which is a great college town smack-dab in the middle of the state. After the show, we wandered through the streets of Columbus, past reveling college students and animated street personalities. Eventually, we found our way to a little burrito joint with a sign boasting "Burritos as Big and Your Head!" Perfect, I thought. I can do that. And so I walked inside with my chest puffed out, ready to accept the challenge and order the famed Burrito as big as my head. But, friend, I did not order the Burrito as big as my head; for when I saw the menu behind the counter, there were only three items on it — Burrito, Burrito as Big as Your Head, and Burrito Even Bigger Than Your Head . . .

(To Be Continued).