Country Kitchen - 21

Date: 10/23

Restaurant: Country Kitchen   
Address: 339 Sunapee St.
City: Newport
Phone: 863-7881
        
   
Potatoes ***
Kind: Deep fried home fries. No matter how good they are, we can't give deep fried breakfast potatoes anything higher than a 3. It just isn't right. Breakfast potatoes shouldn't be dunked in oil, they should be grilled, right next to your eggs and bacon, until they are cooked through and the edges are crisp. These were not that, they were fried, but for fried, they were pretty good. Seemed to be fresh cut with some skin still on and I got a taste of dirt with one of mine.

Muffin *****
Kind: Low-fat Apple, Carrot & Raisin   
Homemade? Yes
Delicious. We had it grilled. This was a very flavorful (cinnamon and allspice we think) muffin that was super moist and held together well. They didn't do a good job of cutting it in half evenly, thankfully Sven is a nice guy and made sure I had an extra bite off the big half. 
    
   

SERVER RECOMMENDATION
Our server didn't really seem too thrilled about anything. She did say that the pancakes and omelets were really good, but I think only because she didn't know what else to say.        
   

Country Special. Mmmm...french fries for breakfast!

SVEN'S CHOICE **** Country Special
English muffin topped with sausage patties, poached eggs and sausage gravy. Served with home fries. It was pretty much a heart attack on a plate. Sven said it was good, but not as good as the sausage gravy at Blackwater Junction.

Mini Omelet. Not so mini.

OLGA'S CHOICE **** Mini Veggie Omelet w/home fries and biscuit
At Country Kitchen you have a choice of omelet size, regular or mini. The mini is made with 3 eggs and the regular is 5! Three was enough for me, especially because it was stuffed with mushrooms, onions, peppers, broccoli and cheddar cheese. I substituted a homemade biscuit for toast and kind of wish I hadn't. The biscuit was quite large, but also pretty dry. Dryer than your average biscuit that is. I can see how it would have been fine covered in sausage gravy, but even with lots of butter and jam, it was hard to swallow. The omelet was perfectly cooked and quite good.

SERVICE ***
Our server didn't seem very happy. Kind of grumpy actually. She did her job, but didn't add anything to our experience.

DECOR **
At first glance we gave the decor a 3, but after looking around a bit we dropped it down to a 2. The coolest thing about the place was the double curve counter. Other than that the place looked pretty dated with no character.   
    
   
CLEANLINESS **
The place definitely could have been cleaner!   
    
   
NOTES
When we arrived at 7:30 am, there were 23 cars in the parking lot. That says something! Well, it says that either the place is really good, or it's the only place for miles around. I think both reasons are feasible. This place is not afraid of substitutions on the their menu. There is even a list of possible substitution. Homemade toast is available for extra. Big breakfast menu.

SVEN'S TAKE
The Country Kitchen doesn't exactly feel like a well kept secret . . . more like a solidly-above average eatery with an invariably big crowd. Truth is, every time I've eaten there, it felt like I was escorted to the last available table, and if it had been any more crowded I would have had to wait. That's usually the result of good eats; and the Country Kitchen mostly lives up to that reputation. The one standout item was the low fat muffin -- easily one of the best baked goods we've had on the endeavor. I found myself very suspicious that it wasn't really low fat, because nothing low fat could be that good. Most of the other items were just adequate . . . solid, tasty, and pretty much forgotten by mid day.