Murray's - 20

Date: 10/9

Restaurant: Murray's   
Address: 14 Westminster Street   
City: Walpole   
Phone: 603-756-3426

Breakfast Hours: All day       

Sven had a gig on the Green Mountain Flyer this past Saturday so we headed out early and somewhat local. If you are looking for a good, inexpensive, local place, where the cook makes it just the way you want, then Murray's is the place! We were definitely pleased and are a little bit sad that we won't be able to eat breakfast there again for quite a while, but no ones says we can't go there for lunch!
   
   
Potatoes ****
Kind: Home fries.
Sven requested the potatoes to be well done. And guess what folks, that's how we got them! YAY! Guess there is a first time for everything! Sven said he had a few that weren't fully cooked through and I actually thought they could have used a little more grease. I can't believe I am saying that, and it could have been due to the extra cooking or even the kind of potato, maybe, but I found them to be a little bit dry. Other than that, they were good. Nice crispy edges. We were both finally happy with our breakfast potatoes!

Ahhh...crispy edges!

   
Toast ****
Kind: Rye   
Homemade? No
       

SERVER RECOMMENDATION
The server didn't have much in the way of recommendations. She did recommend the Monte Cristo, but it seemed she was only doing that because it was on the Specials Board.        
   

SVEN'S BREAKFAST **** Big Omelet
Sven is giving this a STRONG 4. Cooked just right and loaded with sausage, red onions, fresh mushrooms (which were cooked perfectly), tomatoes, green peppers and cheddar cheese. Came with toast and had to order the side of potatoes.

OLGA'S BREAKFAST **** Egg McMurray
The standard breakfast sandwich: fried egg with bacon and cheese on an english muffin. It was as good of a breakfast sandwich as I have had anywhere. It was warm, the cheese was good and melty, and the bacon was cooked perfectly. Both of our breakfasts were served with a small slice of watermelon, which was a really nice touch and a great way to end the meal. 

SERVICE ***** 
The service was excellent. Our server was on top of things and took care of our every need. The cook (who we later found out, is also the owner) was very personable and spent a few minutes talking baseball with Sven before we left.        
    
   

DECOR ***
Small, cozy and charming with counter seating, as well as, a number of tables. An assortment of paintings and photographs covered the walls and we both really liked the floor to ceiling window that made up the front wall of the restaurant.
    
       
      
NOTES
A nice small town kind of place that seemed to have some regular clientele of local older folks (at least at 6:45 on a Saturday morning). Although there weren't a lot of breakfast specials on the board, there were some lunch specials listed and they all looked really good.

SVEN'S TAKE
Walpole, NH -- as opposed to North Walpole, NH or Walpole, MA -- is by and large a white collar town. The Walpole Grocery sells gluten-free organic flour; the Walpole Tavern sells $10 burgers and craft-brewed beer; and the local chocolatier has branch stores in Manhattan and Cambridge. Now don't get me wrong. Sven and Olga love that stuff, too; but it is hardly the spot I would go to find a salt-of-the-earth diner.

That's why it is especially surprising, and nice, to duck into Murray's Diner, right next to the aforementioned Tavern. This past weekend the diner was already showing signs of local life at 6:30 AM when we ducked in and grabbed a seat at the counter. The fixed stools at the counter were half full; and the half-dozen or so tables were filling up quick. Nevertheless, we were greeted quickly by the owner with a couple of cups of coffee, before he headed off into the mostly-visible kitchen to get back to his principal duties. Murray's has a comfortable, lived-in feel, with no signs of pretension. The walls show the clear signs that this place is part of the fabric of the community -- lots of fliers announcing local events, photos, and such. Turns out (as we later learned) that it HAS been part of the fabric of the local scene for about 30 years, with the same owner/cook manning the grill for the whole ride.

In 30 years, Tom Murray has learned a bit about cooking breakfast. That much was clear. My omelet was outstanding, with a lot of flavor inside. And the potatoes were great. Not the best I ever had, but certainly the best I have had in a long while on this quest for the perfect NH breakfast. When I struck up a conversation (completely coincidental) with Tom at a party later that night, he was the first to say that he wasn't cooking with his best potatoes. "I like to cook with Canadians, but right now I can't get them, so I'm using Eastern shore potatoes," he said, before launching into a monologue about the merits of different spuds. Sweet! Here's a guy who knows potatoes. I can't wait to get back there when he's got his best taters on the grill.