316 W Holly Street, Bellingham, WA
Full disclosure: my very thrifty father was has never been one for eating out in restaurants. For years he maintained a beautiful vegetable garden, and one of the joys of visiting him was getting to eat fresh green beans and salads and squash. (He never did figure out how to get tomatoes to grow regularly here, with all the rain, alas.) But Old Town Cafe is a spot we'd usually visit once on my summer visits. So what I'm trying to say is -- even my frugal father, my prudent Pop, thinks this place is worth your time and money. Let's head south of downtown and try!
An old menu? I think so! Let's head on in! (Am I the only person who would have ordered the fried young beef liver 70 years ago? Maybe!)
Vibe: Classic and Crowded for Many Good Reasons
Song heard: None! No radio playing on this early morning!
Coffee: Rich and smooth and my favorite so far.
Did the yolk pop like it should?: Perfectly. There's a lot to say about the EB here, which is not in fact called an EB -- it's called the NUMBER NINE, and it's amazing. You standard order comes with no ham and that's actually fine -- the sauce, not quite Hollandaise, something a little more savory and cheesy, is fantastic. If you're going to break the rules, break all of them!
Can I sit and read a while?: On a weekday morning, yes. On a weekend, probably not -- for good reason, this place does feed a lot of hungry people.
Price: $19.26 (Superb Value Alert)
So simple. So beautiful. And so radical! The NUMBER NINE, a ham-less EB. You can order ham but I was just fine with this -- more of a buttery cheesy sauce than a straight-up Hollandaise, and black beans instead of hash browns. Nothing here is going to waste, even the lovely tomato slices. Some green hot sauce on the beans, and you're ready to rock.
I got here extremely early on a weekday morning, so maybe I missed out a little on the regular ambience. Then again, I had the whole place almost to myself to wolf down a miraculous, idiosyncratic, take on my beloved Eggs Benedict.
Run, don't walk.
Overall:
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