Hello, My New Old Friend

When I was growing up, my mom worked in a bakery. Every night, they could only save so many donuts for the next day, so my mom would bring home some of those destined for the dumpster for our breakfast. My friends thought I was the luckiest kid in town; I got to eat donuts for breakfast every morning. And they were great donuts. But no matter how decadent the food, after I ate the same thing every day I inevitably grew sick of donuts. By high school, I wouldn't touch them.

I became reacquainted with the donut in college when I spent a summer working at Dunkin' Donuts. I made a whole quarter above minimum wage, which was gold at the time. The bad part was, my shift started at 4am, and my friends constantly made "Time to make the donuts" jokes. The good news was my shift ended at 10am, and I hated donuts so I was never tempted to snack. My disdain for donuts only intensified after leaving work every day reeking of cheap, mass-produced donut.

I do eat the occasiona Krispy Kreme when it's free at work, but they're not as good as the glazed donuts from the bakery I grew up on. But, alas, I've finally found a donut I can get behind:

The Maple Bacon Donut from the Nickel Diner. Now, the donut itself still isn't as good as my childhood donut, but the subtle, sweet maple combined with the smoky, salty bacon is magic.

The other food was good, too. I couldn't decide between breakfast and lunch, so I chose the pulled pork hash which seemed somewhere in the middle. The bbq sauce had a nice kick and I love poached eggs.



The 5th and Main. I forgot to take the photo before I broke open one of my eggs.


Hubs had the French Toast which was a hearty portion. It had a flavor our palates couldn't quite single out. Orange, maybe?

Cinnamon Brioche French Toast

I liked the ambiance at the Nickel Diner. It felt like a larger version of the Nite Owl in L.A. Confidential with the open kitchen and high ceiling. I look forward to going back and trying their desserts.