I've been hearing about Crossroads Diner for over a year each morning on my way to school, because they advertise using personal testimony ads given by the Deejays on the local talk station (570AM). Let me tell you, those testimonials would persuade a drowning man to buy a bottled water from Crossroads Diner. So when my husband told me he wanted to take me on a breakfast date, I picked Crossroads.
The decor is an example of what seems to be becoming standard for back-to-basics-done-really-well gourmet American fare; clean, industrial, with interesting, artistic light fixtures and semi-thematic bric-a-brak on the walls. For what it is, however, Crossroads Diner's decor excels in its category.
My husband and I ordered quickly, and while I was curious to try something a little more unique from their menu, I've learned that the true test of a great breakfast establishment is how well they do the staples, especially eggs. So I ordered the sausage, eggs, and cheese grits, which came with a biscuit and gravy, and my husband tried out the Crossroads Special of Cinnamon Pecan bread pudding french toast.
Even while we waited for our food, I was excited to see the accouterments plate arrive, because I had heard many times in the commercial that Crossroads makes everything from scratch, even their jams! There is something to be said for marketing that makes your patrons excited to see their butter and jam arrive before they even have anything to put it on.
When our meals arrived, my plate looked about as one would expect; eggs, grits, gravy and biscuits can only look so many ways. But the sausage was clearly a homemade patty, and upon tasting it it was clear that it was Crossroads' own special sausage. The grits hit a perfect balance of garlic and white cheddar cheese, with a texture of rougher, larger grits than many places offer. When I say a perfect balance, I mean it- in fact, if I had realized the "cheese grits" were garlicky I probably wouldn't have ordered them, because I have had my face explode with over-seasoned, garlicky grit bombs too many times. But at Crossroads, the garlic did what it was supposed to do- it amplified the savoriness of the cheddar and accompanied the lovely al dente of the grits without seizing a starring role on my palate.
The final and true test was the eggs, which were just barely on the easy side of over medium- still within acceptable range to classify as medium, but perhaps a tad runnier than perfection. Not bad for a full dining room in my experience. My repeated comments on the biscuits was that for that particular dish, it felt like there should have been two. This was in part because I both wanted to make a sausage biscuit and wanted to try the famous homemade jams, and not because the meal lacked a nice balance of protein and starch. Still, it's a high complement when people look at a full plate of satiating food and wish for a bit more! I split the biscuit in half and indulged anyway, and both jams delivered on all expectations.
The bread pudding french toast with whipped cream was an irresistible special that day, but I'll preface my description by saying that after working in the food industry, I've learned to be a bit cautious when ordering a daily special. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but specials go either one of two ways: On one hand, they might just be the chef's whim or inspiration, possibly born out of the abundant availability of seasonal ingredients. On the other, particularly with daily soups, quiches, omelettes, and bread puddings, they offer a chef a means to re-purpose excess ingredients or items from the previous day. (Bread pudding is best made from less-than-fresh breads & pastries). So I expected the bread pudding to be likely comprised of leftover sticky buns from earlier in the week. The thing is, I was pleased to find I was probably right! Crossroads Diner is known for their made-from-scratch pastries, particularly their hot sticky buns, and bread pudding is one of my favorite things. The bread budding was excellent. The whipped cream was a tad overwhipped, so that my husband thought it was a frosting or a pudding, but it's a very minor error and even made it easier to spread on the toast. One thing I will note is that in the bites I stole from his plate, I did find a raisin- if you're squeemish about surprise bits of fruit in your breakfast, take note! My husband also got eggs and chorizo as his sides, and the chorizo again seemed to be made in-house.
It was flaky, airy, buttery, and fresh. I wondered if I should have tried their famous sticky bun instead until I bit into the croissant, and all doubts melted away.
Like many diners, you pay at the front register, and have an opportunity to take home some of the Crossroads fare for your own use at home.
So check it out! It's worth trying- and let me know what you try and what you think in the comments! Let me know if the famous sticky bun is worthy of its hype!
