In Search of Breakfast …

Other than our friends there isn’t much we miss about DC—at least yet. Except maybe our yard, but that is more for the dog’s convenience than ours. And maybe our favorite restaurant, Mark’s Kitchen.

Mark’s was our comfort place where we went to relax and have nice meals served by people who quickly became our friends. We went every Sunday, and sometimes more often than that. But Sundays were special to us. When we were going to yoga classes, we would stop by immediately aftwards. When we weren’t, we would go early to avoid the rush. The place was so much like our own home, that Mark and the staff (Hi Kate, Ann, Sarah, Benji and Kiran!) would just laugh as we cleared our own tables, or got up to get any condiments we might want. A few times Mark called us honorary staff members and would knock 20 percent off our check.

When we left for Vermont, we half-jokingly said that job number one was to find a place for our special Sunday breakfast. We knew we couldn’t ever replace Mark’s Kitchen—especially not the numerous vegetarian and Korean options on the menu—but we hoped we would find a place to relax on Sunday mornings.

Our first attempt was a place across the street from our flat, named The Coffee Corner, but that plan fell through after a less than good experience with a lunch the second day we arrived. The fries were crap, the burger bland, and they left out the cole slaw despite promising Sarah it was in the bag. All that, and it was expensive. We may give it another chance for breakfast, but first impressions are lasting ones.

Our next attempt was a place called The Wayside Restaurant & Bakery. We had passed it a few times on our way to and from our storage facility in Barre. It looked almost like a truck stop, and the parking lot was packed with cars (not trucks) each time we drove by it. After getting a second opinion (so to speak) from Jessamyn we decided to give it a try.

The Wayside ends up being a great little spot. There isn’t much on the lunch and dinner menu for vegetarians such as Sarah but the breakfast menu has plenty of options. The place is clean, the wait staff very friendly, and the prices are amazing. We can both eat for under $15 and be stuffed for hours. It’s not Mark’s Kitchen, but that’s okay. Vermont isn’t Maryland either. We weren’t looking to replace our favorite restaurant in Maryland, so much as find a new place to spend our lazy Sunday mornings. We’ll certainly miss our friends at Mark’s, but The Wayside suits us just fine.