I am not a gourmand. I am not a connoisseur. My palate is not refined. But I know good scrapple when I taste good scrapple, and Jimmy's Restaurant of Fells Point serves damn fine scrapple. I know what you're thinking. What self-proclaimed food critic would lower himself to eating all the parts of a pig that normal people consider trash? Against my better judgment, and to the disdain of my editor, I'm going to use a cliché. One man's trash is another man's gold. That's right. I said scrapple is gold.
We arrived at Jimmy's around 9:30 a.m. Unless your job rocks as much as mine, you probably don't get paid to go to breakfast, and at this hour on a weekday morning you're spacing out in a gray cubicle somewhere. This morning, a mix of retirees filled in around Jimmy's red and white checkered tablecloths and some dirty work boots lined up along the counter.
The waitress met us promptly with menus as we seated ourselves, and returned just as promptly with our beverages. I'm a fan of those diner mugs covered with advertisements. Jimmy's is just too damn practical to have to remind you where you decided to eat.
I ordered two eggs over medium, home fries, toast and, yes, scrapple. My breakfast partner had the same sans scrapple. Wimp. Before I had time to taste my coffee, the waitress was back with our breakfast. Despite being placed on a ripped tablecloth and a chipped plate, it looked better than I could do at home. I'm not an idiot. I can fry an egg, but it seems I can't fry more than one without breaking some. OK, maybe I am an idiot.
I punctured one egg and yellow protein seeped across my plate. I lapped at it greedily with buttered toast. I dove into home fries fried with onions and green peppers. Though a little mushy, they were better than most greasy spoons.
But I've not yet mentioned that fried brick of gold, what seemed like a quarter pound of heart attack still left on my plate. When I eat, I'm sort of O.C.D. Whatever it is that I think I will enjoy the most is what is last on my plate, so that I can leave the meal with that taste still in my mouth. With this piece of scrapple, I felt like a dog balancing a treat on my nose. Unfortunately for those around me, I probably attacked the meat with less restraint. To those folks, I do not apologize. Scrapple lovers unite!
Dish: The two eggs over medium preserved the sloppy, runny yolk I love without all the nasty white albumin sliding around. That's right, I know what the white of an egg is called. Stop laughing at me and calling me "food dork," or I'll curse you with salmonella. The home fries, as I said, were very good. Toast, 'nuff said. And what else can I say to convince you that scrapple is beautiful, glorious, delectable and delicious?
Damage: Two eggs with meat: $5.25, two eggs without meat: $4.50, small coffee: $1.50.
Total Damage: $11.25. That's only $5.63 a person. Cheap!
Decision: Jimmy's Restaurant is great. The staff is friendly and the food is just like Ma used to make, before she read about low-carb diets in Good Housekeeping, with lots of butter and all the good stuff to make you fat. They also serve lunch and dinner at Jimmy's, and unless you're out to score steak or seafood, or get bombed drinking beer and wine, it's pretty simple to keep it under ten bucks.
We arrived at Jimmy's around 9:30 a.m. Unless your job rocks as much as mine, you probably don't get paid to go to breakfast, and at this hour on a weekday morning you're spacing out in a gray cubicle somewhere. This morning, a mix of retirees filled in around Jimmy's red and white checkered tablecloths and some dirty work boots lined up along the counter.
I ordered two eggs over medium, home fries, toast and, yes, scrapple. My breakfast partner had the same sans scrapple. Wimp. Before I had time to taste my coffee, the waitress was back with our breakfast. Despite being placed on a ripped tablecloth and a chipped plate, it looked better than I could do at home. I'm not an idiot. I can fry an egg, but it seems I can't fry more than one without breaking some. OK, maybe I am an idiot.
I punctured one egg and yellow protein seeped across my plate. I lapped at it greedily with buttered toast. I dove into home fries fried with onions and green peppers. Though a little mushy, they were better than most greasy spoons.
But I've not yet mentioned that fried brick of gold, what seemed like a quarter pound of heart attack still left on my plate. When I eat, I'm sort of O.C.D. Whatever it is that I think I will enjoy the most is what is last on my plate, so that I can leave the meal with that taste still in my mouth. With this piece of scrapple, I felt like a dog balancing a treat on my nose. Unfortunately for those around me, I probably attacked the meat with less restraint. To those folks, I do not apologize. Scrapple lovers unite!
Dish: The two eggs over medium preserved the sloppy, runny yolk I love without all the nasty white albumin sliding around. That's right, I know what the white of an egg is called. Stop laughing at me and calling me "food dork," or I'll curse you with salmonella. The home fries, as I said, were very good. Toast, 'nuff said. And what else can I say to convince you that scrapple is beautiful, glorious, delectable and delicious?
Damage: Two eggs with meat: $5.25, two eggs without meat: $4.50, small coffee: $1.50.
Total Damage: $11.25. That's only $5.63 a person. Cheap!
Decision: Jimmy's Restaurant is great. The staff is friendly and the food is just like Ma used to make, before she read about low-carb diets in Good Housekeeping, with lots of butter and all the good stuff to make you fat. They also serve lunch and dinner at Jimmy's, and unless you're out to score steak or seafood, or get bombed drinking beer and wine, it's pretty simple to keep it under ten bucks.
