Shoemaker's vs. Shoemaker's

If you are unaware the owners of the longtime truck stop on West O street called Shoemaker's split a year or two ago and one of them built a new Shoemaker's directly across the street from the old one.  The new place brought the name with them and the old place is now called the Cobbler Cafe.  My friend Michele gave me the idea to try both places and then blog about which Shoemaker's is better.

New Shoemaker's:

We decided to try the new place first on Halloween morning.  The new building is very large and very nice and when we arrived the restaurant was about 90% full, but we didn't have to wait to be seated.  It seemed to take quite a while for the waitress to come to the table. Took a while to get our drinks. Took a while a get the waitress to come back to take our order.  And that was just the beginning of the waiting.

Abby ordered her usual B&G's, Z his usual Pancakes and bacon, and myself ordered the chicken fried steak and eggs.  It was the first thing on their menu and listed as their "specialty".  Sounded good to me. 

A while after ordering we noticed something very odd:  No one in our entire section of the restaurant had any food.  You could tell people were getting restless, and finally when the table next us got theirs they informed the rest of us in the hungry mass that it took an hour and fifteen minutes from the time they ordered.  A gentleman at the table at the opposite side of us joked about having to change his order from breakfast to lunch.

An hour after ordering we finally got our food.  I'd like to say it was worth the wait, but it wasn't.  Abby's biscuits and gravy had no visible signs of sausage in them and the biscuits were overly chewy.  I would rate my chicken fried steak as average at best.  The coffee was ok, but I never did get the cream that I asked for.  Z had no complaints about the food, and thankfully they had crayons for him to color with.  I wish I could say more about the food specifically, but it's really nothing to write home about. (Man, that is a very lame but true pun)

Old Shoemaker's:

Yesterday we ventured out to the old Shoemakers, now the Cobbler Cafe.  Joining us for breakfast was the Arney family.  The restaurant was busy but we were seated right away.  We arrived before the Arney's so we were not in any sort of a rush, but neither were the wait staff.  Right away I started to notice a trend between the two Shoemakers.  It took 20 minutes for them to bring menus, two of them for the six of us.  I cant remember how long after that it took for them to return take our orders, probably not less than 15 minutes.  After we ordered I really wondered if they completely forgot about us.  It was nice having another family there for the conversation, and the two kids seemed to keep each other occupied. 

Finally, after a solid hour most of our food came.  Biscuits and gravy for Abby, pancakes and sausage for Z, Aleena had toast and scrambled eggs, an omelet covered in chili for Josh (Josh had to wait for his omelet), and the "Benedict Arnold" for Christy and myself.  The "Benedict Arnold" is a layer of hashbrowns topped with eggs and Canadian bacon then topped with another layer of hashbrowns then smothered in hollandaise sauce. They have several varieties of these hashbrown monstrosities and all of them looked pretty good.

The food at the Cobbler Cafe was tons better than the new Shoemaker's.  I liked the Benedict Arnold quite a bit, and I would go back and have it again. Christy agreed.  Zander finished his pancakes and sausage without taking and breath and even stole a piece of toast from Josh.  Abby's biscuits and gravy were very good even though they were lukewarm by the time she got them.  They were the sausage biscuit sandwich covered in gravy variety, and the sausage was remarkably good.  After finally getting his omelet, Josh said that it was good. 

To me it seemed like the Cobbler Cafe offered a lot more variety than the new Shoemaker's and there are several other items that I'd like to go back and try, if I have the time.  They had some gigantic homemade cinnamon rolls that looked phenomenal. 

Verdict:

In the battle of Shoemaker's vs. Shoemaker's I have to say the the OLD place wins.  The Cobbler Cafe's food was better but both places tried VERY hard to lose this battle.  I would caution anyone from trying either place without a couple hours of your day to kill.

Here is an off the cuff rating that I just came up with:
New Shoemakers:
Food - C-  Service - F

Old Shoemakers:
Food- B  Service - D-

Virginia's Travelers Cafe

I remember eating at Virginia's with my parents when I was a kid.  Ironically enough this was the first place that I took my son.  Abby and I were brand new parents and we had been home with our new baby Z for a week or two when cabin fever started to set in.  I don't know why we chose Virginia's, I hadn't been there for close to 20 years, but that is where we had our first family outing.  Our first meal together at a restaurant.  Walking in the doors after all that time was like stepping into a time machine.  Absolutely nothing had changed.  For those of you that haven't been to this hidden gem it's whats most people would call a "greasy spoon".  To me that term is a really poor way to describe the place.  It is a throw back to the classic cafe.  No frills, good food, large portions and an even better price.  I cant remember for sure what I ate but a good guess would be ham and eggs for me and french toast for Abby.  Probably more food than any sane person could eat for a total of around $12 or so. 

Virginia's has turned into our old standby.  When the line at the other place is too long or we just can't decide where to go we head to Virginia's.  We know we are going to get good food at a great price.   The last time we ate there we had tried to go to The Engine House with my parents, grandfather, and brother.  We arrived at The Engine House at the same time as everyone else in Havelock so we headed up the street a way's to Virginia's.  I think the total bill for all seven of us was $48 and everyone was stuffed. 

Abby doesn't rank the biscuits and gravy very high but she really likes the french toast.  Lately I've kind of jumped all over the menu but I've never had anything that I didn't like.  Go eat there, you wont be disappointed. 

Greenfields

I need to start this off by saying we did not intend to go to Greenfields.  In my mind I had lumped it into the same category as Village Inn, Perkins, and IHOP.  Not saying that those places are bad, just that I view them all as being the same.  They are corporate owned and basically have the same menu.  Everything is "OK" but nothing is outstanding.  Our original destination, Stauffer's Cafe, is not open on Sundays and we didn't know that till we drove to the other side of town.  Geenfield's came up so we headed that direction.   The parking lot was packed, but we didn't have to wait more than a couple minutes for a table. For being extremely busy I thought the service was very good.

Abby ordered her staple biscuits and gravy, Z had is usual pancakes and bacon, and I ordered some sort of sampler consisting of eggs, potatoes, pancakes, and bacon.

Abby rates their B&G's as average or slightly below.  The were a slightly different take on the classic.  A sausage patty placed on a biscuit split in half then covered in white gravy. Essentially a sausage sandwich covered in white gravy.  The gravy itself had virtually no flavor, which she found disappointing.  Z rates his meal as "good" and he was happy that they had crayons to occupy his time while waiting. 

I thought the pancakes were pretty good, probably second to Two Twins but the real star was their breakfast potatoes.  They are a cross between home fries and mashed potatoes, I guess I could call them "smashed home fries", and they were amazingly good.  They seemed to be cooked in the left over sausage grease with little pieces of sausage in the potatoes.  Next time I go back I'm just going to order a big plate of them and skip everything else.  I love potatoes, I could eat them every day.  These are the best potatoes I have ever eaten.  Abby agrees.

Even though Abby doesn't rate this restaurant very highly (two separate "Top Lists" coming soon) I disagree. Eating at Greenfield's taught me two things: 1. Leave my preconceived notions about restaurants at home. and 2. Good food can be found anywhere.  Point number 2 drives home point number 1.