It’s a bad combination when your new favorite restaurant also happens to be convenient to a driving route that you travel at least three days a week.

Such is the case with Bernie’s Foreside, which opened this spring at 204 Route 1 in Falmouth. This is a sister restaurant to Bernie’s Place, just up the road in the Falmouth Shopping Center. Bernie’s Foreside specializes in breakfast and lunch, and it does both spectacularly well. It has a sit-down restaurant on one side, and shares take-out space with Mister Bagel on the other.

Additional Photos

The lunch crowd at Bernie’s Foreside tucks in. Photos by John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Server Judy Dyer hoists a couple of Burn Dog plates (hot dog with sauerkraut and side of fries).

I stopped for lunch on a hot weekend afternoon. I went with a friend, whose appetite exceeds even my own. He ordered a Reuben sandwich with fries ($7.75), while I packed away something called the Cape Cod Wrap ($7). We each ordered a cup of clam chowder ($4).

His sandwich was served with lean corned beef, sauerkraut, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese between two grilled pieces of marble rye. It looked stunning, with melted cheese mingling with the dressing dripping over the sides. The sandwich was lightly grilled, but done just right — so much so the kraut even had grill marks on it. The presentation was perfect, with fries overflowing the plate.

As my friend said, “This sandwich was well-attended to.” Our compliments to the chef.

The taste was perfect too. How do I know? Because my buddy, who is generous by nature, refused to offer a sample. He consumed the whole thing on his own, thank you very much.

Then again, I offered him none of my wrap, either. The Cape Cod included a huge portion of fresh chicken salad with cashews, cranberries, lettuce, tomato, diced carrots and sprouts. I knew it was going to be good the moment it arrived, because each half was easily the size of my fist. When I lifted it off the plate, it actually felt heavy. This was no wimpy wrap. This was truly a man-worthy sandwich.

The taste was unique. Lots of places serve chicken salad with walnuts, and many more serve chicken salad with walnuts and sliced green grapes. But I have never tasted chicken salad with cranberries, and the berries added a slightly tart flavor.

The carrots were a nice addition, and I especially appreciated the texture of the sprouts. This wrap left nothing to be desired, except a second helping.

Instead of fries, I opted for a side of potato salad. It was chunky and fresh, and made with a mustard-mayo mix that complemented the potatoes instead of dominating them. Perfect.

My friend called the chowder “decadent.” It was super-creamy, which likely did nothing good for our cholesterol. But we had plenty of clam bits in each spoonful, along with chunks of potato.

My favorite food at Bernie’s Foreside are the breakfast sandwiches. I tried the egg-and-cheese with bacon ($3.95) on a bagel. Wow. Just wow. Crisp bacon and a well-cooked egg on a slightly grilled bagel is about as good as it gets.

Back in the day, before I made a commitment to eating better and losing weight, I used to stop into McDonald’s regularly for a bacon-egg-and-cheese on a bagel. I remember them fondly, and crave them like an addict.

I have long since cut that sort of breakfast sandwich from my diet on a regular basis. But Bernie’s Foreside is seriously making me reconsider my commitment to eating healthy breakfasts. I had better change my driving route before I fall off the wagon.

The Features staff of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram anonymously samples meals for about $7.

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