SPRINGVALE – I’m not asking for sympathy. It’s my own fault I waited until the day my driver’s license expired to renew it.
But I am entitled to self-pity that I spent the morning hours of my birthday driving to the BMV in Springvale to deal with it.
IF YOU GO
THE HEN HOUSE CAFE
WHERE: 446 Main St., Springvale; 850-1052
HOURS: 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday to Friday; 6 a.m. to noon Saturday; 7 a.m. to noon Sunday
WAIT: I was seated right away, and was served my food within five minutes
PARKING: On the street.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: There are steps, but people in wheelchairs have managed.
Additional Photos
Lucky for me, the clerks at the bureau could not have been kinder or more efficient. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes, and celebrated my good luck with breakfast at the Hen House Cafe, just a few doors down, at 446 Main St.
Walking into the country-style restaurant, I felt comfortable immediately. A member of the wait staff greeted me right away and offered me a table, which I declined in favor of a seat at the counter straight ahead.
An older gentleman sat alone at one end of the small counter, and I took a seat at the other end, right by the cash register and smack dab in front of a wall rack of breakfast muffins that was nothing less than mouthwateringly beautiful. It was so visually appealing, I wanted to take a picture of it and post it on Facebook, but then I would have to unfriend myself in protest of posting food photos.
The older man to my right was working on a golden-grilled corn muffin, and he seemed to be in the savoring mood. I took that as a very good sign.
The small, warm dining room was half-full, and there was a din of mingling voices that suggested both familiarity and friendship.
I ordered two eggs over easy on corned-beef hash, with toast, for $7.29. A few moments later, a platter arrived with two perfectly cooked eggs, their yolks glowing yellow just below the thin, opaque surface of the eggs. I sliced the yolk with my fork, and it oozed into the bed of hash and pooled on the edge of the plate.
I love eggs on hash, as opposed to eggs with hash on the side. My dad used to prepare his hash this way, with the egg cooking on top of a thin bed of meat and potatoes.
At the Hen House, it appeared that cooked hash was placed on the plate and the cooked eggs on top of it, but the effect is the same: You eat hash and eggs together with the runny yolk blending with the hash.
My only problem was that I didn’t love the hash. It was a bit over-seasoned for my taste. I ate it all, and appreciated the generous portions of corned beef.
After cleaning my plate, I also ordered two muffins to go – a blueberry and a coffee-cake. I sampled both the next day, and they were excellent – soft and moist.
It’s nice to know a trip to the BMV can be such a pleasant experience.
Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:
bkeyes@pressherald.com
Twitter: pphbkeyes
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