Breakfast Shoppe

552 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, MD - (410) 544-8599

Overview Reviews(2) Rate Restaurant Upload Photos Bookmark Email

Posted By Michael Stern on 9/10/2010 11:35:00 PM

As you drive along Ritchie Highway in Severna Park, just south of Baltimore, don't expect the Roadfood radar to start beeping when you get close to The Breakfast Shoppe. From the outside, it is completely inconspicuous – a storefront in a strip mall. We likely would not even have noticed it; but buffetbuster had told us that it was one of his favorite stops in the area. Given his impeccable taste in Roadfood, we made it a top priority one morning when we left Baltimore heading for the Eastern Shore.

Inside is simple enough: a one-room cafe with a short counter, tables and booths; a basket of newspapers up by the front door for those who want to read while they eat. As soon as our butts hit the booth benches, we knew we were in the right place. One of a staff of super-friendly waitresses descended upon us offering greetings and coffee. When we couldn't decide which of several dishes to order, she reminded us that pancakes are available as tall stacks (5), normal stacks (3), short stacks (2) and singly; and she noted that the mighty kitchen-sink skillet breakfast known as the Backpacker also is available in a downsized version known as the Knapsacker. The menu offers a page of different Benedicts, plus another page of speculation about the deluxe breakfast dish's origin.

Alas, we needed to preserve some appetite for the full day of eating thay lay ahead, so we did not order chipped beef, a.k.a. S.O.S., about which several clippings on the wall sing hosannas. It is served on fresh challah bread with fried potatoes on the side.

What's not to like about this place? Orange juice is squeezed to order in a machine just behind the counter. Buckwheat pancakes are available with regular syrup or molasses. Coffee cups never go empty. At the end of the excellent meal we told our waitress just how much we liked The Breakfast Shoppe. "I know; it's so good." she ingenuously replied. "This is where I eat on my days off!"

Scorecard

Overall: Excellent - Worth a Detour

Orange Juice	Buckwheat Cake
Knapsacker	Eggs Benedict

Rate this place

Reviewers Photos [Upload Your Photos]

"Earthy buckwheat cakes are available with regular maple syrup or, as shown here, with molasses."
Michael Stern

"This is traditional eggs benedict featuring Canadian bacon, topped with excellent hollandaise sauce. Other versions available at The Breakfast Shoppe include Florentine (spinach and onions), holstein (veal cutlets and melted Swiss cheese), and Philadelphia (beef with onions and Swiss)."
Michael Stern

"There is a machine behind the counter to which waitresses periodically add oranges and from which they draw glasses of just-squeezed juice. In the background is a carafe of ice tea."
Michael Stern

"The salmon in the Nova Scotia eggs Benedict delivers a salty punch! The waitress brought me a cup of extra Hollandaise sauce without being asked, which was much appreciated."
Cliff Strutz

"Every forkful is different when you plow into a Breakfast Shoppe Knapsacker, a downsized version of The Backpacker. It's an iron skillet loaded with eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, potatoes, peppers, onions, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli and jack cheese."
Michael Stern

"In June 2010, Breakfast Shoppe moved a mile further down Ritchie Highway. The seating capacity at the new location has tripled, which should help alleviate the long lines they usually have here."
Cliff Strutz