Becky's

Posted By Michael Stern on February 24, 2008 12:15 AM

Becky's boasts that it is open 362-1/2 days a year, every day except Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the second half of Christmas Eve. The last time we stopped in, every seat in the house was occupied with a clientele that includes men and women who work on or near the waterfront as well as a good number of visitors to Portland in search of a great big diner breakfast.

Lunch is swell – the baked beans and franks are as classic a platter as you’ll find anywhere in New England, Italian sausage sandwiches are true heroes; and who can't like a menu that lists peanut butter and bacon? But it's breakfast that draws the crowds, starting well before dawn. Fresh muffins can be had merely toasted or, for those of wanton taste, split and buttered and cooked on the same grill where millions of orders of bacon and eggs have grilled, thus absorbing the luscious flavors of breakfast past. If you want toast, you get the uniquely Portland choice of white, wheat, rye, or Italian bread (that last one a tender ovoid loaf that toasts especially well)

The potato menu is a delight: your choice of homefries cooked plain, with onions, with green peppers, with cheese, or with all of the above. Eggs are expertly cooked and arrive glistening with butter and for those with very large appetites, Becky's offers a "Titanic Omelet," which is four eggs with bacon, ham, sausage, cheese, onions, and peppers.

Fruit Bowl

Muffin

Haddock Chowder

Peanut Butter & Bacon Sandwich

Pot Roast Supper

Hot Turkey Plate

Titanic Omelet

Whoopie Pie Cake

Posted By Karin Hagan on November 13, 2007 11:08 PM

Becky's looks like a nothing place somewhere between the tourists' Old Port section and the shipping and fishing area. Like so many of the best places, it doesn't look like you'd really want to go there. But you do. It's where the locals eat, and we know why. Huge slabs of real meatloaf with real mashed potatoes covered with gravy anyone would be proud to serve. Good coffee and decaf. Their breakfasts are beyond generous. Pancakes are perfection, and they use really good bacon. Order a fruit bowl at Becky's, and don't order anything else unless you're seriously hungry. It's fresh fruit, cut when your order goes in, and it's as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. The only thing we haven't liked was the oatmeal. They use an Irish cut, and that's just not our preference.

This is a diner that takes real pride in serving the best all the time. Be prepared to wait a bit on a weekend or in high season. And if you get one of the tables instead of a booth and there's a line? Offer to share -- we did, and met some really nice people. Heck! Invite a couple of waiting people to share your booth.