Bickford’s
June 17th, 2007
We haven’t been to Bickford’s in years and thought we’d try them for breakfast. I wasn’t expecting a gourmet breakfast but thought it might be good to catch up on the local chain and see how it’s doing.
We started off with a fruit cup, which was pretty good. The fruit actually seemed fresh, not sitting in syrup.
Ethan got strawberry pancakes and I got an apple and cinnamon waffle. We both asked for real maple syrup which was brought in warmed individual serving bottles.
Ethan’s pancakes were bland with a mushy pile of thawed frozen strawberries. My waffle was also bland with surprisingly tasteless apple wedges. Maybe they boiled them or they’re canned, I don’t know what sucks the flavor out of an apple. the waffle was slightly crisp on the outside but complete mush on the inside. With enough maple syrup they were both ok though.
We shared a side of homes fries and sausage too. The home fries were moist and room temperature, like they had been microwave and sitting around. I don’t remember anything about the sausage at this point, I think they were just ok.
Our waitress seemed ok as far as friendliness, maybe her section was too big, it was kind of busy and we didn’t see her again after the food was served until the end of the meal. I don’t hold it against her for not coming over sooner though, I get the feeling not much could have been done anyway. Maybe heat up the home fries but it’s most likely they’d just pop them in the microwave and it wasn’t worth flagging her down.
It wasn’t a non-edible meal but we won’t be rushing back for breakfast any time soon. Although, for some reason I feel like they would have good burgers or something non-breakfast. So maybe we’ll try them again after noon sometime.
Long story short: Stick with the fruit cup for breakfast.
I like going to Bickford’s for their breakfast buffet. The food is always nice and hot and there’s a good assortment. Scrambled eggs, homefries, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit and toast (or english muffin, if you prefer). What I like most is the “make your own waffles”. You just put in some of the batter, close the top and you get a piping hot waffle.
Comment by Susie — June 17, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
It’s hard to rationalize going to Bickford’s (absolute mediocrity) when there’s the AWESOME J & M Diner just around the corner!!
Comment by Paul Jasper — June 17, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
I second the J&M Diner comment. How can you compete with pancakes the size of your head?
Comment by Dan — June 18, 2007 @ 2:38 am
The photograph of the strawberry pancakes actually caused me to say “Ewwwwww!!” out loud. Those are some sad looking pancakes. I wonder if they would have been better without the frozen strawberries? I’m a plain butter/syrup pancake kind of gal.
I agree with the J&M comments!
Comment by Jennifer — June 18, 2007 @ 11:48 am
wow, i am surprised you get real maple syrup.
Comment by hcapet — June 19, 2007 @ 5:56 pm
Everytime I’ve ever eaten at Bickfords, no matter the location it’s been awful. It’ss hard to imagine a chain could be so bad it makes a Denny’s or IHOP feel like fine dining, but Bickfords achieves just that.
Comment by Sam — July 15, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
Aw, I give Bickford’s a break because every time I’ve gone there I’ve taken my elderly mother, and she loves the place, so we always have a great time there.
Their coffee’s excellent, and their omelets are pretty good. Whenever there’s been a glitch in the service the staff corrects it right away.
So yeah, they may not be the best quality in town but I think they try, and I give them two thumbs up because they make my mother happy. That’s made some great memories for me.
Comment by Sarah O. — March 1, 2008 @ 11:54 pm