(What's The Story) Morning Glory

I had heard about the long lines for Morning Glory’s weekend brunch, but was hoping that the cold, miserable rain had kept people away. Nope. Not only did I have to wait, (40 minutes to be exact) I had to stand outside in the rain for most of my wait. The diner is smallish and doesn’t have a waiting area inside.

The food had better be good because a.) I had to stand in the rain. b.) I had to wait a long time. c.) I was now very hungry. d.) While waiting inside, I was subjected to watching a patron 2 inches away eat with her mouth open. I was ready to r-i-p them.

The diner sits only about 50 people at the counter and tables. If you’re sitting at the counter you get to watch the grill cook and get knocked by people waiting for a table. It’s the more “adventurous” area of the restaurant. No matter where you sit, counter or table, the noise level is extremely loud when the place is packed to capacity. As we were leaving around 1 o’clock on a Saturday, the crowd seemed to thin, but only slightly. I’m not sure when there’s no line or it’s quiet - probably never.

I ordered the salmon, asparagus and goat cheese frittata sans the fish. Accompanying sides included a buttermilk biscuit, spiced warm apples, and grits. The frittata was the size of a Frisbee golf disk – way more than I needed since I had sides. The frittata was too fluffy and dry. The biscuit was huge, but not in the traditional, round biscuit shape. They bake their biscuits in a sheet and cut them into squares. The apples were cinnamon-y and a different, but welcome, addition to breakfast. The grits were white – I prefer yellow – and just like any grits cooked at a diner. All of my sides rocked, but the frittata was dry.

An aside: Grits should be eaten immediately after cooking so that they are still a little gritty. This cannot be done at a restaurant without making individual batches as they are ordered, so when eating grits at restaurants, they are always overcooked. Grits are better at home.

A companion ordered the tofu scramble. Again, the sides rocked, but the scramble left a lot to be desired. The scramble was not really scrambled, but cubed silken tofu with a one-dimensional curry sauce.

Lets just lay down the rules for silken tofu right now. Silken tofu can be cubed and used in miso soup and other Japanese dishes. It can be whipped and used in desserts, baked goods, or dips. It can be frozen to change its texture and then crumbled to resemble scrambled egg. Um, that’s about it. Otherwise, I never want to bite into a squishy cube of tofu.

While I’m at it, let’s lay down the rules for curry. Curry must be made from fresh, whole spices in order to get a flavor that has dimension. Curry powder does not cut it. Curry usually doesn’t come off that well unless someone’s mother from India makes it.

So, that’s all the ripping I’m going to do on Morning Glory. Now, I’m going to sing such high praises that if I could carry a note it would shatter glass.

Their macaroni and cheese is the real deal! They won me over so hard, that I’ll wait in any freakin’ line to have this side dish of theirs.

They followed the rules exactly on making the mac and cheese. They used elbow macaroni, not some fancy-schmancy shape. They used LOTS of cheese. Their choice of cheeses was not mild. It was greasy and it was g-o-o-d.

The regular menu and daily specials menu has all sorts of delicious sounding sweet treats like carrot cake pancakes with cream cheese frosting and cherry and pineapple pancakes. Unfortunately, no one at our table went the sweet route. Next time I go for brunch I’ll get one of the tempting pancakes and a side of mac and cheese. Yep, I think that’s the way to go.

Morning Glory Diner
735 S. 10th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-413-3999
Tues.-Fri., 7 a.m.-9 p.m, Sat.-Sun., 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
cash only