Breakfast Mac & CheeseMacaroni, hickory-smoked bacon, maple sausage, potato bottom, eggThe People’s Kitchen
Brunch: It’s not quite breakfast, it’s not quite lunch, but it comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end. So goes the line from The Simpsons, and that’s about right. Happily, we’ve seen some growth in the number of folks taking brunch foods seriously, although I’m still waiting for someone to decide to serve seriously inventive breakfast food for dinner, every night of the week. We’ve featured four reliably appetizing spots here, none of which accept reservations but all of them make for some tough decisions, once it’s time to order.
Arrive early; I know, that sounds counterintuitive for brunch, which is supposed to be lazy and indulgent, but otherwise, you may find the wait long and the stomach rumbling.
The People’s Kitchen
When you walk into The People’s Kitchen, you are right in the thick of things. The grill is inescapably to your left, and you can sidle up to the counter for a meal you can watch being cooked. Immediately, you’re engaged in whatever is going on. In fact, that’s how owner Billy Gruenewald met his girlfriend, Holly Joyce, shortly after the place opened in October 2014. He also describes her as “the head chef,” with Mark Emeigh as the main cook.
The People’s Kitchen, which seats about 30, has fast garnered a reputation for treating breakfast and brunch with a combo of reliable classics and personalized twists, such as Aunt Barbara’s Quiche, a rotating special. Ingredients will seasonally change, but are always typified by a potato crust. “That’s just the way she did it,” says Gruenewald. Two other dishes to check out include the signature breakfast mac & cheese, with bacon, sausage and hash browns, and the crab bread—think lobster roll, but with crab. On the sweet side, the croissant French toast earns a lot of social media mentions.
Gruenewald has throwback tastes, so minimalism epitomizes the menu and the décor is an unforced retro homage, with a mash-up of vintage cycling images, old movie posters and Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and Ella Fitzgerald on the playlist.
639 Linden St., Bethlehem | 610.849.2080 | pkonlinden.com
Mitzi’s Table
The brainchild of husband-and-wife chef team Susan and Matt Roth, Mitzi’s pays homage to Matt’s late mother, whose recipes inspire the menu. Fittingly, the décor is requisite midcentury modern vintage charm. The menu is adventurous, expansive and internationally inspired, for starters. How many places have the chutzpah to execute a bánh mì, a Cuban sandwich, and sticky Thai black rice with mango, coconut milk and pineapple, along with classics such as creamed chipped beef, biscuits and gravy and seriously jazzed-up grilled cheese? Every day the specials change, scrawled in multicolored markers on a scroll of white butcher paper by the front door, so you can debrief while you wait to be seated.
Local and house-made goods feature prominently here, too, with peaches, plums and other produce from Scholl Orchards. The Roths also grow a fair bit of peppers, tomatoes, cukes and raspberries in the summer for their menu, and purchase breads from Egypt Star Bakery. Susan says, ”Matt has groupies for his hot sauces,” which you can purchase at the restaurant and which make appearances across the menu, including their very popular Scorcher Burger.
Bethlehem Village Shoppes | 3650 Nazareth Pike, Bethlehem | 610.730.1670 | mitzistable.com
Photo by Donovan Roberts Witmer
Red Velvet Pancakesmaple cream cheese, chocolate chipsGriddle 145
Jumbars
Jumbars is a brunch mainstay known for scratch-made, thoughtfully prepared fresh food, served on vibrant Fiestaware in a warm, bright environment since 2003. You may know Jumbars for its grilled sticky buns, or for many of its homemade jams, cookies and scones—all highly, temptingly visible. This place summons all of your sweet teeth.
Part of Jumbars’ commitment to quality includes using local produce whenever feasible. Potatoes are picked from Padula’s Farm in Bath, and Scholl Orchards supplies peaches, apples, sour cherries and neck pumpkins, for their pies and other treats. The Rodale Institute is a recent partner, offering seasonal veggies. Even the house blend comes from local roaster Monocacy Coffee Company.
This homegrown approach started with chef-owner Paul Hoffert and his late wife, Mary, who named the place after her great-grandmother, Anna Jumbar. Today, Paul and his children, Emily and Harry, are all involved in the business. Through the years, sticky buns aside, Jumbars has become known for many things, including the Greenwich St. Special—it’s an open-face turkey breast sandwich with Granny Smith apple slices, sharp Cheddar and Dijonnaise. Emily admits it’s hard to pick favorites, “because I truly love everything on our menu.
We have a baked oatmeal that’s pretty unique.” It’s garnished with apples and dried cranberries, and served with a bowl of warm milk on the side.
1342 Chelsea Ave., Bethlehem | 610.866.1660 | jumbars.com
Griddle 145
There’s a sizable breakfast and, if you’re there in time for it, an equally tempting lunch menu at bright, colorful Griddle 145, which has been around since August 2012. However, once you see the words “red velvet pancakes,” you can stop right there. We’ve written about the glory of this dessert-for-breakfast indulgence before, and for good reason. These babies are fluffy, sweet and drizzled with maple cream cheese. With items like this and the coconut banana French toast, husband-and-wife owners Sherry and Taylor Eisenhard have seriously upped the ante. But when you own a breakfast place, the sky is kind of the limit. The more, the better—right? That being said, if you have room, their fried cookie dough is “definitely a crowd pleaser,” says Sherry.
On the savory side, the various eggs Benedict are crowd-pleasers, too, including a recent special with smoked salmon. Breakfast and lunch are available all day until close, but there’s also a separate lunch menu full of specialties. “It’s hardto pick specific signature dishes because we feel that every single one is a signature,” says Eisenhard. But, if the spirit moves you, Jay’s Cheat Day has been a hit from the start, topped with chipotle barbecue pulled pork, onion straws and coleslaw. Or the Chick’n Waffles. Or the fish tacos. Sundays offer an extra special indulgence—free mimosas. These gestures come from total pros—Sherry’s family has owned Hunan Springs Asian Restaurant for 20 years. She says her husband, Taylor, was “forced” into it by marriage, but that he has had a passion for breakfast fare. “He’s the brains [and hands] behind our menu and specials,” she says.
1146 MacArthur Rd., Whitehall | 610.351.9898 | griddle145.com
