#10  CONNECTICUT – Bangers Away

We had skipped breakfast in Connecticut on our drive up to Maine due to time restrictions and it was time to make up for that omission. Because I was headed south from Upstate NY, I didn’t want to go too far afield, so I targeted the very northeastern section of Connecticut (Litchfield County) for breakfast.  The villages in Litchfield County are small and do not support a lot of eating establishments so there are not a lot of breakfast options. I did find a place that both motorcycle riders and Appalachian Trail through-hikers, two groups that I believe have big appetites, have heartedly endorsed on the internet.

Toymakers Cafe
Falls Village, Connecticut

AMBIENCE:  The café is a two story house on a street of two story houses. Really, the only thing that distinguished it from the other houses was the shingle hanging out front and the OPEN sign in the front window. The café is the main floor of the house. Seating was limited. The “living room” had one large table for eight, two tables for two, a couch and a bench. There was another small table near the kitchen. A few picnic benches were out by the parking area and there were a couple of chairs on the front porch.

I was expecting a toy theme with Slinkys, and Etch-a-Sketches hanging on the wall and beanie babies sitting on shelves. That was not the case, although I thought the cook/owner looked a lot like the toymaker Geppetto, from the Pinocchio movie. The Toymakers Café is so named because the owner has a side business called T 100 Toymakers which imports parts for vintage British motorcycles. There are a few British touches to the décor. In the bathroom, rather than a poster of the U.S. Presidents staring at you, it’s the British Prime Ministers.

Walking into the restaurant is like waking up and coming downstairs to a raucous family reunion. There were about 25 people waiting for their food and about 5 eating their food. Three toddlers at the table by the kitchen were screaming at each other while their mother was waiting in line to order. The table of eight was filled with men who had arrived on motorcycles telling their “war stories”.  All other seats, couches, benches, etc. were occupied. People were even sitting on the floor. A number of additional motorcycle riders occupied the picnic tables outside. Apparently this is a big stop for motorcyclists both because the café owner has an interest in motorcycles and because the surrounding roads are prime riding territory. These aren’t your bikers with a lot of tattoos, shirts cut off at the shoulder, and no helmets. These were more “banker bikers”, up from Westchester County NY on very expensive machines.

I got in line and ordered my breakfast. The pleasant woman taking the order wanted me to know that it would be about 40 minutes before I received my dish. 40 minutes! Feeling I had no other option, I said that was fine.  The wait was due to a combination of a large Saturday morning demand and a small supply of staff. The staff consisted of the owners, Greg who was the one and only cook, and Annie, his wife, was order taker, cook’s assistant, cashier, and keeper of the peace.

Later, as I was leaving I noticed that they had called in reinforcements and had a young lady in the kitchen, helping out.

Annie asked for my name so she could call it out when my meal was ready.  I told her it was Job. She gave me a coffee mug and directed me toward the coffee thermoses. I filled my mug and stood and watched a musical chairs-type choreography as I enjoyed some excellent coffee. As soon as a table was done and got up to leave, couch people moved to the table and the floor people moved to the couch. After tiring of watching this act repeat itself two or three times, I refilled my mug and sat outside at a picnic table. The bugs were annoying so I came back inside, refilled my mug once again and went and took a stroll around Falls Village. It only took 10 minutes to stroll around the entire town of Falls Village, population 538, but it was pleasant nonetheless. Upon my return to the café, I noticed a free chair on the front porch and grabbed it after getting more coffee.  Another 15 minutes went by with me staring at the houses across the street, when my name was called and I got my food.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars for its uniqueness. The ambience is only appreciated if you have a lot of time on your hands otherwise 2 ½ stars out of 5.

FOOD:  Wanting to keep with the British theme, I had ordered the Banger Platter. It consisted of two bangers (a type of British sausage and so-called because of the “pop” it makes while cooking), two scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomato, and an English Muffin.

I had a serious case of the shakes due to drinking about two gallons of coffee. Holding the plate in my lap as I ate was out of the question. I used the railing of the porch as my table and this resulted in a not insignificant amount of crumbs and butter juice ending up on my shorts.

The food was excellent. The bangers were juicy and flavorful. The eggs tasted fresh.  The mushrooms and tomato, which had been sautéed in butter and garlic, were especially delicious. My only complaint was that the English Muffin could have used less butter. It tasted more like melted butter than bread.

Worth the wait? Yeah, I think so, but I hoped I would be able to get my shorts clean.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

COFFEE:  My first mug of coffee came from the thermos labeled “Toymakers House Joe” and it was fabulous. My next mug of coffee came from the thermos labeled “Toymakers Commonwealth” and I was hooked. This coffee deserved the Breakfast Across America Certificate of Excellence. According to the label it was a farm-direct blend of Brazilian and Honduran coffees combined to produce notes of spiced roasted nut, and spiced hot chocolate.

5 stars out of 5

SERVICE: It was pretty much self-serve.

N/A out of 5 stars

COST: $14.00 with tax. It is cash only but I read that they do take British pounds.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT FALLS VILLAGE:  Falls Village is the second smallest village in Connecticut. It has a nice looking inn, a children’s theater, and a municipal building. The Appalachian Trail runs through the village. The streets are as peaceful as a ghost town. On my walk, I did not see another human being nor did I hear the usual sounds of dogs barking or automobiles starting up. It was Labor Day Weekend and maybe everyone was sleeping in, waiting for the line to subside at Toymakers.

Google maps lists the Toymakers Café as being in Canaan CT. Carole King had a big hit called “Been To Canaan” which according to one biography, is named for both the biblical land and this Connecticut town in which she and her husband bought a farm that they rarely used.  The truth is that the Toymakers Café is in Falls Village and this description, which I found on the wall of the café, explains the nuances of the local geography:

It is really quite simple. The town of Canaan contains the village of Falls Village, and it also contains the hamlet called South Canaan. Canaan Falls is there too, formerly called the “Falls”. In the town of North Canaan is the village of Canaan. So are the places known as East Canaan and Canaan Valley. Both towns share Canaan Mountain. This bothers no one except government officials and officers, newspaper editors and reporters, and foreigners. Everyone else understands.

BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

-          The walk around Falls Village burned the caloric equivalent of a carrot stick.

September 3, 2016

NEXT UP: Pennsylvania