Breakfast Across America

#5 MASSACHUSETTS – The Wakefield Hoard Comes Aboard

My favorite sister put us up (or put up with us) for a night in her home in Wakefield, MA. Her family – husband, two teenage twins, and an 11 year old were all enthused about joining the Breakfast Across America tour for one morning so I searched for a place that was nearby and and that had received great reviews. Saugus MA was both close and a town I had never been to before, and it had a diner that people seemed to love. So on a sunny Saturday morning we piled into their SUV and headed to the:

Iron Town Diner
Saugus, Massachusetts

AMBIENCE: When we arrived at the small shopping plaza where the diner is located, the parking lot was almost filled. People seemed to be waiting outside. Brother-in-law was not optimistic that we would get in until dinner time but by some miracle granted by the breakfast gods, our party of seven was seated right away. We were wicked lucky, because when we proceeded to our table I noticed that every other table in the place was occupied. When we left the restaurant there were about 25 people waiting to get in.

The Iron Town Diner was the largest place we have been to since the Tour started. It had a combination of tables, booths, and stools. It was boisterous with customers carrying on loud, animated conversations in funny accents. Our table for seven was in the back and perfect for our needs. It provided plenty of space for the multitude of dishes we ordered.

The décor was loosely based on the town's history and the Saugus Iron Works, where the American iron and steel industry was born in 1646. Signs and ornaments hanging on the wall appeared to be made of iron. The diner is only a couple of years old so regardless of the 17^th century theme, it had a new feel to it.

I’m not sure what this was doing in the front foyer. I don’t remember anything said in history class about colonials walking around in steel armor. Then again, Saugus has a giant orange T-Rex dinosaur out on Route 1.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

FOOD: Apropos a diner, the menu choices were extensive. We each ordered something different. Let’s go around the table:

I had the Greek Benedict with feta, tomato, and Loukaniko (Greek sausage) with hash browns. Loukaniko is pork sausage, (what a surprise) flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and other herbs. The sausage was incredible as was the Hollandaise sauce and everything melded together to make just about a perfect benedict.

The Healthy One had Texas-style (double thickness) French Toast with blueberries and said it was delicious.

Teen Niece had Texas-style French Toast and home fries which she thought tasted great.

Eleven year old nephew had the Belgium Waffle and hash browns.

Sometimes the internet amazes me. Believe it or not, there is a very long conversation on Reddit about buttering waffles led off by a guy who said it was “pissing him off about how hard it was to butter a waffle”.

This is a typical post:

I just spread butter starting from the center and breaking the cell walls as I spread out. Now the top of the waffle has broken walls while the bottom is ok. That lets it spread better and soak in a bit. It also helps the syrup soak in a bit as well, though I try to be more of a dipper with my syrup.

Eleven year old nephew seems to be one of those people who doesn’t want to destroy the neat little squares. He fills a small section of squares with syrup and then puts a dab of butter onto each square so that it’s perched on the raised portions just above the pool of syrup.

Teen Nephew had this for breakfast.

It did contain chocolate milk. It was gone my the time he got the camera. This order requires some explanation but first this is how the order went down:

Waitress: “…and what would you like?”

TN: “a chocolate milk”

Waitress: “and what else?”

TN: “that’s all”

Waitress: “are you sure?”

TN: “yes”

Teen Nephew has celiac disease and cannot eat gluten. The Iron Town diner did not have any gluten-free menu items. He didn’t complain. He didn’t seem to mind that everybody else was enjoying solid food. He’s a trooper. And he liked his chocolate milk!

My sister had the breakfast panini with avocado, tomato, and cheddar cheese and hash browns which she said was excellent.

My brother-in-law had the California omelet, hash browns, and toast which he also said was excellent.

5 out of 5 stars

COFFEE: The diner serves New England Coffee, as our coffee cup logos made clear. It’s a company that has been around for 100 years. The coffee was excellent.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

SERVICE: It was obvious that our server was a seasoned pro. A hungry table of seven didn’t phase her one bit. Coffee cups were continually filled. Food arrived promptly and correctly. She did a nice job on a busy Saturday morning. She did have that funny accent.

5 out of 5 stars

COST: Unknown. Brother-in-law picked up the check. Thank-you!

A FEW WORDS ABOUT SAUGUS: Saugus is a city of contrast. It has Saugus Iron Works, which was the first successful integrated iron works in the new world and is now maintained by the National Park Service. And then there is Route One which is bordered by some of the most hideous, memorable monuments to tackiness one could ever hope to see. We took the low road and drove up and down Route 1. Unfortunately, a number of places have been demolished including Full of Bull, which may be my favorite name ever for a restaurant. Still there are a number of wonderful WTF? sights that can be seen. The Hilltop Steakhouse, which once served more than 3 million customers a year, has been demolished but a 68 foot high neon cactus on the property remains.