Cracking a Few Eggs

If you've never had sweet potato pancakes, do yourself a favor and make the trip to Jimmy's Egg. They are awesome.

If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, they also have a great blueberry/granola pancake, too. You could also help yourself to one of their homemade waffles, instead, or house recipe French toast. Any way you slice it, if you like unique breakfast items, this is a place you just might want to check out.

There are now two Jimmy's Egg restaurants in the area, one in Broken Arrow at 4850 W. Kenosha, and one in Tulsa at 3948B S. Peoria, next to the Ace Hardware store.

Jimmy's Egg opened some 30 years ago and now has a little more than 20 stores in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Houston, Texas. According to a recent press release, six more locations are planned for the Tulsa area.

When I made my breakfast journey there, I decided on the Baja Omelette. This was a huge pile of fluffy eggs, bacon, fresh avocado, diced tomatoes and Monterrey Jack cheese. Next to it was a pile of shredded, real deal hash browns. In my mind, there's nothing worse than a great breakfast plate with a deep fried potato patty that somebody has the nerve to sell as hash browns. I am happy to report that Jimmy's makes the effort, and the result is worth it. They were golden brown and steamy hot from the griddle.

Other omelette options include The Pineapple Express: ham, pineapple, green onions and creamed cheese; and The Popeye's Revenge: spinach, bacon, mushrooms, and Monterrey Jack in a fluffy omelette. Leaning toward Mexican flavors? The South of the Border will satisfy that urge with green chiles, potatoes, onions and Monterrey Jack smothered in fire roasted ranchero sauce. Or there's a soft breakfast taco plate.

Other options include a Vegetarian Omelette, a four-cheese special, and a meat lovers omelette with bacon, ham, sausage and Monterrey Jack.

Can't decide between one of these? Build your own. The list of ingredients is huge, and includes asparagus, avocado, spinach, corned beef hash, bacon, ground beef, garlic, potato, and many, many more. Did I mention The "Big Jim" omelette? Well, I should. If you've been off in the woods filming the newest episode of Survivor and haven't eaten in four days, try this man-sized specialty.

To round out the breakfast menu, a great specialties section caught my eye with some appealing Saturday morning breakfast items. Not to take themselves too seriously, they named one of their house specialties the Jimmy's Garbage Breakfast.

Crispy hash browns, piled high with a sautéed sausage, bell pepper and onion mixture, two eggs and biscuits and gravy. Then, there's the Biscuit Debris, renamed by my wife and I as the Cardiac Intensive Care Plate. Two buttermilk biscuits smothered with country cream gravy, grilled sausage, grilled ham, melted cheddar and hash browns.

Jimmy's also serves a Chorizo Breakfast, Eggs Benedict, Mexican Breakfast, Huevos Rancheros and others. Our waitress was very accommodating and figured out quickly we had never been there, so she took a lot of time with us and steered us toward the best items to order and really helped out a lot. If it weren't for her, I'd probably still be trying to decide.

If none of these heart stoppers work for you, Jimmy has a light menu, too. Choose from a spinach and mushroom egg white omelette, turkey sausage and eggs, or a light side pancake sandwich made with sweet potato pancakes, (low fat and cholesterol free) turkey sausage, and scrambled, fat-free eggs. Several other items round out this section as well. They've even got the little ones covered with a kids menu.

My wife chose the Blueberry/Granola pancakes, with a side of excellent, smoky bacon. The pancakes were really quite good, with a crunch from the granola that surprised me since I expected it to be somewhat soggy. My guess is that they have a basic pancake batter and add ingredients to it based on what the customer chooses to order. I can't think of any other way to preserve the texture of the granola and the blueberries.

The lunch menu is fairly standard all-American diner fare, but it's nicely done and reasonably priced. There's a wide range of items from salads to sandwiches and burgers including a good ol' patty melt, and a Jimmy's Egg Burger. That's a hamburger topped with shaved ham, American cheese and a fried egg. Sounds like something Paula Deen would do, doesn't it?

There's a good selection of lunch items that probably sell pretty well in the cooler months, too -- ground sirloin, pot roast, pork chops, Hawaiian chicken breast, chicken-fried steak and a few more.

I had a chuckle with myself when I heard about the Cracked Egg Club. I already work and play with members of that group, don't you? But this is actually a cool incentive deal.

If you go to Jimmy's Egg and show your card from the "Cracked Egg Club" each time you order, you get a free entrée after you purchase six. Everybody likes free food, right? What have you got to lose, except maybe an e-mail address?

The décor is clean, neat and modern. Lots of booths line the walls, and there is even a small counter for single diners that faces the open kitchen for a bit of old-time diner feel in a modern setting.

The service this day was fast and efficient as it always is. There is a certain type of server that works in places like this. They are so fast and good at what they do that you don't really realize how much work they are getting done.

They generally don't have the time to stand and visit for long, even though ours did, but you know they will take good care of you, your food will come out hot and tasty, the coffee will always be full, and all you have to do is look their way and they suddenly appear at your table.

The guys in the kitchen round out the team, and together they make it all happen like clockwork. The ones who can't handle it don't last very long, but the old war horses can handle anything that comes their way with a comfortable ease that has always amazed me. Maybe it's because I know how easy it is to become overwhelmed with the pressure, or maybe it's because I've seen a lot of cooks and servers crack under it. I don't know. But what I do know is that it is really a pleasure to watch the good ones at work.

You see them at places like Jimmy's, Ron's, Duffy's, Tally's and a hundred other places in town. They are sort of the unsung heroes of the business, but it wouldn't be the same without them. They are real pros and should be appreciated. The next time you're at one of these places, put your paper down for a minute and watch them at work. The good ones are a real pleasure to watch.

Jimmy's Egg

3948B S. Peoria

749-3447

4850 W. Kenosha, Broken Arrow

872-1563

Hours: Monday-Sunday, 6am - 2pm

Prices: Breakfast generally under $6, generally under $9

Service ****

Food ****

Atmosphere ***and a half