Water Street Cafe, Laconia NH
“I learned how to cook from my Mother, Grandmother, and Grandfather,” said Ted Roy, owner of the Water Street Cafe. He smiled, and with slight glimmer in his eye, asked, “Does that count?” As a daughter who watched my grandmother make donuts at Howard’s Restaurant in Colebrook, New Hampshire, as well as learning from my mother, I knew exactly what Ted was talking about. Yes, learning how to cook from our family members certainly counts Ted!
The restaurant itself sits on a quiet corner in Laconia, New Hampshire. Inside the bright, airy cafe were several tables and booths. A friendly waitress directed us to sit wherever we would like and we opted for a booth near a window. The menu had an array of delicious sounding items including a variety of omelets, eggs benedict, waffles, pancakes, and breakfast sandwiches. Sweet Z opted for a cafe special- plain buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast and juice. I chose the blueberry cranberry pancake a favorite among the pancake lovers that dine there. Fresh, hot coffee was poured, we settled in and our breakfast suddenly appeared! Such prompt service!
The pancakes were fluffy, as promised. The bacon was served extra crispy, my favorite. The eggs were a good, basic scrambled egg. To me, the texture was a bit heavy. I wonder if cooking them at a lower temperature for longer would result in a lighter end product? The homemade whole wheat toast did not disappoint. This cafe seemed to me a place that consistently serves good, quality food to every patron.
But Ted, he had other plans. He wanted us to sample a waffle creation of his. Who am I to turn down a waffle? Suddenly this belgian waffle appeared laden with fresh strawberries, bananas, blueberries and a dollop of sour cream and brown sugar.
The texture of the waffle was perfect…a crunchy outside and soft inside. The ultimate bite consisted of a little bit of waffle, a dab of tangy, slightly sweetened sour cream, and as many berries as I could fit on my fork (while still acting like a lady). This creation stole the show for me!
But what did we top our pancakes with? The standard offering is a jug of ‘maple syrup’. Sweet Z took one glance and politely asked for the ‘real maple syrup’ that was offered on the menu.
This ‘syrup’ brought to us caught me by surprise. With so many maple sugar operations in New Hampshire and Vermont I was left wondering why ‘real’ maple syrup was being trucked in from Knott’s Berry Farm in California? (I did taste just the syrup..and it did not taste very maple-like to me. It was a more realistic version of syrup vs. the imitation syrup that was the standard offering). My question on this was answered soon enough. Unfortunately, we caught them at the wrong time – they were out of their usual pure maple syrup offering from Maple Grove Farms in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
If you are in the area please stop by Water Street Cafe. The inviting waitstaff, fast service, and great food will likely have you returning again and again.
The Water Street Cafe is up for ‘Best Breakfast in NH’. Click here to cast your vote!
