A Classic Small-Town Cafe Closer to Home

During the stretch of years when I was road-tripping around the interior of the country fairly regularly, one of the restaurant genres I always sought out when drawing up my pre-trip dining itinerary was small-town cafes and luncheonettes. There is a place called The Coffee Station that is not far from where I’ve lived for the past decade and that appeared to fit that bill. Yet in spite of having driven past it many times, I never stopped in to check them out in all those years. Something about a restaurant being in another part of the country seems to make it more appealing to me. 

After saying we should eat there at some point several times as we drove by, my wife and I finally stopped in for a late morning breakfast Thursday.

To say my first impression of The Coffee Station’s interior upon stepping through the front door was positive would be a major understatement. It’s breathtaking, at least from the perspective of someone who romanticizes such places like I do. They’ve got counter seating, which we tend to like at diners and luncheonettes, but we grabbed a table in the front corner that afforded me an excellent vantage-point from which to snap a shot of the main dining-room. 

The walls are covered in plaques, photos, local sports memorabilia and whatever else they felt like throwing up there. There are bobble-head dolls on shelves that line each wall. They must have at least a couple thousand of them.

About the only thing that could have made my first impression of the Coffee Station any more positive would have been a case full of freshly-baked pies; something that I was always on the lookout for during those road-trip meal stops. But the Coffee Station appeared to be void of sweets other than the pancakes and French toast on their breakfast menu.

We arrived a little before 11 a.m. and could have ordered breakfast or lunch. We both went with the former. My wife opted for a breakfast wrap with mushrooms and Cheddar cheese and was extremely pleased with it.

I had been thinking lately that it’s been a while since I’ve had pancakes and was starting to feel a sense of urgency to rectify that situation. That made my ordering decision an easy one. I went for a stack with bananas and walnuts. The photos were taken before the addition of butter and syrup.

They were thick pancakes, but fairly light and extremely soft. I wouldn’t say they were among the best I’ve had, but they certainly hit the spot. There were ample banana slices that were cooked into the cakes and they added nicely to them, both in terms of texture and flavor. I’d like to try them with blueberries on a later visit. 

As we were making our way to our car in the parking lot after paying our bill, I noticed a couple roll boxes from Aversa bakery, which came up in a few of my cheesesteak posts. The Coffee Station has cheesesteaks and hoagies on their lunch menu. It’s good to know they use quality rolls. I won’t rule out trying a steak there at some point.