Early Bird
Every city and town has the one beloved breakfast joint, where the coffee is always hot, the food is always good, and everybody knows your name. And in the South Shore town of Kingston, Massachusetts, that place is the Early Bird.
The Early Bird has been a local favorite for breakfast and lunch for almost forty years. It’s located in an old blue house that dates back to the 1800’s. But there’s nothing old school about the menu, thanks to Chef/Owner Stephen Coe.
“The Early Bird is awesome. It's a cool location. The place looks great. It's fun. When you walk in, there's a lot of tchotchkes. You have the payphone, the low stools, but we deliver on the menu too. So it's fun, interactive, and it caters to everybody. I think people love going to breakfast here because we elevate the game. We have some classics, but we also want to do something different that you normally don't see in a restaurant.”
So you can go in a lot of different directions on the breakfast menu. First of all, you want to start with a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, it’s made right in front of your eyes in one of those cool juicing machines. And then, you might want to go for their signature Crunchy French Toast. There’s a cult following for this dish, made with some thick-cut bread, dipped in a French Toast batter along with some panko bread crumbs and Cap’n Crunch cereal. So it’s very sweet, almost like eating a donut, and it comes with some sliced bananas and maple syrup. If you’re a steak and eggs kind of person, they have a couple tasty options. There’s a pretty traditional plate of steak tips, they’re marinated for about four days, so they’re extremely tender with a little hint of molasses and caramel. That comes with eggs, toast, and some delicious home fries. Or, you could go for the Steak Bomb Omelette.
“The steak bomb omelet is…it is a mouth drop. It has the… peppers, onions, jalapenos, Chipotle aioli, pickled red onions, cilantro. It's not only does it look good, it tastes awesome. After you eat this you're gonna have to go take a nap.”
But I’ll tell you what, you definitely don’t sleep on the Benedicts here. Early Bird makes some pretty crazy and creative Benedicts, including one called the Green Eggs and Ham. This has ciabatta bread for the base, then it’s stacked up with prosciutto, arugula, pesto poached eggs, and a housemade basil Hollandaise. So, it might be named after a Doctor Seuss book, but this is pretty bougie Benedict. And if you want to bring your eggs to the next level, just check out the Southern style Short Rib Benedict, served over toasty and sweet fresh-baked corn bread.
“The short Benedict is definitely a flavor bomb. Short ribs, corn bread, barbecue, caramelized onions, pickled red onions, crispy onions. You have the crunchy, the sweet going down through the egg, which is a barbecue Hollandaise. And it's very delicious.”
At breakfast, the warm, fresh-made Belgian Waffles are a popular choice. And for lunch, their version of Chicken and Waffles is just a masterpiece of tastes and textures. You have the fluffy buttermilk waffle, the golden and crispy fried chicken, plus homemade bacon jam and pickled red onions, along with a drizzle of barbecue sauce and a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Or, you could go the more traditional route and get the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich. That has chipotle aioli, hot honey, lettuce, pickles, and onions. Plus, they add some Taki dust over the top for a little extra crunch and heat, and it’s served on a toasted brioche bun. But above all else, the number one dish that’s made the Early Bird and Chef Stephen Coe famous is his signature Lobster BLT, that’s spiked (believe it or not) with a syringe full sauce.
“So when you receive the dish, you have the syringe of the aioli, and they instruct you to squeeze it and pull it off to the side. And that's it's like that interactive, fun. It has pork belly, your nice lobster tossed with lemon and tarragon, toasted brioche, arugula, tomato, a little lemon tarragon with a spicy Chipotle in there. It's awesome. When you bite into lobster BLT, it's the ultimate. It hits you. The curious factor is delivered. It's fun. It's playful. If you're the lobster person, it's the go to.”
So just like the Lobster BLT, I think you should give this place a “shot”. They’re open for breakfast and lunch six days a week (closed on Tuesdays). And you know the food is going to fun and flavorful at the Early Bird in Kingston, Mass.
