Nick & Joan’s

Breakfast done right

Restaurant Review By Don Fowler
Posted 2/28/23

In my quest for the perfect ham, I ended up in the Hoxsie Four Corners  Gateway Shopping Plaza  at Nick & Joan’s Place where “Everybody Knows Your Name” and Nick …

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Nick & Joan’s

Breakfast done right

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In my quest for the perfect ham, I ended up in the Hoxsie Four Corners  Gateway Shopping Plaza  at Nick & Joan’s Place where “Everybody Knows Your Name” and Nick called everybody that entered by their first name.

Alice Swajian Harris, of Edgewood, emailed me about the always-fresh ham that sits on the counter next to the grill.

“I go through three or four hams a week,” Nick said, as he sliced the tender, tasty meat off the top for my order of ham and home fries.

 “I constantly watch the temperature,” Nick said while flipping eggs, adding onions to my home fries, and deftly flipping some bacon over. “If it gets warm, it goes back in the fridge and I bring a fresh one out.”

Nick adds a little garlic and onions to the home fries, making for a great combination. Once you add the eggs and toast you have the perfect breakfast.

Nick and Joan’s Place has been around since 1984. The walls are covered with photos of his guests through the years eating their favorites. One wall is dedicated to post cards they have sent from vacations taken all over the world.

Then add four photo albums from the “early years”, plus another wall of customers’ business cards and newspaper articles, including from the Beacon, praising the food and service.

It is a family business, with Nick at the grill, his sister, godmother and wife all serving tables and all the other details that go with running a restaurant.

Nick just turned 70, so he has cut his hours to spend more time with his family, including a staggering 19 grandchildren. Joan only works on Wednesdays now, spending much of her time making homemade desserts like muffins, pies, rice and grapenut pudding, and cookies.

The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with many guests coming in at 11:45 a.m. to order their breakfast or lunch to go or eat in.

With the huge ham growing smaller and smaller after every order, eggs, bacon, sausage and home fries sizzling away, and an overwhelming number of breakfast combos flying off the grill and to the tables, Staff still manages to fill takeaway cartons for to-go orders with practiced speed.

 Combos range in price from the Nick: two eggs, home fries and toast ($5.25) to the Steve: Two eggs scrambled, together with grilled potatoes, bacon, ham, and cheese ($9.50),

“Build your own omelets” are clearly a favorite, I noted while watching one leave the grill with everything but the kitchen sink. All the extras, including, peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes have been prepped for the busy mornings.

Pancakes and French toast are popular items. You can get a flavored pancake (Chocolate chip, butterscotch, blueberry, banana or walnut for $2.50 each.

While breakfast is the most common meal at Nick & Joan’s, lunches include the standard hamburgers, hot wieners, tuna, ham or egg salad and French fries.

When the restaurant closes, Nick sends them down to George’s Pizza at 2910 Warwick Ave. (It’s in the family).

You can call ahead at 738-6470.

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