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Beans, beans, the magical fruit…

63 Comments

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As a rule I’m not a breakfast person. A glass of tea and a berry banana protein smoothie works for me most days. But after an early morning appointment the other day my othet half was craving eggs Benedict so we searched for a restaurant.

When a little family run place in the middle of nowhere called the Countryside Diner presents itself, you can’t say no.

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I have to say I was surprised at the burgundy and gold whore house color scheme. It totally clashed with their logo.

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But I’d read good reviews so we plunged into the breakfast menu – where all the combos came with beans. You know you’re in Maine when.

Not being a baked bean lover, especially at 9:00 am I chose two small sides… biscuit and sausage gravy with home fries.

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The husband’s Benny was rich and tasty but correct me if I’m wrong, breakfast shouldn’t be grey… right? My meal tasted as good as it looked, which is to say horrible.

When we lived down south I acquired a mild biscuits and gravy addiction. When made properly? It’s the nectar of the gods. Sadly up here in bean country they can’t make it to save their lives… but hope springs eternal and I order it when I see it, usually to my disappointment.

And before you say why don’t you make your own at home… the husband hates it. Ever tried to make biscuits and gravy for one? Not possible.

The search continues.

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63 thoughts on “Beans, beans, the magical fruit…”

  1. The nearest plate really looks like it should have been left uneaten 🤢 Your plate contains I think what we call scones – although we don’t generally have them for breakfast – what is the sauce on them? Not sure I’d be able to make my way through either! I always like the idea of breakfast out, but it never quite works for me, although I am a big fan of the breakfast buffet on holiday when I do tend to eat my own weight in bread and cake. Anyway, hope your day picked up from there.

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    1. My plate was a buttermilk biscuit cut in half and covered in (what’s supposed to be white not grey) sausage gravy. Basically cooked sausage,milk and flour. It’s very simple, but few people do it correctly.

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  2. No wait! The scones at the top of the page are not the same as you have on your plate. What is it? looks like it may be a poached egg on hash brown with custard on, but I’m unsure about the shredded stuff in the background. I’m sure it must taste better than it looks. Enjoy your day 😊

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      1. Poached eggs on toast (preferably with a layer of avocado in between) covered in hollandaise sounds ace, but obviously wasn’t. As for you husbands plate, it looks as if somebody must have been there before him 😜. This morning, in your honour, I had baked beans on toast, tomorrow I may have poached eggs – but definitely not whatever-it-was that your husband had! Forgive my extreme English ignorance but what is biscuit and gravy. Over here biscuits are what you call cookies. As far as I’m aware, gravy is gravy – brown sludge manufactured from meat juice. I’m intrigued and your answers are much more interesting than Google 😊

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      3. I see. You don’t have to answer this, I realise that it’s just me being nosy, but does that make you a southern girl now living in the north? Is it vastly different, like me uprooting to Finland?

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      4. I was born in the North, moved down south when I married and then back up north when the husband retired. I was never really a “southerner”, just enjoyed some of their food. But yes, it is quite different. Geographically, culturally, as well as politically.

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      5. We have such a small space to live in that it seems strange that you can go so far within the same country. We can’t really go much more than a couple of hundred miles without getting very wet… 😊

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  5. I’ve never understood ‘gravy’ – never even knew it existed until I was in my 20’s. To a certain segment of Italian-Americans ‘gravy’ is what others call ‘spaghetti sauce’. I learned to make ‘brown gravy’ – the stuff people put on meat and mashed potatoes – when I married a nice Boston Irish guy. After I get done with it actually tastes like something LOL Biscuits on the other hand – love them when they are big and fluffy. (Beans? No thank you – the texture really puts me off.)

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    1. Food is such a cultural thing. That’s why I love traveling and trying new things. The ironic part about this restaurant? They had a pastry case by the door where I bought a few wonderful cannolis. Leave the breakfast, take the cannoli.
      🤣

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  8. I feel your pain regarding biscuits and gravy. I would make it occasionally then you can have it for breakfast and dinner. Fortunately She Who Must Be Obeyed likes it too… And remember biscuits and gravy is a a health food. It has vitamins B and G. G as in Gee this is darn good stuff…

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  11. Hey, just so you know beans down in far west Texas is almost a given with breakfast. Of course down here its pinto beans or refried, not baked. As someone who grew up with a mother who was/is an amazing cook, I learned early on how to make from scratch biscuits and sausage gravy. A lot of people are surprised that I know how to cook southern food since I’m well, Hispanic/Latina but my mom’s adventure into southern cooking is a great story I need to blog about. She learned from southern ladies living here and working on farms/ranches as a young girl. Biscuits and gravy are almost a Sunday staple at my house, so I have a lot of practice. And yes, making a biscuit and a bit of gravy is impossible, lol.

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  13. Being a Real Northerner, I have never seen the attraction of biscuits and gravy, but that may be because I never had the Real Thing.
    But that aside, is there a reason you cannot make a meal for more than one, and have it on consecutive mornings? Does it not freeze well? We never make meals for 1 day. We cook two or 3 times a week and enjoy the leftovers till they are gone, or until they are frozen for a quick meal another time. Making bigger meals is much more economical, and there us much less asking of “What are we going to have today? After supper last night we make an egg salad, which we will have for 3 cobsecutive breakfasts.” Today we will have it on croissants, tomorrow on toast, and the next day on garlic bread. All with just one prep.

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    1. It’s like lasagne, hard to make for one. And it probably doesn’t freeze well. And I’m not making fresh biscuits every morning just for me. Nope. Not happening.
      😉

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      2. Here’s a little help: Pillsbury makes some really good frozen biscuits, I use them all the time since I learned my mom’s biscuit technique, Official biscuit of the national hockey league. If you can find some uncooked sausage patties, it’s easy enough to do for one. While you are waiting on the biscuits you can write a blog post about what a culinary genius I am. Gravy cooks up gray like that when you make it in big batches. Let the meat get a bit crusty and toast the flour on it a tiny bit before adding the milk, a little at a time until you get the thickness you like. It’s Bechamel so it thickens as it cools. I’m sure you know about that, but there are people reading this thread who little if anything of this magic. I’m helping you help them, Do itastemashite.

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      4. The patties are just pieces of sausage in convenient portion control sizes. Once it hits the pan it’s the same as anyone else’s. May all your breakfasts be filled with joy.
        So, how’s our main man with SOS? That’s another masterpiece of faible cuisine that I can’t resist.

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  14. Man, bad biscuits and gravy is sad! The last time I went to an iHop, mine tasted like pure salt.

    The place where I get burgers has added biscuits/gravy but I keep forgetting till it’s too late to order (they stop serving at 11am)

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      1. Yeah, they’re both crap! The iHop salt-fest was years ago and I don’t intend to ever go to one again.

        I went to Denny’s about a year ago, cause I wanted dine-in food at 3am, but that was also major fail.

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  16. Baked Beans made in Portland area(B&M) as I used to truck them down 295. lol and Biscuits and Gravy used to be my favorite (down 50 lbs. it will now be a treat once or twice a year) and I am not sure what color you would like them to be 🙂 browned sausage cooked with white flour that is then cooked with milk or cream gives that lovely and delicious color add some hot sauce and liven it up, like beer everyone’s tastes are different, make it your own. Then swap out the home fries for some tasty albeit frozen or canned fruit and your meal would have been less gray. Your husband’s choice looked good too, when we are up in Augusta area, we will check it out! Go to a truck stop for the good stuff! Have a great weekend I may head up to see Steller’s Sea Eagle.

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  18. I never understood beans with breakfast, either.
    My MIL makes a mean biscuit with gravy breakfast; yummy and guaranteed to put five lbs on your ass in one sitting. 😜😜

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