WRIGHT’S RESTAURANT // A FAVORITE HOLE IN THE WALL

WRIGHT’S RESTAURANT // A FAVORITE HOLE IN THE WALL

As a college town, it’s expected we have quite the number of corporate/chain restaurants in our community. However, this corporate boom of gastronomic establishments has provided a new found appreciation for your mom and pop, hole-in-the-wall eateries. As a dietitian and foodie, I often pride myself in finding that next hidden gem. There’s a selfishness in not wanting others to know about your secret space, but considering I’m a pretty generous person, I think it’s time to let the cat out of the bag.

This discovery began a few months ago, all in the process of riding with my husband to the gym in the wee hours of the morning. Driving down University Boulevard on the way to campus, I noticed a restaurant on our route that had a packed parking lot full of pick-trucks at 5:30 a.m. Fastforward to 6:00 p.m., and once again the parking lot was completely packed. For such obvious popularity, I couldn’t understand why I had never noticed or heard of Wright’s Restaurant before.

I made a pact with my husband that if we tried Wright’s, we had to try it together. Remembering that I had seen the most amount of cars for breakfast service, we finally decided to break down and give Wright’s a try. We ventured out on a Saturday morning, and once again, despite the weekend, the parking lot was packed. The hubs and I immediately noticed a handwritten note on the door asking people to kindly refrain from using curse words in the restaurant because it was a family atmosphere. This already got bonus points in my book. We entered the eatery and saw a mix of older men groups, families, and couples. Booths, tables, and bar seats were filled during such an early part of Saturday morning. The waitresses all immediately made eye contact with us and encouraged us to sit where ever we wanted.

Our booth was cozy and my eyes bulged from the exhaustive selection of breakfast items. Pancakes, waffles, biscuits, omelettes, and much more danced on the menu. My eyes immediately darted to the side items and the hashbrowns served with cheese and ham. While my husband opted for biscuits and sausage gravy, I went for the bedazzled hashbrowns with a sunny side up egg and biscuit.

Waiting on our food, I was finally able to acknowledge all the buzzing conversations around us. It was obvious that the waitresses knew almost everyone in the restaurant. Inquiries about hospital stays, new babies, and job promotions let me know that this was my kind of place. I suppose if Cheers was a restaurant, then it would be Wright’s. Our food came up pretty rapidly, and I was pleased with the portions on my plate. Despite the fact that not all the cheese on my hashbrowns were melted, I was excited that it was such an ample portion size. Glancing at my hubby’s plate, I coveted the thick-cut bacon accompanying his biscuits. The best thing about this breakfast is that everything tasted as good as it looked. Home cooking flavors matched with a quaint diner atmosphere have me curious to come back for lunch and dinner.

Wright’s  is located at 3750 University Boulevard East and opened Monday through Saturday.  Tweet us @ThePlanetWeekly and let us know where you are eating!