The photo is a bit out of date but a new one is on the way @%*# digital camera

Calling themselves a “coffee shop” is an understatement. Nick’s serves up an affordable breakfast and lunch in a quaint atmosphere. The restaurant seats about 40 people but I’ve never seen it full. That means there is no lines and no waiting. The staff is pleasant and doesn’t rush you (or themselves).

I tried a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, grilled banana nut muffin and coffee. The eggs and coffee didn’t knock my socks off but the bacon was thick and crispy and muffin was hot buttered and perfectly golden brown. One of the best things about my trip to Nick’s was the affordable price. Their most expensive breakfast plate (loaded with pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast and juice) is just about $6 everything else is $4 or under. All lunch sandwiches are under priced under $6 .

Located on Church St. across from the Lyceum, Nick’s is centrally located. They keep unique hours 6am – 3pm Monday through Friday and 7am – 1pm Saturday and Sunday, so keep your focus on breakfast. This is a great spot for the frugal local or tourist that doesn’t have time to wait around and still wants a solid meal.

Portions: B
Service: C
Atmosphere: C
Price: A
Overall: B-

Salem has a host of breakfast nooks today we revisited Fountain Place, diagonally across from the Samantha statue on the corner of Essex and Washington.

It had been over a year since we last reviewed Fountain Place and with that information long gone the time had come again to try it out. Nothing much had changed. They still have a stellar location on the corner of the block with big windows so patrons can look out on the morning hustle and bustle. The interior is bland and could use a makeover, its not bad just somewhat worn. The waitress was very friendly and had a surly diner waitress air about her.

We ordered the eggs Benedict (with home fries), eggs Florentine, and French toast. Coffee, OJ and chocolate milk rounded out our order. Service was quick with the food being served up nice and hot. Everything was good but none of it was inspired. The hollandaise was fine but unremarkable, Florentine also was satisfactory but nothing to write home about.

Unlike other breakfast joints in town there is nothing bad about this place, on the other hand nothing stands out either. Bland.

Atmosphere: C
Food: C
Service: B+
Price: B+
Overall: C

With 16 years of history in down town Salem I figured Cafe Graziani had to be doing something right. Boy was I wrong.

Here at theSalemInsider.com we are always looking for a good breakfast. Nobody I talked with ever mentioned Cafe Graziani so I figured it’s time to give it a try. The first thing I noticed when we walked in were a bunch of uncleared tables. I usually take this as a good sign as a sign of a busy restaurant. Unfortunately in this case it was a sign of being understaffed.

The waitress was quite friendly and attempted to make a personal connection with all the patrons and the menu prices were very reasonable. That is where things started to fall flat.

Our coffee was luke warm at best, and tasted horrible. I got the ham and cheese omelet which was paper thin and made with what appeared to be one extra thin slice of ham and one piece of cheese, it too was cold. The side of “homefries” were nothing more than chopped potatoes with a shake of parsley on them, slightly warmed – not cooked through.

There are plenty of great breakfast locations in Salem, this is not one of them.

Atmosphere: D
Service: B
Food: D
Overall: D