Country Ham & Eggs

Critic's Review

I wasn't going to try this place for a few weeks, but there's nothing else going on in this city and I'd skipped breakfast. They have one of those idiotic parking lots where half of the spots are free and half have meters, and as usual, the free sports are largely taken by employees of the venues. I found one a ways down; am I really going to pay $2 to park to save myself from walking a block?

The first thing you notice is that they flattened the space; the previous occupant, Mugs Sports Bar, had a bar on a raised platform that kind of ruined the place. This was a good move but it required moving the bar; and when you move plumbing things can get complicated and expensive.

The place is partitioned with wainscotting; with a beige wall with some nice artwork in the back.

Country Ham & Eggs Oakland Park Interior

The beige transitions to a blue wall and then to green; the bar area is completely in contrast to the dineresque look of the rest of the place.

Country Ham & Eggs Oakland Park Blvd Bar Area

The booths are pretty nice, with marble tables and comfortable seats.

Country Ham & Eggs Oakland Park Booth

There are big TVs on the wall; a couple at the bar and several more throughout the dining room. I had one right in front of me.

Country Ham & Eggs Wall TV

I had a server come over who was clearly a diner person but I hadn't decided if I was having breakfast or lunch, so I wasn't sure what my beverage would be. A few minutes later, another girl came over who clearly wasn't a diner person, and I ordered coffee.

Country Ham & Eggs Coffee

I decided to try a Benedict and order the florentine Benedict which is made with spinach instead of Canadian bacon. The strange decor was paired with odd music; "Lollipop", "Winchester Cathedral", The Beach Boys and The Platters played while I waited.

The food came out in 11 minutes.

Country Ham & Eggs Florentine Benedict

At first glance, I was thinking this looked pretty good. Closer inspection dropped my spirits considerably. The first thing I noticed was that the eggs were flat. How do you make flat poached eggs? Usually they look like a scoop of sour cream. I cut the first egg. This egg was cooked hard.

Country Ham & Eggs "Poached" Egg Cooked Hard

I didn't have much hope for the 2nd egg, given the flatness. I cut the second egg; it wasn't quite as bad, but it was soft boiled. There would be no oozing egg yolk here, which is the entire point of eggs benedict.

Country Ham & Eggs Soft Boiled "poached" egg

After cutting the eggs, the spinach seemed a big strange. It was chopped. Like the chopped birds eye frozen spinach I had as a kid.

Stringy, Tasteless Chopped Spinach

The spinach was unseasoned and likely just boiled plain. How hard is it to saute or steam some fresh spinach?

The hollandaise was slightly lemony but not tasty enough to save the dish. This was not a good choice.

Conclusion

Twice at their other location and now here; I've yet to get eggs that were cooked properly. You'd think that in 30 years of serving breakfast they'd have figured out how to cook eggs.

The place is a diner with a bar, which is very strange. I think they'll be sorry that they named it Country Ham and Eggs, because it's not the kind of place people are going to think of going for dinner or drinks. The name of a restaurant does matter. The girl who served me (the second girl) was not an experienced server; she was awkward in offering me refills and seemed to be totally inexperienced. They're only open 2 days so such things are to be expected.

The owners seem nice enough, but I don't think that they're very good at preparing food. I wouldn't eat dinner here. This is diner food in a nicer setting; but it's not even good diner food.

Something that does astonish me is that people spend so much time and money opening a restaurant and they don't even bother putting up a page for the new place. Their website and Facebook page are just a mish-mosh of random info.