Firefly Cafe: "Two thumbs sideways"

There’s something about rolling back a boulder to find Jesus has left the building and Easter brunch that just go so well together.  On Easter Sunday, Mike and I decided to try a new place for brunch.  I also added a new breakfast companion into the mix, Ingela Marie Johnson Smith Volvo from Pennsylvania.  The destination? The Firefly Café.  I had never been here before, neither had Ingela and Mike hadn’t eaten here in years.  Game on.

Firefly Cafe

We arrived promptly at 9 a.m. and got a sweet table outside.  The coffee was good, the server was perky and prompt and the mood was set for a great meal.  I will say that in anticipation of a busy Easter rush, perhaps we caught the chefs on a bad morning.  We were the first people there and maybe the kitchen hadn’t found their mojo yet. 

Overall, the meal was mediocre.  The worst part about mediocre is when mediocre is expensive.  I think breakfast for the three of us was close to $60.  I had a custom omelette with bacon, Monterey Jack cheese and tomatoes, I added a $2 biscuit that was not homemade and the meal came with hash browns.  The hash browns were stringy and greasy and the consistency was not great.  Ingela had a classic breakfast of two eggs over easy, sausage, hash browns that she didn’t finish, and a biscuit.  Mike’s meal was the most visually impressive and for him to not finish a $14 breakfast, you know it has to be bad. 

My omelette

Here are the descriptions for our various entrees:

Me: "My Way" Omellette (sic)

An Omelet filled your way;

Choose from: Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, red onions, green onions, sweet peppers, ham, bacon and sausage.

Ingela: The Usual

Two eggs your way, apple wood smoked bacon or sausage links, hash browns or grits and a buttermilk biscuit.

Ingela's 'The Usual'

Mike: Habersham Hashbrowns

Sauteed peppers and onions in the hash, 2 eggs, jack cheese, adobe sour cream and scallions. Add ham or sausage crumbles.

Mike’s sounds the best and from the photo, it looks the best, but he pushed it away.  I think it honestly has a lot to do with the hash browns.  Given they make up 1/3 of a typical breakfast plate, if they are bad, the odds are not ever in their favor. 

Mike's Habersham Hash Browns

As Mike and I were discussing our disappointment later that afternoon, Ingela texted to say:  “My official Firefly Café review: two thumbs sideways.”

And she is right.  I hate to knock a small business doing it’s best to keep the doors open against the megalochains of Savannah, but it’s the South.  You can’t serve mediocre breakfast and charge $2 for a frozen Pillsbury biscuit.  It’s just not very Christian. 

Foxy Loxy: The Fox and Fig

As a result of owning my own coffee shop at one point and managing a Starbucks at another point, I’ve become a bit of a snob about coffee shops and their espresso.

Foxy Loxy Cafe

My neighborhood is home to Foxy Loxy Café.  It just opened in August 2011 and a woman who is also a SCAD professor owns it and frequently slings lattes.  This is already a good sign.  If someone who owns a coffee shop is behind the counter, you know this means he or she enjoys what he or she is doing.  As a result, the coffee and espresso will just taste better.  Promise.  And if the place is as beautiful inside as Foxy Loxy, well then, even better. 

My standard drink is an iced latte.  But I’m picky about my espresso.  I found out however, that Foxy Loxy brews PERC Coffee and uses PERC espresso.  Both of which locally owned PERC Coffee roasts just for them.  Sweet.  And let me tell you, it’s really good.  It’s a bit smoother than your average espresso.  It tastes a bit nuttier also.  If you like that ‘punch me in the face’ espresso from Starbucks, you may want to add an extra shot to your drinks here.  (Word to the wise, taste has nothing to do with strength.)  The espresso here is probably just as strong, but ah, the mind plays tricks and Starbucks’ espresso just does taste strong.

Fig and Chocolate Scones

So what do I pair with my latte?  Well, after haunting this shop frequently over the last few weeks, I will say YOU MUST GET A FIG AND CHOCOLATE SCONE.  I even sometimes call ahead to ask what kind of scones they have.  “Jason, you’re sick and you have a food problem.”  I say, “Qu’ils mangent du scone!”  Believe me, they are worth it.  They also have an amazing lavendar lemon loaf.  Yeah, they went there.  They also have three kinds of brownies.

In order of preference:

1. Foxy Brownie – made with the aforementioned PERC espresso and heaps of tasty cinnamon.  I currently weigh an 1/8 of a ton and I can’t even finish one.

2.  Vegan brownie – yup, it’s like egg and milk free and stuff, but damn it’s good.

3. The other brownie (not the official name) – I’m pretty sure it has bacon and bourbon, but it’s too decadent for me.

If you aren’t a dessert person, they also have more savory choices like soups, tacos and my favorite, cheese boards.  You can mix and match several cheeses and bread and fruit and guess what else?  They even serve beer and wine.  Betty Ford score!

Foxy Loxy inside

Foxy Loxy is the real deal.  It has great atmosphere including a huge deer head that greets you at the door.  The espresso delights, the food is killer and the choices are always changing.  Plus, you can say you supported a local establishment and that’s pretty awesome. 

P.S. Try the Mexican hot chocolate.