Engine House Wow

Your votes took us to the historic Havelock district to the Engine House Cafe.  We waited until Saturday morning to get up early and snag some breakfast.

Food

Anna's Potato Platter

Anna - 8

I got a half order of the captain’s potato platter, which consisted of potatoes mixed diced ham, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, cheddar and monterrey jack cheese topped with a scrambled egg and sourdough toast on the side.  Of course we went early in the morning so I definitely had coffee, and it was nice and strong, which was just what I needed.  Even with a half order, I left feeling very full.  It was definitely very good and full of great flavors.  I just thought it was pretty standard.  Maybe it’s my own fault for not being more adventurous with my order, but I definitely needed a splash of tabasco to spice it up and make it more interesting.

Sarah's chocolate chip pancake and hashbrowns

Sarah - 9

I had looked at the menu before we took the trek out to Engine House Cafe, so I knew what I wanted before I got to the restaurant.  I ordered a gigantic buttermilk chocolate chip pancake and a side order of hash browns.  The pancake was seriously as big as my face and the chocolate chips were spread out perfectly throughout to not be overwhelming.  I couldn’t even finish the entire pancake because it was so huge.  The hash browns were absolutely amazing.  Perfectly crispy, salty and hot.  Definitely worth the extra two dollars.

Price

Anna's Coffee

Anna - 8

My boyfriend Peter came along this week, and he was generous enough to pay for my portion.  My half order plus coffee was about 10 dollars, so it was pretty fair.  The coffee was maybe a bit overpriced, as we both got to the bottom of our mugs before we were offered refills.  Otherwise I’d say it was reasonable.

Sarah - 9

Like Anna, I managed to convince my boyfriend to come again this week.  Since he bought our dinner last time, I bought breakfast.  My pancake was $3, my hash browns were $2, and Zach’s breakfast was $7.  After tax, our total was just over $13 and then I left a $3 tip for our great service.

Service

Anna - 9

Holy cow this place was packed. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get a table, and as we were waiting about four or five group turned around and walked out not wanting to wait. The entire time there were people lined up against the wall waiting for food. I definitely felt guilty for sitting and chatting a bit after we finished. Considering how busy it was we got great service, because you know those waiters never got a second to themselves.

Sarah - 10

Thanks to Anna and Peter for getting to the restaurant early, our wait time was significantly shorter.  Had we waited until right at 9am to put our name on the waiting list, we would have had to wait much longer.  The restaurant was packed!  We didn’t have to wait long at all before our waitress came over and took our drink orders, came back and took our breakfast order, and it was less than 10 minutes before our food came out!  It was great.

Atmosphere

Anna - 8

The Engine House Cafe is in an old fire engine house.  Very fitting name.  It is a very small little restaurant with tons of old firefighter memorabilia on all of the walls.  It has a very fun, historic vibe in the place.  There were a lot of Michigan State fans there, so you know everyone there was plenty friendly if the team expected to crush the Huskers felt comfortable to visit.

Sarah - 9

I commented fairly shortly after we got to the restaurant at how quiet it was.  Even though the restaurant was packed nearly wall to wall and there was a line almost all the way out the front door, we didn’t have to talk any louder than a conversational volume.  The restaurant was super quaint and home-y and I loved how it still looked like the old fire station.

Convenience of Location

Anna - 4

I blame myself for allowing this place to be on the voting list.  It was a twenty minute drive for me to go all the way across Lincoln.  We’ve been doing that week after week, and I’m so ready to be done driving to these places.  Other than the lengthy drive, I found parking right away.  I also love when I don’t have to pay for parking, so that’s definitely a plus.

Sarah - 4

As Anna said, we’ve been in a really good habit of picking restaurants that aren’t close to where we live, at all.  It look twenty minutes to get from campus to Engine House Cafe.  It was an easy drive at 8:30 in the morning on a Sunday, but on any other day of the week during a busy time, it would have been an extremely stressful drive.  It definitely was worth a little further drive for such a great breakfast.

Peter:

Food - 9

Price - 10

Service - 9

Atmosphere - 10

Convenience of Location - 3

Zach:

Food - 9

Price - 7

Service - 7

Atmosphere - 9

Convenience of Location - 3