Picture it—Monday—President’s Day, a perfect day for Mela and me to venture to the world beyond the Tappan Zee Bridge for breakfast and some shopping.
I researched about five different possible breakfast places in Rockland County and all were closed on Mondays. Luckily, I remember seeing one or two diners during my drives in Nanuet and Nyack.
appeared like magic during my search, and I called, and yes, they were open! I got directions from the Internet and off we went. This breakfast review could be called Lost in Rockland, because the instructions definitely got us five miles lost. I called Hogan’s and was given very good directions to backtrack. No wonder we couldn’t find the diner, because it was in a sleepy little strip mall with similar signs for all the stores.
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Hogan’s has a very welcoming style that is modern with nostalgia thrown in. The counter on the side is reminiscent of the Woolworth luncheonette counters. Mela and I took a booth, and our waiter, Freddy Aquilar, from Pearl River, who was friendly and attentive throughout our visit, served us two cups of delicious coffee. Splenda was on the table—no need to ask for it—and we were given the choice of milk or cream for our coffee. By the way, coffee refills were a given.
We ordered Old Fashion French Toast with Bacon, Chef’s Omelette (broccoli, spinach, artichoke and Monterey jack cheese) and Sweet Potato Fries on the side. We substituted asparagus for the spinach in the omelette—no problem—and asked for multigrain toast with home fries. This may seem like a lot to eat, but it was almost 11 a.m. and after the half-hour drive and the half hour of being lost, we were ravenous!
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Freddy knew we were splitting everything and had the omelette with home fries served on separate plates, thoughtful on his part and easy on ours. The omelette was perfectly cooked, the home fries soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside. The French toast was flavorful and firm, with no mushy center that you sometimes get with undercooked French toast.
Real maple syrup was available at an extra cost, which we went for. Real butter in the pats, yeah! Bacon was crispy and not greasy. Mela loves her sweet potato fries, when she can get them, and Hogan’s had them. Everything was served in generous portions, including the fries.
The only bump in the road at Hogan’s was the multigrain toast. We had to pay extra for choosing multigrain. What? OK, I went for the extra 50 cents, thinking this is some special homemade multigrain toast. Guess what? It was not worth the extra money for two little pitiful pieces of multigrain bread that were definitely not homemade.
Our bill—$29.48 plus tip—was in the average breakfast range, but at the counter while paying you had a choice of either a chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie to take with you.
Hogan’s Nyack Diner was worth the trip and the aggravation trying to find it!
Hogan’s Nyack Diner
41 Route 59
Nyack
845-358-5475
Mariann Raftery, creator of Somebody's Mom blog, cooks up comfort food recipes for families here at home, as well as sending homemade cookie care packages to our American soldiers overseas. Somebody's Mom Cooking videos at http://www.youtube.com, search "Thesomebodysmom".
