Breakfast With Dad: The Most Delicious Breakfast EVER!

In the next installment of Dad and Kara try new breakfast places, we went to the Ugly Mug Diner in Salem, MA. I had seen this place when I went to Salem with my grandfather last week. It was also featured in North Shore Magazine's "Best of the North Shore 2015" for breakfast.  I checked the menu online and immediately knew that I needed to go there! The diner calls themselves a "foodie haven, not a greasy spoon" and it is certainly a foodie haven.

One side of the sign outside of the diner.

Same!

While looking through the menu Dad and I both got large orange juices (freshly squeezed) and espresso drinks. He had a double espresso and I got a cappuccino. My cappuccino came in a, you guessed it, ugly mug! Every table already comes with an ugly mug filled with the creamer cups. My mug was for a motorcycle company and the one on our table had different variations of "mom" written all over it. I saw a Scarecrow (from "The Wizard of Oz") mug that was pretty ugly!

Now onto the good stuff! I made the fantastic choice of getting the "This Ain't No Chicken & Waffles," which is duck confit and candied pecans on top of a waffle with a bourbon maple syrup reduction. This was out of this world delicious! Why don't I have duck more often? And for breakfast!

Dad also got duck, but he got it in "The Hungry Chef" with Brisket Hash, wheat toast and two sunny-side up eggs. He loved it and found it interesting that the hash was made with sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. 

Overall definitely a 5 out of 5 and we would come again. The delicious food along with the quirkiness of the restaurant with all of the ugly mugs on every table made the experience unique and fun. We need to take Mom with us next time! (Plus we got 10% discount at Wicked Good Books if we brought our receipt!)

Dad and I then spent some time wandering around Salem and looking at all the witch related stores in the area.

A "Bewitched" statue 

Some storefronts on Essex St. 

I guess that this is the American Ollivanders?

Stickwork, part of the Peabody Essex Museum

This is supposed to be an abstract map of Salem with a Torii (Japanese gateway) to represent Salem's relationship with the Far East.

Dad and I had a great time at the Ugly Mug Diner and walking around Salem. We went into some cool shops. I especially liked Roost & Company where I got a Jane Austen candle! Dad and I agreed that we would want to come back to Salem and try some of the other restaurants. 

See you next time,

Kara