2-Bit Review: Northside Grill

One or two visits. A few hundred words. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Usually the other side of the Broadway Bridge seems like a DMZ that I don’t have a huge desire to wander past. But the Northside Grill is only a few yards north of the bridge, and it’s always worth a foray into no-mans-land for one of the best breakfasts in town.

My absolute favorite is the Morning Egg-dition. Northside is a big supporter of WEMU, and even hosts a fundraiser for the public radio station every Valentine’s Day. The Morning Egg-dition is a sandwich featuring eggs scrambled with chopped tomato and ham, on grilled Texas toast with cheese and this wonderful spicy mayonnaise. A generous portion of crispy hash browns come on the side. Nine times out of ten, I’ll request French fries and invariably the waiter will have to remind me that the deep fryer isn’t hot yet. Oh, and just to make things interesting, I usually substitute multi-grain bread for the Texas toast, which I have found to be a bit greasy sometimes.

My other favorite order is French Toast. Bread at the Northside Grill is homemade and extra thick, the perfect medium for what is essentially dessert for breakfast. Somehow I don’t think the diet Coke that I regularly order compensates for the calories that this dish unloads. And other than breakfast, I’ve also enjoyed the occasional cheeseburger – cooked to order, juicy, and just the right size.

Northside Grill is invariably PACKED on weekends, especially during Art Fair or football season. I know some who have waited for 40 minutes or more for a table in the small diner that seats probably only 40 or 50 people. So I try to go on weekdays, when it’s easier to sit with a paper and enjoy a leisurely breakfast without two or three parties giving you the hard-eye-ball stare wishing you would vacate your table. And even on crowded mornings, the staff at Northside are always friendly and efficient, keeping coffee (or in my case diet Coke) topped off and dishes cleared.

Between Angelo’s, Frank’s, Bell’s, and seemingly dozens of Coney Islands, we are lucky to have a wide choice for breakfast on any given day. But the Northside Grill is definitely a favorite worth repeat visits.

Bunny-zilla

Great Harvest Bread Company has a tradition of selling "honey bunnies" during the Easter season. "Every year we try to come up with some creative way to mangle and or humiliate the poor bunnies," owner Janene Centurione explained. "This year we managed to bake a 50 pound specimen."

Bunny-zilla is on display in the store on South Main near Busch's, and since it's been petted and manhandled for the past week (not to mention it's doneness in the middle suspect), it's not intended for consumption. "One of our regular customers is going to take it to use a centerpiece for Easter dinner," Janene told me earlier today. "And then she's going to put it out in her woods for the turkeys to eat. She's promised to send us a photo each day, to show the progression as the big ol' thing is nibbled away."

Zingerman's Compound

While everyone seems hopeful regarding the re-opening of the Jeff Market, we've heard an interesting story regarding proposed growth up on Detroit Street...As part of it's long-term strategy, we hear that Zingerman's plans to somehow add 8,000 square feet to their space near Kerrytown, creating what will essentially be a "compound" of sorts. To achieve that much square footage on the relatively small footprint of the Deli, Next Door, and the small house behind, part of the plan will be to go underground with kitchens, offices, and meeting space.

Chatting with my source in the produce section of Busch's yesterday, I mentioned how much use Zingerman's has gotten from the big, heated tent in the back yard. "You know, that tent cost them $10,000 to put up," she told me. "But they grossed an additional $300,000 in the first two months after it was installed."

One can only imagine the new income a Zingerman's Compound would generate, as well as being an even bigger destination for out-of-towners. But I shudder to think about the hoops the city will force them to jump through – good thing Ari, Tom, and staff have always appeared to be comfortable with thinking long term.