Last Sunday morning, before going out to run all of our errands, my wife and I decided to return to a new favorite local spot of ours, Nancy’s East End Diner. The best kind of greasy spoon, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with their high-quality ingredients and friendly, warm service.

I went all-out with the “Fat Cat” breakfast. 2 eggs (I requested over-medium), grits, 2 pieces of hot sausage from DJ’s Butcher Block in Bloomfield, and 2 whole pieces of Mancini’s Italian bread. The eggs were fresh and delicious, with golden creamy yolks, thickened slightly through the longer cooking time than over-easy. The yolks became a luscious sauce which I gladly mixed with the rough-ground and spicy sausage patties, scooping every last bit up with the substantial and thick toast. The grits were smooth and buttery, nice and light, and perfectly warmed throughout to provide a nice counterbalance to the rich eggs and fatty sausage.

With the Fat Cat also came my choice of French Toast or Pancakes and I am confident and proud of my choice. These incredible griddle cakes were soft and sweet with a nice finish of vanilla throughout and magically crispy and buttery finish all around the edges. The edges of these thin cakes were like the best part of crepes and pancakes all mixed together into one. I didn’t even need syrup, as the light dusting of the powdered sugar pushed only the slightly-more-dense-than-air cakes into clear dessert territory. Paired with their peaberry blend coffee from Fortune’s, it was an outstanding breakfast. I look forward to returning many, many more times.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the lovely shop right next door, Lovett Sundries. Run by co-owner Jeff, the store offers an incredible array of homemade, organic, sustainable cleaning products both for the home and body. Jeff’s charisma and obvious passion for creating environmentally conscious soaps is infectious. I can personally vouch for the Buff and Polish Soap, which scrubs vigorously and leaves my skin feeling crisp and clean. I don’t think a visit to Nancy’s is complete without at least poking your head in next door and seeing if anything Jeff has to offer interests you as well.