First Impressions
John: My mom used to always tell me that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Then, when I was in college, I called her one morning because I was going to bed at 8 a.m. (for some reason this was normal in college) and I asked her if I should be eating breakfast at eight when I was going to bed or at about 6 p.m. when I would be waking up. Her answer went something like, “just don’t fail out of school please.” The point to this story is that since my mom thinks breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it only made sense to wake up in the a.m. and have the earliest Dining Duo ever at Uptown Breakfast. When I pulled into the parking lot of Uptown Breakfast, I noticed two things; that I was really sleepy and that my eyes were barely open. However, my eyes were open enough to see that Uptown Breakfast is a quaint little restaurant with a lot of charm. I mean this place oozes small town charm; it’s an unassuming little restaurant that would work remarkably well in any town in any era. Everyone is friendly and I overheard almost every server call their customers by first name. I had not seen anything like that since the second episode of “Cheers.”

Copsey: I thought I had walked into the wrong store when I entered; the walls are spotted with dozens of pieces of artwork, all, apparently from local artists and all for sale. Uptown Breakfast is some sort of Frankenstein mishmash of folksy eatery and capitalist gallery. I liked it though. The art added a certain something to the place that I couldn’t help but ask ‘why don’t more restaurants do this?.’
John’s Grade: A-
Copsey: A

Appetizers
John: This is breakfast; there are no appetizers and no desserts. However, when you think about it, breakfast is so good that the meal practically is the dessert. Our ‘appetizer’ was a Belgian waffle. When it comes to Belgian waffles and pancakes, it’s all about the batter. I don’t know if Uptown Breakfast has a secret recipe that’s been handed down in the family for several generations or if it’s a mixture they just invented last month, but I can tell you this, the waffle was good. It was fluffy and light, which is important if you plan on eating the whole thing. I don’t ever recommend ordering a waffle and then two more meals like Copsey and I did for the sake of this review, my cardiovascular surgeon was on call all morning.

Copsey: Apparently they make their pancake batter fresh every morning. It really came through in the food, which couldn’t have tasted better had I cooked it at home (this isn’t hard to accomplish; I’m a horrible cook. Cereal is the best I can do). The portions are large, but neither John nor I really noticed as both plates were bare when the waitress took them away.
John’s Grade: B+
Copsey: A

Entrées
John: When you open the menu to the first page, the very first thing you’ notice is something called the ‘5 a.m. early wake-up call.’ If there is someone around you right now, stop reading and brainstorm as many breakfast items as you can with that person. Alright, good (If you’re by yourself I suppose you can also brainstorm). I promise you, whatever you thought of is on this platter. It comes with five mini pancakes, two pieces of French toast, two eggs, two pieces of bacon and two links of sausage. If you have eight children under the age of six, that should feed them all. Even better, everything on the plate was absolutely tasty. The sausage links were as big as a baby’s arm. The French toast was lightly crisp on the outside and our eggs were perfectly cooked sunny-side up, just as we requested. After staring at the food for a good 30 seconds, I told myself I would fast for at least two weeks before my next visit.

Copsey: A good measure of the tastiness of a dish is whether you can feel it in your arm after you eat it. Is it a heart attack or is it taste? I think it was taste.
John’s Grade: A-
Copsey: B+

More Entrées
John: Finally, we topped off our breakfast with a little bit of lunch. After tackling everything except omelettes and benedicts on the breakfast menu, we ordered a cheeseburger, just to see if Uptown BREAKFAST could manage a little lunch. If this was the ACT college test, Uptown scored a 36 with its hamburger. Copsey and I were both rendered speechless by the size of the burger, it was shockingly huge for a restaurant that only dabbles in lunch. Plus, when I picked it up to take the first bite, Copsey noted that it was dripping. I can’t confirm this, but I don’t think anyone in the world has ever had a dripping burger that tasted bad. It was juicy, perfectly cooked and honestly, it looked like a burger from a television commercial. If you like burgers and breakfast, you’ll probably have to flip a coin to try and decide what to eat at Uptown.

Copsey: The burgers come with the choice of either fries or hash browns, so I classify them as both breakfast and lunch; hash browns are obviously a breakfast item. Still, this burger was the size of John’s head, and not for the feint-hearted.
John: A
Copsey: A

Final Impression
John: After the meal, we got a chance to chat with Randy Atkins who co-owns the place with wife Linda. Let me assure you that it doesn’t get much more folksy or friendly then this guy. If the saying is right and the wife is really the better half, then Linda, who we didn’t get to meet, must be the friendliest, folksiest person to ever walk the earth. The hours of Uptown are 7 a.m.-2 p.m., which is perfect for someone like me. Generally, I don’t eat my first meal of the day until about noon (I know this isn’t normal) and by the time that hour rolls around, there’s nowhere for me to eat breakfast. So the discovery of this hidden jewel is perfect. Uptown is right across the street from Mt. Pisgah, perfectly placed for the post-church crowd. Also, if you’re looking for a brunch place to take mom today, even though I don’t know your mom personally, I guarantee she’ll enjoy the charm and taste of Uptown Breakfast.

Copsey: This place is practically an hour’s drive from me, but I am seriously considering moving closer just so I could justify eating there every week. Bring mom (mom’s, bring Junior); this place is pretty much the epitome of what a breakfast restaurant should be.
John: A-
Copsey: A