Breakfast in the Skook took a trip to the 462 this morning and visited Vernalis Restaurant, which is located off Main Street in Shenandoah. Our group was completely intact today, with Bryan, Matt, Mike and Tonto. We also had one of our recurring guests, Kevin, join us this morning. Kevin has been with us for the Manheim Diner and Friedensburg Country Restaurant reviews. We were all surprised by Vernalis’ extensive menu, especially their omelette menu which included 23 different types of omelettes!
The Mighty Tonto came in knowing what he was going to order – the “Blue Devil Omelette”, which was one of their daily specials. He told the group that he even had a dream about eating this particular omelette, which consisted of bacon, onions, cheese and jalapeno peppers. It was served with homefries and toast for only $6.95. Mike ordered the “Colorado Omelette”, which consisted of steak, onions, mushrooms, and melted mozzarella cheese. Matt ended up getting his usual – two scrambled eggs, homefries, toast and sausage. Bryan ordered the “Stuffed French Toast”, which was two pieces of French Toast stuffed with bacon, sausage, ham and cheese. Kevin ended up ordering a mushroom omelette, which technically wasn’t on the menu. He also ordered a side of sliced tomato, which made our waitress cringe.
Establishment: 3.5/5 – Parking is on the street, so it can be limited depending on the time of day you arrive. The interior of the restaurant has two dining rooms – a very small section as you enter which includes a diner counter, and a larger section in the back with more tables.
Service: 4/5 – Our waitress was very friendly. She frequently refilled our coffees and joked around with us. Our wait for the food was the longest we’ve had so far – 26-minutes, although we chalked that up to having five people instead of our usual four. We took off a point because Kevin received a Western Omelette instead of the mushroom one that he ordered. Luckily, he’s not picky and ate it anyway.
Appearance: 4/5 – All of our meals looked spectacular! The food portions were large, but the coffee mugs were some of the smallest we’ve encountered, which required frequent refills, hence the one-point deduction. We take our coffee seriously!
Taste: 3/5 – Taste was about average. Nothing terrible, yet nothing special. The homefries were freshly cut potatoes, but they were not cooked to Tonto’s liking. Matt thought they were slightly below average while Mike thought they were “okay”. Bryan thought the stuffed French Toast tasted delicious, though it was lukewarm. The omelettes were nice and hot when they were served. The sausage tasted pretty good and had a bit of a spice to it.
Price: 5/5 – Only $40 for five people. We’ll take that any day! You also get large portions of food for the price.
All in all, Vernalis Restaurant gives you another option north of the mountain for a decent breakfast. Although it didn’t stand out above the rest, it definitely provides you with a large meal for a cheap price. Not to mention their sizable menu has something for every palate. Their atmosphere is also very friendly and relaxing – not a bad place to visit!
Have a breakfast spot for us to visit? Email us your comments or suggestions at schuylkillbreakfast@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter: @SkookBreakfast.
Breakfast in the Skook 