Park Restaurant serves as stop #49 on our breakfast tour of Schuylkill county. If you didn’t know this place existed, there’s good reason. This little diner/restaurant is located at the end of Shenandoah before heading up the hill towards Shenandoah Heights. It sits off to the right, tucked between trees and covered in weeds. When we pulled in to the parking lot, we knew this was going to be a memorable place.
Our crew this morning consisted of Bryan, Mike, and our two guests, Ellen and Emily. We arrived at Park Restaurant at 9:00 a.m. and were joined by other cars occupied by hungry customers. The owners weren’t there to open up, so we all had to wait in our cars until they arrived. About two or three minutes later, they arrived and let us in. A swarm of people immediately followed and the restaurant filled up rather quickly. It seemed to be filled with locals and dedicated everyday customers.
The breakfast menu at Park Restaurant isn’t very large but it did include scrapple, which isn’t found on some smaller diner menus. Bryan ordered the “Matt Special” (not listed like that on the menu) – which of course is two scrambled eggs with sausage and a side of homefries, which didn’t originally come with the meal. Mike went with the Western Omelette, which included ham, peppers and onions inside an egg omelette topped with slices of cheese. Ellen decided to step up and order the “Honkey Omelette”. This breakfast beast consisted of an egg omelette stuffed with bacon, sausage, ham, onions, peppers, mushrooms and homefries. A bold move for a brave woman. Emily, who broke the Breakfast in the Skook record of being our youngest guest, ordered two pancakes with a side of bacon. Bryan and Mike both ordered coffees while Ellen and Emily ordered chocolate milk.
Establishment: 1/5 – I’m not going to lie…this place is a bit of a dump. The outside is being overtaken by weeds and unkempt shrubbery. If we weren’t writing this blog, we probably would’ve taken one look and turned right around. But like my momma always told me, never judge a book by its cover! The interior wasn’t any better; there was a foyer at the entrance with some steps leading to the diner. It was dimly lit and had some grease stains caked on to the wall. This is your typical greasy spoon restaurant. The booth that we sat in had barely any cushion; we could feel the springs and bars underneath our butts. Ellen noticed the coat/hat racks connected to each booth, which was pretty neat. It just felt like the place hasn’t been updated since the 1950’s, which again, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Service: 3/5 – Waitress was very nice and accommodating. She frequently refilled our coffees and asked us if we needed anything. The owner even came over to check on us – very friendly. We had to take 2 points away because of the longer wait time of 39-minutes (also a record). We understand that only one guy was working the kitchen and they just opened up, so we took that into consideration.
Appearance: 4/5 – Our food came out hot. Each platter had plenty of food and it all looked good. They had clear glass coffee mugs, which was a first.
Taste: 5/5 – We were pleasantly surprised to find that everything was fresh and delicious! The homefries with Bryan’s meal were freshly cut and cooked perfectly. The sausage seemed to be ground meat that they cooked in clumps – Bryan and Ellen both loved it! Emily, our food connoisseur, noted that the bacon tasted…like bacon! She has a way with words, doesn’t she? We all enjoyed our meals and didn’t have any complaints, besides maybe that the peppers seemed to be of the frozen variety. Other than that, it was all good!
Price: 5/5 – A little less than $36 for the four of us – and that included Ellen’s wallet buster omelette that went for ten bucks. Bryan was paying today so she took advantage!
All in all, Park Restaurant in Shenandoah definitely served as a memorable trip. It is your typical local dive that has a lot of character from over the years. We recommend you eat here at least once to experience the atmosphere…that is, if you don’t mind sitting in sticky booths! They are open every day (except Monday) at 9:00 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.
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 