It’s been a while – nine months to be exact – since our last breakfast review. Now that Schuylkill County is back “in the green”, our crew decided to venture out and see what’s new at Josie’s Place in Schuylkill Haven.

Our first review of Josie’s was way back in August 2017 so we were eager to get back and see what’s changed and what’s stayed the same.

We had our original crew this morning consisting of Bryan, Matt, Mike and Tonto. As we pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, we noticed a lot of cars parked behind the adjacent Renninger’s Farmer’s Market (aka the Dirt Mall). It must be a good day to go shopping!

Our crew entered the establishment wearing our customary face masks. We were able to take them off when we sat down at our booth, which was about two feet from the entrance way. We noticed that no one else in the restaurant was wearing a mask, besides a few that walked in. The waitresses carried masks around their neck but no one was wearing them.

The silverware at Josie’s was still presented in little plastic baggies and the menus were a little wet, seemingly from being wiped down. The breakfast menu looked like the same one from 2017, with many of the same options.

Bryan ordered the “Scrapple Feast”, which consisted of two eggs (scrambled), two hotcakes, and two pieces of scrapple and toast. Matt, our renowned Sausage King, went with the “American”, which was two eggs (scrambled), homefries with cheese and onions, two sausage links and two pieces of bacon. Mike decided to go with the “Sausage Gravy” meal, which was just simply sausage gravy over toast and potatoes. The Mighty Tonto, who arrived with a mild case of the Yuengling Flight Virus, ordered the “Mess”. This meal was a conglomeration of two eggs, country ham, onions and homefries all scrambled together.

All of our meals were served on styrofoam plates and our coffee in large styrofoam cups. We assume this provides the staff with an easy clean-up and helps avoid reusing and cleaning their original plates and mugs.

Bryan gave his meal a 3/5. The scrapple was crispy around the edges but soft and gooey in the middle. The hotcakes were nice and hot and the scrambled eggs tasted fine. He thought it was an ordinary meal, nothing too special here.

Matt rated his meal a 4/5. He would’ve chosen a different cheese other than American if he would have had a choice. He didn’t like the coffee and thought it was way too hot. Other than that, he thought his meal was very good.

Mike gave his meal a 5/5. He thinks Josie’s is usually hit-or-miss but this time was definitely a hit. He also thought the coffee was too hot but had no other complaints.

Tonto rated his meal a 5/5. Although the coffee was weak in flavor, the “Mess” was outstanding. He doused Texas Pete hot sauce on his meal which he described as a “game changer”. The coffee was even hotter than Tonto’s temperature!

It was great to get our crew back together again. Josie’s Place is a nice restaurant to consider for a quick and cheap breakfast. Our bill totaled just over $33 for the four of us. All of the waitresses were polite and accommodating. Not much has changed at Josie’s over the last three years, but like the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”