Dined Monday June 30th

The Daily Paper

644 West Main St, Hyannis MA 02601

Website: The Daily Paper

Recent winner of Best Breakfast on Cape Cod 

by The Cape Cod Magazine

As such, we took a step outside of our 'alphabetical started in the middle' way of choosing locations, and decided to do a celebratory piece for their win.

1. Initial impression of convenience, parking, and location.

• This restaurant is probably the closest to our take-off point so far. Now that may mean nothing to anyone else but darn it this is our blog.
• There are many parking spaces available. This spot was the busiest of the places we have visited so far and we were still able to park with ease.

2. Wait time to be greeted, seated, and first impressions of staff.

• The greeting was immediate as we walked in the front doors, there was a server at the counter that acknowledged our presence and began the seating process.
• Initial impressions were good, there were smiles all around.

3. Type of seating, comfort, wait time for server introduction.

• We were given three choices for seating; outside patio, inside booth, inside chairs. We elected for inside whatever and the chairs are where we were sat. They were extremely uncomfortable. No lazy butts in these chairs. Sitting upright was the only option.
• A young girl arrived quickly to offer us coffee as we perused the menu. She returned at an appropriate time to take our order. There was no introduction so I guess she was our waitress.

4. Variety of menu options (too many/too little)

• The options for food were vast at this location. The menu has so many choices that for some it was more difficult to finally pick what they would order. There was also a special chalk board on the wall, listing other options not on the menu.

• This location did not have a meat + egg combo, meat must be ordered as a side dish.

5. Menu highlights of uncommon items.

• There is an entire box on the menu dedicated to healthy choices (for those watching what they put in their mouths)
• Chicken sausage
• Lemon poppy seed waffles
• Home Made Blueberry Compote
• Local coffee - Beanstalk Coffee Roasters of Wellfleet
• Early Bird Breakfast Specials M-F before 8am

6. Speed of food delivery, and first impressions of plating, initial aroma.

• We did not have to wait long for the food to arrive. We waited the right amount of time.
• We were delighted to see the plates filled with Goldilocks portions. One should not think their order will not be enough. It will be.

7. TASTE!

• Coffee. The coffee at the daily paper is local, from Beanstalk Coffee Roasters of Wellfleet and was exactly what you would want for your morning coffee. Yum yum!
• The gentleman's Homemade Sausage Gravy over Buttermilk Biscuits with two eggs and homefries was scrumptious. Small slices of sausage chunked up the creamy gravy that sat atop the two biscuits. The homefries were just okay. Nothing compared to our last two outings. The scrambled eggs were fluffy. The gent also ordered a side of bacon which was aromatic but brittle. Although parts of the meal were more warm than hot I would order again but leave the bacon in the precooked pan.

• The gentleman's fiancée joined us and ate the linguica, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on an English muffin. She said it was very good. (You will have to imagine what it looked like, alas, as a picture was not taken)
• The lady's one egg with a side of linguica came to the table with a wonderful aroma. You could almost imagine the taste of the delicious meat in your mouth if you closed your eyes. The rye toast was soft and had the wonderful distinct flavour that any good rye bread should have. The home fries were a mix of soft potato and firm crust, with a seasoning that was mellow yet distinguishable, although they did arrive to the table cold. The egg was a perfect over easy, and broke nicely to release it’s fountain of golden egg goo. All in all, this breakfast was satisfying, and did not leave me hungry.

8. Value of product.

• The price of this three person outing was suprisingly minimal. The cheque coming in at just under $30 without tip definitely reinforces this breakfast joint’s value for what you get.
• Coffee $1.95 per bottomless cup
• Side of bacon $2.00
• 2 eggs and homefries $4.50
• Muffins $1.95

9. Payment options.

• Cash
• Visa/MC

Overall Rating: 8

Good:

For a ‘serves everyone (not necessarily a hangout of the locals)’ joint, the Daily Paper is decent. The parking was adequate, breakfast was good and filling, and the restaurant is clean. The decorations of the daily paper are interesting, and it seems as though the location is beginning to discover it's identity.

Bad: 

This is not a restaurant where everybody knows your name, you don’t know theirs either. The wait staff that we experienced could have some lessons in conversations. When the server was asked what she would suggest for breakfast, her response of “everything” was not helpful. As we’ve mentioned before, a breakfast experience can be improved significantly if you have a pleasant experience with those employed there.

Overall: 
The Daily Paper won ‘Best Breakfast’ for the Best of Cape Cod 2014 in Cape Cod Magazine. It also won a Silver in Cape Cod Times in 2013 and 2014. With these accomplishments, you would expect a 10/10, however, the impersonal wait staff that served us, the lackluster home fries and bacon bring our rating down.