Panclog #28: Pegah’s Family Restaurant
Punks picnic at Pegah’s
July 28th, 2016
Pegah’s Family Restaurant is a Kansas City based diner with 3 locations. We visited the Shawnee location at Johnson Drive and Nieman. You can peruse their website right here. Pegah’s is open 6:30 AM – 8:00 PM everyday.
Location/Environment: The Shawnee location of Pegah’s is right down the street from my house. This tends to be my pick whenever I am choosing the venue of the week’s Breakfast Buddies convention. It allows me to wake up about 8 minutes before our rendezvous time. The environment is a standard American diner. I would not place it in the “greasy” category nor in the “fancy” category either. Pegah’s features traditional booth seating.
Service: Service was just lovely. We were seated right when we arrived. Then the coffee was brought immediately after. Our server was quite attentive. She took our order and kept the coffee pouring. I can not tell you how much I love when a server legitimately gives out recommendations. It means they are taking some interest in their job. So all servers, do that!
Wait time for food: 13 minutes
Menu/Selection: Because Pegah’s is open all day, they have everything from waffles to grilled beef liver. So they have it all. Pegah’s is not a restaurant that will blow you away with all their different types of omelettes and pancakes. They strive to have a little bit of everything and be good at it.
Food:
Combo Breakfast (Brentley)
Overcoming several scheduling conflicts, we were finally able to make it out to Pegah’s Family Restaurant to Panclog. Ordinarily scheduling isn’t an issue, however, this time we invited the King of Shawnee, KS to join us. He was kind enough to step down to our level and join us for breakfast. I truly felt blessed that the king opted to breakfast with the plebeians. At Pegah’s we were able to experience all that is great about the Panclog, from friendly conversation to good food.
Pegah’s is a simple diner that can be found in the downtown Shawnee area. The restaurant, while showing some age, is clean and inviting. The wait staff is friendly and usually quick to serve. Although this time we had an odd experience. Not long after finishing our meal, coffee service seemed to end. We, Jared and I, hung around for another 45 minutes or so talking, and it wasn’t until the end of that conversation did the coffee service start up again. I’m not sure if this is a problem, perhaps the staff assumed that since one of our group had left, that we would soon follow, causing a little confusion. I am glad the situation got rectified.
This leads me to a public service announcement: We Breakfast Buddies always overstay our welcome, in a good way. So please keep the coffee coming.
I had the combo breakfast which included biscuits and gravy, eggs (scrambled), and a sausage patty. There was nothing earth shattering here. The biscuits and gravy was good. The gravy could have been a touch creamier and could have included more sausage. I was also hoping for a little more kick to it. That being said, the B&G was fine.
The eggs were cooked well although they needed additional seasoning at the table. Speaking of scrambled eggs in general, I wish that restaurants would put a little more effort into them. I prefer eggs to lighter and fluffier which I think can be accomplished by whisking them more vigorously. To me, seeing pockets of egg whites shows an egg that will not be able to live up to its very best.
Much to my daughter’s chagrin, I opted to have sausage instead of bacon. I can feel the disappointment brewing on her face. Pegah’s sausage was good but not great. It is indicative of the restaurant on the whole. I do enjoy Pegah’s a great deal and I am always happy to show up. It is a restaurant built around comfort. Just don’t expect to be totally blown away.
Yes, I do plan on going back. Pegah’s should find its way into anyone’s regular breakfast rotation.
Combo Breakfast: $8.95
Coffee: $2.49
Malted Waffle and Eggs (Jared)
If you read Brent’s fantastic review above, you may have read an interesting piece of information that we planned a special guest for this edition of the Panclog! We dined with the “King of Shawnee.” I will keep his true identity a secret for now. I am deeply saddened that he was unable to grace my inbox with some deep royal wisdom about Pegah’s.
Pegah’s is a lovely diner with an even lovelier staff. If you aren’t entirely pleased by the food, I think you will still come back for the kind service. Now let’s talk about some food.
I enjoyed my first malted waffle at this here diner. I was so confused by the name. Did it have malt liquor in it? I did some quick research at my local library and discovered malted waffles have malted milk powder in it. That is the fancy ingredient that changes its name. I would have to say that it keeps the guts of the more moist with a more creamy mouthfeel. I truly enjoyed this waffle. I would have asked for another one if I was a bigger man. Is that a pun? Don’t tell FlapJack but i enjoy a nice break from the floppiness of pancakes sometimes. Waffles have such nice structure and the pockets keep butter and syrup so nicely blended. Also watch Blended. it is a fine film. It even features my favorite actor.
Waffles can also have a bad side. A side that is just slightly overdone that it will become crisp and dangerous to cut. Overdone waffle flakes can become a shiv in no time. On the other hand, underdone waffles are just pancakes with some lines in it. The waffle at Pegah’s was just right. It just crisp enough.
Eggs are such an exciting food that can be cooked in so many different ways. In the last couple of years, I have been switching my egg preference every time I order them. This visit I landed on overhard. It turns out when the yolk is so cooked I need something to season the eggs. Usually the yolk can be enough for me. Eggs are good. Try them. Did you know soft-boiled is a thing? Weird.
Malted Waffle: $5.95
2 Eggs: $3.98
Coffee: $2.49
Overall: Pegah’s Family Restaurant is just that. A restaurant that will make you feel like family. It will not blow you away with the quality of cuisine.
Grade:
Jared: 56.5 out of 73 made-up points. Or a C+
Brent: 3 out of 5 stars – a solid C
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