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Breakfast elevated to brunch everyday

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, October 5, 2006

By Gail Ciampa

Journal Food Editor

At left, wild blueberry pancakes.

Irish Eggs Benedict at The Breakfast Place in Attleboro features two poached eggs atop an English muffin with Hollandaise sauce, served with corned beef hash.

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / Gretchen Ertl

No limits. That phrase well applies to The Breakfast Place, a diner-style spot nestled in the center of Attleboro.

There’s no limit to the imagination of chef-owner Casey D’Arconte. He has fashioned a menu with eight varieties of eggs Benedict, including Irish with corned beef hash; six kinds of pancakes highlighted by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups; and seasonal specials such as Red Flannel hash (eggs made with prime rib and red beet hash) and blueberry French toast with lemon cream cheese.

There’s no limit on the times the pleasant servers will refill a coffee cup or how many old photos of the Attleboros can adorn the wall. From 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day, there is limitless satisfaction for everyone’s breakfast cravings.

When D’Arconte took over the restaurant three years ago, the décor had a Marilyn Monroe theme. Today the focus is on the community, with sports posters and pictures on the walls and local history books adorning some of the tables. He succeeds in transcending his humble surroundings in a small strip mall with his lofty ambitions in the kitchen. When he sees a dessert, he begins contemplating how it can be reinvented as an omelet or a pancake. It’s his way of jazzing up breakfast and elevating it to upscale dining.

The creativity of the dishes achieves his stated goal “to make it brunch every day of the week.” But ingredients alone aren’t compelling without the execution. D’Arconte and chef Jeff Miller have that down pat.

For the Irish Eggs Benedict ($6.50), poached eggs are taken to the height of perfection, meaning runny in the middle but firm on the side. They sit atop a crispy English muffin with a buttery Hollandaise sauce and are accompanied by homemade corned beef hash. The meat is nicely shredded and seasoned well, and complemented with just the right amount of potato slivers.

The blueberry pancakes ($4.95) are a stack of three, large enough to fill a dinner plate. They need no syrup to accent their goodness. Fluffy, light and with just the right number of blueberries, the butter is the only topping one needs. A make-your-own omelet with chourico, kielbasa and provolone ($5.75) is elevated when the eggs are so fluffy, the omelet puffs up high off the dish. Everything is made to order, said D’Arconte, which is why every omelet starts with cracking three fresh eggs in a bowl.

A second make-your-own omelet with spinach, tomatoes and Cheddar cheese ($5.75) is equally airy. But this one is topped with tomato slices and spinach (frozen with the recall on all bagged varieties) as well as stuffed full of veggies.

Egg dishes come with toast — wheat, marble rye, Italian, raisin, white or English muffin — and home fries. For my taste, those were the only misstep. There was too much skin and not enough potato.

A side of bacon ($2.50) is four slices. Our server asked whether we wanted that crispy, something most people truly appreciate. For some of us, undercooked, fatty bacon can ruin a breakfast. But for others, a crispy slice is a turn-off. So asking is a nice, albeit rare, touch in the breakfast world.

The Breakfast Place does a lot of takeout and we noticed a lot of comings and goings as we sat in our comfortable booth. It seats five and it’s the only booth, with tables offering seating for about 40 and seven stools at the breakfast counter. D’Arconte said it’s not unusual for dads in pajamas to come in to pick up a large breakfast order for the family.

That’s a side of the food world he hasn’t seen before. D’Arconte graduated from the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. His culinary education took him to Rotterdam, Holland, and an apprenticeship at a French hotel. Back in New England, he was sous chef at Chillingsworth in Brewster on Cape Cod. He cooked for Bob Burke at Pot au Feu before getting into the food sales business.

Now, he’s glad to be back cooking three days a week and sharing the duties with Miller. Breakfast lovers should be, too.

BILL OF FARE

A breakfast for two at The Breakfast Place might look like this:

2 coffees…$3.50

Omelet with three meats and cheese…$6.75

Wild Blueberry pancakes…$4.95

Side of bacon…$2.50

Total food and drink…$17.70

Massachusetts 5 percent tax…$0.88

Tip…$3.60

Total bill…$22.18

The Breakfast Place,

187 Pleasant St., Attleboro. (508) 226-5680. Diner-style. Handicapped accessible. Highchairs. Open daily 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free parking lot. Cash only. Breakfast sandwiches $3.50-$5.95, egg platters $3.25 to $8.25 and omelets $4.75 to $7.95. Lunch dishes $3.75-$6.95. Coffee $1.75.

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