{"id":1591,"date":"2025-10-15T12:31:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/1591\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T12:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T12:31:08","slug":"five-lehigh-valley-spots-with-unique-breakfast-dishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/1591\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Lehigh Valley spots with unique breakfast dishes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Classic breakfast is hard to beat, but for the mornings when eggs and toast feel a little tame, here are five Lehigh Valley spots doing the most important meal of the day a little bit differently.<\/p>\n

Quadrant Book Mart & Coffee House<\/p>\n

Address: 20 N. 3rd St., Easton<\/p>\n

Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Breakfast at Quadrant Book Mart & Coffee House is one worth bookmarking.<\/p>\n

Walk through an old house on Millionaire\u2019s Row in Easton, pass through endless shelves crowded with vintage books and grab a bite downstairs in Quadrant\u2019s cozy dining room.<\/p>\n

Opened in 1994 as a book and coffee shop, the business quickly expanded into breakfast and never looked back. These days, said co-owner Jo Moranville, \u201ccafe\u201d would probably be a more appropriate title than \u201ccoffee house.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most popular items on the menu are Quadrant\u2019s biscuits and gravy \u2014 a dish the menu claims \u201csticks to your ribs\u201d \u2014\u00a0and the French toast, made with golden Portuguese rolls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would put our French toast against any French toast in the valley,\u201d Moranville said.<\/p>\n

Another favorite, though often overlooked, is Quadrant\u2019s plain old toast, described by Moranville as \u201creally, really, really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the heart of the shop is a dedication to the surrounding Easton community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope when people come in, they have a sense that this could be their place,\u201d Moranville said. \u201cBreakfast is a fun meal to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ServerCheck out the “stick to your ribs” biscuits and gravy and other breakfast dishes at Quadrant Book Mart & Coffee House in Easton. (CHRIS KNIGHT \/ SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL)
\nJay\u2019s Local<\/p>\n

Address: 2301 Liberty St., Allentown<\/p>\n

Hours: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n

Lyell Scherline opened Jay\u2019s Local in 2019 as a way to honor his father, Jay, an adventurous foodie who died in 2012. The vision for Jay\u2019s \u2014 all-day breakfast, locally-sourced ingredients and low prices \u2014 was shaped by a Muhlenberg College class project in conjunction with the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to do something to keep my dad\u2019s memory alive,\u201d Scherline said. \u201cSince he was such an inviting person, we wanted to make an inviting space, and it just so happened to be a restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most popular item is \u201cThe 610\u201d: a bacon, egg and cheese bagel topped with a hash brown and chipotle aioli. A Muhlenberg student created it as a temporary special. Another favorite recently given permanent status is \u201cThe Allentonian,\u201d with egg, fried onion, cheddar and mustard on a toasted soft pretzel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI encourage my staff to go out and bring in some of their favorites or things that they\u2019ve either seen online or things that they enjoy,\u201d Scherline said. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes the job a lot more fun and a lot more interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exploration shows in the rest of the menu, too. A Southwest Breakfast Wrap will get you a fried egg, cheddar cheese and house-made edamame smash, while those looking for something sweeter might grab a Portuguese custard tart or a jumbo cinnamon roll.<\/p>\n

\"WaffleEnjoy breakfast at Jay’s Local in Allentown. (April Gamiz \/ The Morning Call)
\nThe Farm & Table<\/p>\n

Address: 119 S. Main St., Nazareth<\/p>\n

Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday; 8 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n

A sign in front of The Farm & Table makes clear that the restaurant offers a lot more than your typical eggs and bacon:\u00a0 \u201cNow open for breakfast, lunch & bowling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The menu leans playful, with Hong Kong-style French toast \u2014 deep-fried, stuffed and offered in flavors like peanut butter and jelly, chocolate icebox and snickerdoodle \u2014 and inventive takes on eggs Benedict, including crab rangoon and cheesesteak.<\/p>\n

With pumpkin season in full swing, The Farm & Table\u2019s fall specials include pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin French toast, both topped with whipped cream and pumpkin butter.<\/p>\n

While the bowling alley in the back of the restaurant isn\u2019t open for early bird bowlers, swing by in the afternoon to get a strike in with your scrambled eggs.<\/p>\n

\"TheEnjoy breakfast, pool and bowling at the Farm & Table in Nazareth. (Ryan Kneller \/ The Morning Call)
\nThe People\u2019s Kitchen<\/p>\n

Address: 639 Linden St., Bethlehem<\/p>\n

Hours: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday through Monday; closed Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The People\u2019s Kitchen offers breakfast with a \u201cfunky twist,\u201d according to owner Billy Gruenewald.<\/p>\n

Tucked into a small space with countertop seating and an old-fashioned tin ceiling, the restaurant offers your typical selection of eggs and pancakes (its most popular item is an omelette), though most of the menu is far from ordinary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to open it up to as many different flavor profiles as are out there,\u201d said Gruenewald, who does his cooking behind the countertop seating. \u201cThis is a spot where I get people of all walks of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

A constant staple on the menu is the breakfast mac and cheese, a pasta dish oven-baked over home fries and topped with bacon, sausage and an over-easy egg. Another favorite is the croissant French toast, which can be paired with bourbon bananas, espresso cannoli filling, berry compote or lots of chocolate.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite items are the ones that don\u2019t really make sense,\u201d Grunewald said. \u201cAnd then you try them, and, wow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jumbars Cafe<\/p>\n

Address: 1342 Chelsea Ave., Bethlehem<\/p>\n

Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (Breakfast only available 8-11:30 a.m. Wednesday through Friday); closed Monday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Jumbars Cafe\u2019s claim to fame is a full \u201cmade from scratch\u201d menu; from its pastries to its English muffins and jam, nearly everything is made by the family behind the business.<\/p>\n

The cafe is small, and with only nine to 10 tables, and general manager Emily Hoffert said there\u2019s almost always a wait. But, like the menu suggests, \u201cthere\u2019s no place quite like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jumbars\u2019 savory breakfast strata, an eggy bread pudding made with sage and tart apples, is one of the restaurant\u2019s most popular dishes. Get it topped with cheese, poached eggs and your choice of sausage or mushroom gravy.<\/p>\n

Hoffert said that Jumbars\u2019 quiches are another big seller, from its classic quiche Lorraine to its New England quiche, with house-made apple pork sausages and Granny Smith apples.<\/p>\n

Sweet tooths might grab a grilled sticky bun, a \u201cduffin\u201d (a doughnut muffin) or one of Jumbars\u2019 10 flavors of scones, like pineapple coconut or sour cherry.<\/p>\n

\"Jumbars:Bethlehem'sJumbars Cafe in Bethelehem may be small, but its breakfast is top notch. (Aaron Sagers)<\/p>\n

Elisabeth Seidel is a freelance writer.<\/p>\n

Lehigh Valley Insider\u2019s Guide is an occasional series on places to go and things to do and see. Have an idea for a topic or a place that we missed? Email us at goguide@mcall.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Classic breakfast is hard to beat, but for the mornings when eggs and toast feel a little tame,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,435,289,432],"class_list":["post-1591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-restaurants-food-and-drink","tag-things-to-do","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}