Old Town Standard

A lesson to all you guys out there. Listen to your wife. Had I not, I’d have never ended up in one of Old Town Alexandria’s favourite breakfast spot. Extra Perks.
All joking aside, it was a Sunday morning and we had a long drive ahead of us. Mrs. Sippi was in church and I was getting us ready for the road. When she emerged she explained, in no uncertain terms mind you, that we were going for breakfast. She pointed at the church bulletin and said “here.”
Perks was opened in 2000 by (seemingly mismatched) husband and wife, Phil (Brit) and Kem (Thai) McCombie just off the main drag. The little coffee shop became an instant success and business thrived. It would become the perfect spot to swing by and pick up a cup of coffee and/or a quick bite. Soon, in order to save time, people would fax in and eventually email orders for pick up.
More good fortune would befall Perks when in 2009 the unit next door became available. They blew out the wall, expanded to 64 tables, a full kitchen and reopened as Extra Perks.
The outside is really just a storefront. Occupying a good portion of the ground level in a low rise office building. Inside it’s Starbucks meets Denny’s. I mean that in a good way. Simple, functional and clean on the one hand but cozy and warm with a sofa and fire place on the other.  There’s also a section full of goodies imported from “Over ‘ome.”

In the kitchen they’re making as much in house as they can. They get fresh bread daily and even have English “Bangers” made by a local butcher. 

While they do breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunches, we were there for one reason. A good solid breakfast with which to hit the road. On that, EP delivered.

So let’s have a look shall we??

I just had to have the corned beef hash. I don’t much get a chance to have it and it’s something I really like. Mrs. Sippi went straight up. The American breakfast with apple wood smoked bacon.
The hash browns were pretty good but the bacon was outstanding. The eggs, once over were as they should be. The accompanying bread was fresh and very tasty.

Two, once over eggs resting atop a fantastic corned beef hash. The eggs were unfortunately slightly over cooked for my taste. I like a nice runny yolk. Egg yolk with black pepper is a great sauce for a breakfast. These yolks could’ve been runnier but at least they weren’t fully cooked. The hash underneath was crispy as it could be and full of ground corned beef. The salt from the meat was enough to season the whole dish. Done on a flat top (aaah, the flat top) it had a fantastic crust on it that gave way to a melt in your mouth middle. The toast, again was great.

EP,  as you can imagine makes a great cup of coffee. For those that are concerned about such things, “Extra Perks proudly uses Chesapeake Bay Coffee, located in nearby Maryland.  Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company is committed to making this world a better place by lowering their carbon footprint nearly 80% compared to today's traditional roasters.  They also pledge 2% of their sales to their H20 Initiative Program.  Click here to read more.”

So there you have it. Simple yet solid food in a friendly, warm environment.

You can find Extra Perks at 822 N. Fairfax Street in Alexandria Virginia.

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You can also find them on the web and facebook.


 
Well that’s all for now folks. The food court is now closed.

Davwud