Critic's Review
These folks got notice a while ago that their rent would be skyrocketing so they opened another place on Oakland Park Blvd. Now Closed.
Review 3/24/15
The people that own Country Ham and Egg Restaurant are opening a new full service restaurant in the old Mugs Sports Bar location, and I hadn't been to their original place for breakfast in over 4 years. We're at that time of year where it's nice and warm in the morning but not too hot, so I headed down to Lauderdale by the sea for some eggs.
It was a little bit sticky and there were a bunch of people on the patio, so I decided to eat inside and get a booth. It's a small place; a typical tourist town breakfast place.
I ordered coffee and grabbed a menu. Menus are on the wall next to the booth.
I looked for something out of the ordinary; I decide to stick with my regular order: 2 over easy, home fries, sausage and rye toast, just to see what was different from the last time. They now have creamer pitchers instead of the plastic creamers. Maybe they only use the plastic ones outside. Im not sure.
Music is low and pleasant. Earth, Wind and Fire, Danny Deluxe and Jackson Browne.
The food came out in 3 minutes.
You can tell this is a well-oiled operation. They still don't know how to make over easy eggs; or maybe they just don't bother so that they don't risk breaking the yolk. The yolks get cooked a bit differently with the "cover the pan and steam" method, but in the taste there isn't too much difference. They're a bit more rubbery this way.
They close at 2:30, and that doesn't mean that you can be seated at 2:28. They're sweeping up and stacking chairs at 2:25. I got there at 2:10 and I was finished before 2:30.
The total today was $12.14 for exactly what I had the last time, a 23% increase. Not outlandish, but at the high end of diner prices in Fort Lauderdale.
Conclusion
Nothing much has changed here in 4 years; practically the identical plate I got the last time. Their lunch prices are higher than I'd pay here; $11.95 for a cheeseburger and another $1 for mushrooms or onions; $7 for a hot dog. $12 for tuna salad.
They have signs all over the place telling customers about their new restaurants, as if tourists in LBTS are target customers to eat on Oakland Park Blvd. They still haven't released an menu; or a concept for the new place. This place benefits from it's location; a lot of visitors in LBTS are on foot and are stuck eating in town, and the breakfast here is fine. It will be interesting to see how a full bar works at a place called "Country Ham & Egg Restaurant" at their new location.
Review 9/3/10
Country Ham & Egg Restaurant is a tiny place in the northwest corner of downtown Lauderdale By the Sea that is open for breakfast and lunch daily. You can get breakfast all day here, which turns out to only be until they close at 2:30pm.
Its usually pretty crowded inside, but on a hot day the outdoor patio is in the shade and they have some ceiling fans, so its really not bad even when its 90 degrees. On a nice day the view is pretty nice as you're right on the sidewalk in this quaint little part of Fort Lauderdale.
I contemplated the corned beef hash, but went with my usual instead. 2 eggs with meat, toast and home fries for $6.95. Not a terrible deal.
I'm not sure what happened with the eggs. The yolks weren't broken but there seemed to be some cooked egg yolk on top of the eggs. Probably some broken yolk on the grill. I didn't view it as fatal. They clearly use extra large eggs here instead of the miniature one used by most. The sausage links weren't special but were ok and the home fries had that crust from sitting on the grill that you get from most places that serve breakfast all day.
The total was $9.85. Service was Ok but my coffee cup was empty before they offered me more. If you want to dine in town this is an ok option but I'd have to say that the breakfast at Sea Ranch Diner just down the street was better. They have old-style meters here, so bring quarters.