The Rusty Pelican

Located in the heart of Wallingford on 45th is The Rusty Pelican - a slightly large cafe with a broad menu of choices.  Although open all the way through dinner, The Rusty Pelican is known as a hot spot for locals seeking weekend brunch.

We arrived at The Rusty Pelican around 11:00 a.m. and were immediately seated in a tiny window booth near the door.  The place is decorated in a country motif and although we were a bit cramped in the small booth and the serving station was right across from us, we were happy with our dining location.

I immediately found "country fried steak" (a common term for chicken fried steak) on the menu and pointed it out to Tex across the table - of course I accidentally pointed to the strawberry waffle and he was confused for just a few moments.  The waitress took a while to get to us, but she was pleasant and very expedient with our order.

Tex, of course, ordered the country fried steak (gravy on the side!) with a buttermilk biscuit.  I opted for the Magnolia scramble with bacon and artichoke, but asked to hold the mushrooms and have it made with Egg-Beaters for the extra $1.75.  When it came to my toast selection, I was overwhelmed with the choices as all of their baked goods were made in-house.  I opted for the cinnamon swirl toast.  We both ordered coffee and I threw in a large orange juice.

Tex takes his coffee with cream and the waitress warned him to go easy on the cream as it was the "real" kind.  Once the coffee came, Tex and I watched in amazement as the thick liquid slowly oozed out of the tin into his coffee - then separated into a galaxy of goodness inside the blackness.  We both agreed the coffee was quite good - but we never found out the name of their brew.

Our meal took a bit longer than usual to arrive, but we were enjoying conversation and the atmosphere and didn't mind the wait.  The presentation was decent for this country cafe and we were excited to dig in.

Tex took his first bite of country friend steak and seemed to enjoy the flavor.  He then dipped a piece in the gravy for me and gave me a bite.  We both agreed that the flavor was scrumptious - it jumped out at us and danced in our mouths.  The consistency, on the other hand, was a bit odd.  Tex examined the various pieces he had cut and showed them to me.  After a while, we determined that the meat had been ground.  We didn't know if the meat had been frozen and just heated up, or if it had been ground on site.

We asked the waitress about the preparation and she told us she would ask, but she never returned with the answer.  Tex decided that although the flavor was good, the consistency of the meat was not exactly to his liking.  He'd certainly eat it again, but it wasn't his favorite.

My scramble was good and I enjoyed the artichokes in the mix.  The cinnamon swirl bread on the side was the highlight.  It was a bit dry, but the light cinnamon taste and fluffiness of the bread made it a joy to consume.  I added some jam and gobbled down both pieces quickly.

The waitress took an extremely long time to bring the check - and once she took our credit card, she seemed to never come back.  Finally, a different associate returned the bill to be signed.  Our total, with tip, came to $48.00 for the two of us.

If you want some good flavor and you don't care about what type of meat you're getting inside the breading, The Rusty Pelican has a decent chicken fried steak.  But Tex still isn't satisfied so we must continue our pursuit of his favorite breakfast staple.