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The garbage omelet served with home fries, toast and coffee at Nancy's. Photo by Michael A. Foley/Rycus Assoc.
With plenty of sweat equity, Nancy’s Home Cooking in Clintonville is open for business again—with a new exhaust hood and a refurbished interior.
That’s thanks to Sheila Davis-Hahn, the niece of the longtime owner, Cindy King, who was forced to close the popular breakfast and lunch joint last year due to health concerns.
King’s hearty diner dishes still are being served. For many people, Nancy’s is all about chicken and noodles, and you can get the massive serving of thick egg noodles drowned with chunks and shreds of chicken in yellow gravy over mashed potatoes on Mondays and Thursdays.
And prices aren’t much higher than the old days—just $6.25 for the daily lunch specials, for example.
There was plenty of good plain food here, beginning with breakfast. Of course, the concept of a “garbage omelet” is nothing new, but the burrito version here—eggs, cheese, potatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms and all three breakfast meats wrapped in a huge flour tortilla—will set you right for the day.
At breakfast, don’t miss the hash browns. They were firm chunks of real potato with bits of peel—a very different animal than those frozen shredded doormats that go for hash browns at some places. And they were great with eggs.
Of course, breakfast included toast, pancakes, egg dishes etc.—all well made. The lunch menu included grilled cheese, ham and cheese, fried bologna, soups (from chicken noodle to tomato), a more-than-decent half-pound hamburger done on the flattop grill and daily specials.
It’s these specials that most customers come for, and they included the aforementioned chicken and noodles, as well as baked chicken (rather bland) and Johnny Marzetti (ditto) on Tuesdays, very good meatloaf and OK beef and noodles on Wednesdays, mac and cheese (rich and yummy) and a good pot roast on Fridays. Vegetables ranged from canned green beans to frozen corn.
Nancy’s is inexpensive, the food comes fast and the counter service continues to be as friendly as ever. It’s still worth a visit.
Nancy's Home Cooking
3133 N. High St.
265-9012
Price range: Breakfast $5 to $7; lunches around $7.50-$7.75, including drink.
Hours: Open daily from 6 am to 2:30 pm, breakfast-only menu served on Saturday and Sunday.
Reservations: Not accepted.
Rating: ***
