Morning Glory Diner, Philadelphia

When Mikayla and I spent a weekend in Philadelphia last fall, one of our favorite places was Morning Glory Diner, which we visited for Sunday brunch before driving back to New York.

We had to wait awhile for a table (outside in the cold, I should add, since it’s so small there’s literally no room to wait inside). At least it was worth it in the end and were glad we waited!

The restaurant describes itself as such: “Life is too short to drink bad coffee…
Life is too short in general…so at the Morning Glory we’re all about prolonging the
simple pleasures…like a perfect cup of coffee, a memorable meal…and a buttery
biscuit topped with homemade jam. Simple. Good. Delicious.” This honest, feel-good attitude permeates the ambiance of the restaurant, its staff and its patrons.

Usually I have a difficult time ordering at brunch, and this was no exception. This page is just the specials, and they have an entire, appealing regular menu as well! I really wanted to try the carrot cake pancakes, but as you can tell from the first picture, I ordered the French toast; it was a fantastic decision.

The coffee, served in funny metal cups, was very good. Flavorful and strong but not bitter or overpowering.

Walking in, we passed the counter where people can simultaneously eat and watch the waiters and cooks frantically fly by. The flat top is right behind the counter, so patrons can watch their egg dishes being made. We noticed this amazing, huge dish of fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven biscuits, and knew that whatever else we ordered, we had to try one.

Mikayla ordered the foccacia breakfast sandwich: a fried egg and cheese, served with choice of breakfast meat and potatoes. This entire plate (minus the biscuit, which was ordered separately) was only $6. Maybe it’s just because we came from New York, but we were shocked and thrilled.

Mikayla ordered her sandwich with bacon. The bread is made in-house and is amazingly soft and delicious, with poppy, sesame and sunflower seeds sprinkled on top. If I lived in Philadelphia I would order one of these to go as often as possible to start my mornings.

Clearly the home fries were also made fresh. As if we weren’t already ingesting enough carbs, we happily wolfed these down as well.

Most tables have a mysterious large green wine bottle on them. We quickly discovered that these bottles house the ketchup, which is dense and herbaceous and made in-house… another reason to eat all those home fries!

We split the soft biscuit, which was amazing and still hot from the oven. Even though it was massive, I probably could have eaten one all on my own, especially with that sweet, house-made jam.

Now back to my dish: baked pear and blackberry French toast. Mmmm….

As described on the specials menu a few pictures up, the dish consisted of “huge, sweet fresh blackberries, ripe pears, and a touch of fresh berry whipped cream cheese baked golden brown in our rich French toast – served with homemade vanilla whipped cream.” This French toast was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had, and in its category is rivaled only by the French toast I had in Anchorage last summer. The bread was soft without being mushy, and the berry whipped cream cheese added an interesting depth. The whipped cream was obviously a must, as well as maple syrup. The fruit gave it some freshness and although it was all very sweet, I didn’t feel overwhelmed. The combination of pear and blackberry was wonderful and I’m pretty sure I cleaned my plate.

Morning Glory Diner

Open: Monday – Friday 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Saturday/Sunday 8:00 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Location: 735 S 10th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147 Phone: (215) 413-3999