Stone Crock - 1396 King St N, St. Jacobs

I went to the Stone Crock in St. Jacobs on Friday, October 17th with my parents, who were in town on business.

3	60%	3	3.5	2.5

The Stone Crock (and its associated restaurants, Stone Crock Bakery and Jacob’s Grill) is an institution in St. Jacobs, located right in the centre of town. The place is styled in the hand-crafted/Mennonite farmer look that is everywhere in town - but of course, they do it best. Check out those handmade rocking chairs, all in a row! The restaurant also has a small shop in the front, selling homemade jams, wooden toys, and a few offerings from their bakery.

There was a “Please seat yourself” sign as we walked in, and we first went to a booth on one side of the restaurant. There weren’t very many people there, and we had a hard time getting a server’s attention, so we switched to the more-populated side of the dining room, and were brought coffee and menus almost immediately. My parents both asked for decaf (because they are Old), and I was pleased to notice they had a pot available during the entire meal. My mom rated her decaf a 4.5/5. My full-caf coffee was probably a 4 - fine, but nothing to write home about.The cups were pretty small, too, which I find means that my coffee gets cold quickly.

The menu was not huge - one page of options - but with all the usual options, and including  “farmers’ sausage” for a meat option. My parents both ordered the special ($6.49 including coffee, which is not bad). My dad asked to substitute tomatoes for his breakfast potatoes, but was told that they charge extra, so decided against it. Their over-easy eggs were cooked properly, and my dad liked the sausage and beans especially, saying they were flavourful and delicious. The potatoes were slightly disappointing - they were a homestyle hash with a tasty crunchy top, but the overwhelming flavour was “bland”. Toast options were white/brown/rye, and as far as we could tell, the thin-sliced toast came from the Stone Crock Bakery. It was, quote, “fine.” My parents were a little disappointed that the orange-slice garnish wasn’t bigger. Still, not bad.

I ordered the stuffed french toast - multigrain french toast filled with berry coulis, fresh berries, and cinnamon cream cheese. It was very pretty - look how pretty! - but when it came to the table I was a little surprised that it was just one piece (for $8.99) - and also that it was more of a french toast sandwich. (I should say, though, that stuffed french toast is not something I order on the regular, so it is entirely possible this is the norm.) I had to ask for syrup (maybe also not a norm for stuffed french toast?), but it was pretty delicious, even though I could neither see nor taste cinnamon cream cheese.

The servers, when we flagged them down, were accommodating when we needed more cream, and when I wanted to look at the menu again. They also were great about keeping the coffee coming - we were asked 3 or 4 times, even after we had paid, so it certainly didn’t feel like we were being rushed out.

Total score: 3.75/5

SCORECARD

Atmosphere	Price	Variety	Taste	Flexibility	Service
5	4	3.5	3.75	3	4
Cleanliness	Special		Flavour		Courtesy
5	$6.49 incl. coffee		4		4
Ambience	Coffee		Cook		Speed
5	$2.39		4		4
	Plain Omelette		Coffee
	$8.49 (2 items included)		4
	Pancakes		Potatoes
	$6.99		3