My robotics judging in Falmouth required me to get up fairly early in the morning, before most every decent breakfast joint in Portland is open. But since Portland remains, to this day, an active fishing port, there are a handful of places that are open early in the morning, and right down the street from my waterfront hotel was one old school stalwart, Becky’s Diner, which opens at 5am.
While not the classic “diner car”, everything else about Becky’s is classic old school “New England Diner”. Note that while it looks old school, Becky’s Diner itself only dates to 1991, when owner Becky Rand decided to open a restaurant that opened early that catered to Portland’s active fisherman community. From 1991 to 2007 Becky’s was a fairly low-key cinder-block building right on Hobson’s Wharf, but then they spent several months remodeling into the current two-story clapboard restaurant at the same site (the clapboard building essentially encompassed the existing diner, adding a second “back” side dining room and and upstairs outdoor deck as well).
Walking into Becky’s, it still has the same classic diner interior: the main diner area is dominated by the long service counter, with a row of booths opposite. At my 5:15am arrival, the place was quiet, with just a few regulars and early folks trying to get breakfast in before work, but by the time I left at 6, the place was already pretty busy, but I expect the place to be able to turn quite a few tables, between the “back” dining room on the other side of the counter area. So don’t let a modest line discourage you.
While enjoying a frequently-refreshed cup of black coffee (the best way to kickstart an early morning), I looked over the breakfast menu (they also serve a lunch menu of diner fare, and a more seafood-laden dinner menu). For breakfast fare (from open to 4pm), the offerings are mostly classic diner fare, with various egg plates, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, and omelettes, although you can tell this places is on the waterfront: both lobster omelettes and lobster Benedicts were featured on the menu.
But anyone that’s been to breakfast with me at a diner in recent years know that, especially for a new place, I’m usually drawn to one particular menu item if they’ve got it: an Irish Benedict. I can’t resist a good, crispy hash on English muffins with properly-poached eggs and Hollandaise, and the version at Becky’s Diner is top-notch: grilled muffins, a good crisp on a hearty hash, perfectly-poached eggs, and a nice tangy-yet-creamy Hollandaise sauce. Add in some nicely done homefries, and this was a great breakfast.
It’s the sort of place were you can find a good cross-section of Portland life, everyone from fresh-off-the-boat fishermen and lobstermen, local college students, and tourists all settling in for a good meal. It’s a great early morning breakfast spot, and I’ll definitely have to come back sometime and give the lunch and dinner menus a try.
