Since the closing of The School House Cafe in Warner, NH, I had been on the lookout for a new place to catch a breakfast or lunch if we were driving down south along I-89, and one of the places that had been on my radar for a while was the Everyday Cafe in Contoocook, NH. With a trip in May to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival (this year located in Deerfield, NH), we finally had a reason to be passing near Contoocook at breakfast time, and decided it was a good change to check out Every Day Cafe.
Everyday Cafe is located right in central Contoocook where Route 103 (Main Street), Kearsarge St, and Maple all combine by the Contoocook Railroad Covered Bridge. The restaurant itself is a nice, cozy combined bar and cafe dining room, with a little bit of outdoor seating during nicer weather. The food menu is classic “American Cafe” fare; for breakfast that’s pancakes, French toast, breakfast sandwiches and Benedicts, while for lunch and dinner it’s salads, sandwiches, and burgers with the occasional specials. They’ve also got a full bar with a good selection of beers (focusing on local beers, including nearby Contoocook Cider and Concord Craft Brewing) and cocktails. But since this was breakfast, I opted for pancakes, while Carol opted for one of the Benedict options, the “Egg’s Cousin Benny”.
The pancakes were a pleasant surprise. The pancakes themselves were nicely-executed buttermilk pancakes with a nice light crisp on them, being some of the better pancakes I’ve had in recent history, and probably my overall favorite within “breakfast driving range” of our house. That was kicked into overspeed with one of the better options of add-ins than I usually see: candied walnuts. This added just the right amount of nuttiness, bitterness, and sweetness that made for a very pleasant breakfast.
Carol went for the “Egg’s Cousin Benny”, which was asically a bacon Benny with roasted tomatoes as well (in essence, the same concept was the excellent “Eggs Blackstone” I had at The Pantry in New Haven last Fall). And the version at Everyday Cafe was enjoyable: nicely crisped wide slices of bacon, lightly roasted tomatoes, and a very well-executed Hollandaise sauce, and this was also one of the better breakfasts we’ve had in a while.
Overall, I loved Everyday Cafe. We had a great breakfast, it’s relatively convenient to us if we’re driving along I-89 (it’s only about 4-5 minutes from either exit in Hopkinton), and they have a lot of good menu options. I’d love to come back and give their lunch, dinner, or cocktail menus a try, it’s definitely a good spot.
