April 15, 2012
Fresh biscuits and gravy can make me smile like nothing else, so it came as no surprise when I started grinning like a Wonderland cat during a recent rendezvous at the PerKup Café. The charming Urbandale nook just happens to have the best biscuits and gravy in town.
Nestled in a bland shopping plaza, the café is bright inside with a 40-seat dining room full of warm colors and casual country décor.
The PerKup serves breakfast and lunch. Morning bites include a variety of smoothies, omelets, breakfast sandwiches and hearty breakfast platters. Noticeably absent are pancakes, although the kitchen compensates with cornflake-crusted French toast that’s crafted with apple-cinnamon bread from Big Sky Bread Company, a local bakery situated around the corner.
The star of the menu is a hefty biscuits-and-gravy platter for $5.75, available Friday through Sunday. If you’re interested, get there early. It often sells out by 10 a.m., which I learned the hard way when, on my first visit, an apologetic waitress broke the news that they were sold out.
I returned the next day earlier, hungrier and ready to riot if they were out again. Fortunately, there was plenty and soon my breakfast appeared: a pair of flaky, split biscuits drowned in generous ladles of peppery sausage gravy. For an extra $2, mine came topped with two eggs sunny side up. Paula Deen would have been so jealous.
My companion ordered a hefty wheat tortilla breakfast wrap. The filling had obviously been cooked to order as the scrambled eggs were light and fluffy and the bacon crispy. A piquant “revenge” sauce, served on the side, added extra zing to the tasty wrap.
Another pleasant discovery was the fine-tasting homemade jam: peach, plum, strawberry and raspberry were on hand during my visits. The café also serves a decent brew, thanks their custom of using freshly ground coffee. I appreciated being able to order a cup while waiting for a table to open and that I could get my refill to go when it was time to leave.
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