Nick & Andy's: A Breakfast Bonanza in Danvers

I'm a huge fan of breakfast, and can enjoy it morning, noon and night. In January, a new breakfast spot (though they also serve lunch) opened in Danvers, just off Route 1 and I had to check it out, especially as the menu looked enticing. After several visits, I'm impressed with their food and service, and it's a restaurant that I'll be patronizing on a regular basis.

Nick & Andy's is owned by Nick and Andy Moli, Albanian natives, who possess plenty of experience in the restaurant industry and finally decided to open their own. The restaurant is medium-sized, with numerous tables, booths, and a small dining counter. There is a casual vibe to the spot, and it seems to be doing a very good business, being crowded even during the week. I suspect that on the weekends, you might have to wait for a table during the busiest hours.

The menu is expansive, with plenty of the usual breakfast dishes, including Eggs any Style, Omelets, Eggs Benedict, Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast, Biscuits & Gravy, and more. Plus, they have some of their own unique dishes, such as the Cinnamon Swirl Slammers ($8.99), two breakfast sandwiches with egg, sausage, & cheese on cinnamon swirl bread. With some of your breakfast dishes, you have an option of meats, the usual bacon, ham or sausage, but there is a fourth option as well, kielbasa. I'm also pleased to see that not only do they serve home fries as a side, but they also have hash browns, which are my personal preference.

The Lunch options include Salads, Sandwiches, Clubs, Roll Ups, Grilled Sandwiches, and Entrees, including items like Burgers, Chicken Kabob Roll Up, Tuna Melt, Marinated BBQ Steak Tips, and Fish & Chips. You'll also find some Daily Specials.

Prices are reasonable, especially considering the quality and quantity of food, and nearly all of the dishes cost less than $11.

You might want to start breakfast with one of their Home Made Muffins ($2.50), which commonly are Blueberry and Corn. Above is their Blueberry muffin, which has been grilled (one option), and it was quite tasty, obviously homemade, with a good amount of sweet blueberries. They make only a limited amount of muffins each day, so they might not be available late in the day.

If you are looking for something else a little sweet, maybe you will be tempted by the Vlore Homestyle Cinnamon Swirl Toast ($1.49), which is made by the Vlore Bakery in Missouri. As Nick and Andy Moli lived in Missouri for a time, this is likely where they became enamored with this cinnamon swirl bread. The bread is made with a sweet dough and Korintje cinnamon, and has a nice texture, rich cinnamon flavor, and isn't overly sweet. As I mentioned earlier, this bread is also used to make Cinnamon Swirl Slammers, breakfast sandwiches.

You can also order the Cinnamon Swirl French Toast (Four slices for $5.95), or get it as  a Combo ($8.45) with two eggs & two pieces of bacon or sausage. This French Toast is excellent, the cinnamon adding just enough sweetness to the dish without overdoing it.

Another excellent dish is the Chicken & Waffle ($10.95), which has three large pieces of fried chicken atop a Belgian waffle. The waffle is good, with a nice crispness to the exterior and it is fluffier inside. The ample portion of chicken has a great crunchy & flavorful coating with moist meat. I've had this dish twice and it was consistently delicious.

One of their most popular dishes, and which doesn't photograph well because of the color of the gravy, is the Hash Stack ($9.95). Start with a base of hash browns and then top it with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, cheese and sausage gravy. Yes, it may not be the healthiest of dishes but it will well satisfy your belly. The gravy actually isn't heavy, and has a compelling taste, complementing the rest of the ingredients. There is a nice blend of textures and flavors, and it's easy to understand why this dish is so popular. It is accompanied by your choice of toast as well. Pure comfort food!

Of their lunch choices, I had to try their Monte Cristo ($8.50), as it is one of my favorite sandwiches.  It includes Ham, Turkey and Swiss Cheese on French Toast, with a side of fries or cole slaw. There was plenty of meat and cheese inside the sandwich, and the french toast was a great vehicle for the fillings. Overall, there was a nice taste to each bite, with the Swiss taking a slightly dominant role. It is definitely one of the better Monte Cristo sandwiches I've tasted.

Nick & Andy's gets my hearty recommendation, especially as a breakfast destination. Service is very good, and I had only a single, minor service incident over the course of four visits, which was quickly addressed and resolved. Excellent food, reasonably priced, which will satisfy your breakfast urges. I'm already thinking about what to order the next time I dine there.