The Two Fat Guys head to The Rodd Park House Inn

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In an effort to hit every single place in the Greater Moncton Area, the Two Fat Guys decided to head out to The Rodd Park House Inn's café, located at 434 Main St. It's right next to Tidal Bore Park. And yet neither Fat Guy had ever even contemplated eating there until it was suggested by a reader. The restaurant is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They serve breakfast, brunch and lunchtime fare. For more information please call 382-1664.

The Fat Guy's verdict

The Rodd Park House Inn, or the Rodd as it's often called by locals, is actually quite nice when you walk into the lobby. It's not the most expensive hotel in town and according to tourism brochures I looked at online it's rated 3.5 stars.

But the restaurant is going to get a better rating than that. When the Fatter Guy and I sauntered in it was 12:50 p.m., very close to quitting time for our waitress Cathy. We were about to leave, not wanting to intrude on her time off. But she quickly ushered us to our seats and told us that they could still serve us whatever we'd like and she'd keep the dining room open until we completed our meal. That's a 10/10 for service straight away. There were no admonishments about our untimely arrival or encouragements for us to order faster.

I opted to try their breakfast, since the Rodd's dining area is only open until 1 p.m., and most diners would opt for the same kind of fare. I ordered a coffee ($1.50) and eggs benedict ($7.25), which faithful readers might now know is one of my favourites. Cathy let me know they were out of English muffins and that they'd substitute with a burger bun.

I thought to myself, "Well, this is where everything falls apart."

My coffee arrived and was pretty darn good. One of the best cups I've had in while that wasn't served by a barista and didn't cost an arm and a leg. In quick time my eggs Benny arrived, two eggs poached soft on top of a burger bun with ham and slathered in sauce. Accompanying the mess (and I do love an eggs Benny mess) was a generous helping of hash browns. These were the kind of small hash browns you might get from McCain's and cook up in the oven. Not the homemade variety, but still quite good as far as frozen potatoes go.

And here's the kicker, despite the fact that my eggs Benny topped a toasted hamburger bun they were gorgeous. Wonderfully done with the eggs cooked just the way I ordered! Had there been an English muffin at their base, I'm sure it would have been even better.

I don't have anything terrible to say about the place. The dining room could use a bit of an overhaul, old faded flower wallpaper adorned the walls ""but it was clean and comfortable. The service was some of the best I've had in town and the food wasn't bad. I give the Rodd 7.5/10, mostly because they didn't have any English muffins left and because I wanted to peel the wallpaper off the wall. I look forward to returning and trying out a real eggs Benny sometime soon.

Fatter Guy's verdict:

The sign on the window calls this place 'The Park Bench Café' yet receipts and other promotional materials call it The Rodd Park House Inn with no specific mention of the word restaurant or café. Whatever its name is, we headed here to try the unknown.

We got there as close to closing time as it gets, and our server was great about letting us stay and chow down. I was thinking of where else we could eat as I walked into the building and saw the sign that said they were only open from 7 a.m. "" 1 p.m. but was glad Cathy was there to let us in anyway.

I like breakfast at any time of the day and thought I'd try an omelet. There were a few options on the menu and I went for the Spanish omelet ($6.50). The menu didn't include a description, but Cathy described it and when she rattled off the details "" I was sold.

Toast and a well-cooked, three-egg omelet came with tomatoes and mushrooms inside it. I could have sworn there was supposed to have been cheese in there, but there wasn't. I could have sworn the description was more than just mushrooms and tomatoes. . . and there were plenty of them. It wasn't greasy either, which I appreciate.

The omelet was just missing something; either meat or cheese or both. Now if the Spanish omelet wasn't meant to have meat in it, then I was at fault here for not realizing when I ordered "" but no cheese? I think that's an omelet prerequisite.

I even googled 'Spanish omelet' when I returned, only to find traditional Spanish omelets are something altogether different and even include potatoes.

The service was great, and the meal was good, it just could have used something else. . . and whether that's my fault in thinking something was supposed to be there that wasn't, or whether items were forgotten by the chef, I do not know.

I give The Park Bench Café 7.5/10.

E-mail thetwofatguys@gmail.com