An old local breakfast and lunch place with excellent comfort food options.

I was in the Boston area for a concert (big surprise there) and staying with an old family friend in Topsfield. Early saturday morning (a little after 7 AM) we headed out to breakfast at Nick & Andy's. I love breakfast places that open early, Nick & Andy's open at 7 every day. I also love places that open only for breakfast and lunch.

We arrived to a mostly empty restaurant, with the wait staff waiting for customers. We were quickly settled in a booth with a paper menu. The menu is big, with a lot of choices, mostly standard breakfast fare (my favorite).

My friend eats here frequently, especially with his teenage son, so he raved about the pancakes. I'm a huge fan of pancakes, but very few places get it right. My favorite is Denny's, they're like a thick crepe and soak up the syrup.

Anyway, no country fried steak on the menu, so I went with the pancake meal with eggs and linked sausage.

The buttermilk pancakes are huge, so don't order more than one unless you're very, very hungry. The eggs and sausage were very good, cooked just like I like them.

They're huge, so don't order more than one unless you're very, very hungry. The pancakes were OK. I found that I struggled to cut them, the knife wasn't sharp enough to do it (surprisingly). They soaked up the syrup like I like, but they were still pretty dense and heavy.

Buttermilk pancakes by their very nature are supposed to be light and fluffy. The baking soda and buttermilk are supposed to generate fluffiness (air pockets?) in the batter. I truly don't understand why they have to be thick and heavy and fall apart after you cut them.