Linda’s Cafe, Lexington Park, St. Mary’s County, Maryland

Ah, Linda’s! Cafe! I loved their old spot on Tulagi Place. It’s where I had my first scrapple and discovered just how wonderful a simple slice of toast can be. Linda’s, as all the world knows, had to close to make way for a Royal Farms, of all things. Linda’s did have its quirks, notably the bathroom that was only accessibly walking through the kitchen and going down a flight of stairs, but it was lovable with that patina of age and memories.

Linda’s reopened a while back at 22608 Three Notch Road, more or less catty-corner across from Mission BBQ. Turn north onto Millstone Landing and pull into the parking lot. I finally got around to going there with Eric Zabiegalski. Unfortunately, I chose a bad day — Friday, July 5. The place was packed. The host told us that there was a 20-minute wait. Not a problem. We waited outside the entrance in the shade and talked to a local couple about the concerts at the Calvert Marine Museum.

Was that light off the car I was standing beside?

Linda’s is in a newer space, with a sort of shiplap look on one wall

and recently painted walls elsewhere. There are two large dining areas, one with stools and a counter, plus some outdoor seating.

We were seated and the host apologized for the wait, a nice touch. Josh, our server, promptly appeared and took our coffee order (decaf for Eric, high test for me), and pointed out the color coding on the coffee pots so we could be sure when the refills came around, as they often did. John returned, and took our orders. I liked that he repeated four orders back to us to make sure there were no mistakes.  Josh was excellent throughout in fact, and made our breakfast better.

After a bit of a wait, our orders arrived with food hot from the kitchen. Eric had ordered the Full House Platter, two buttermilk pancakes, two eggs over easy, and home fries, with two strips of bacon and a sausage link.

I ordered two eggs over easy with sausage patties, home fries, and toast, plus a side of scrapple.

I was very pleased with my plate. The eggs were cooked as ordered, the home fries had a fine crust and onions, and the scrapple was outstanding. It, too, had an outstanding crust, and a big, bold, and rich flavor. This was excellent scrapple, right up there with Nick’s. And the toast. Ah, the toast! No one makes toast like Linda’s. Well, they may make it like Linda’s, but they don’t butter it like Linda’s. You’ve seen it before.

This time I had to check to see if it had actually soaked all the way through the bread.

Not quite.

I was a bit disappointed with the sausage. I want a country sausage to have a lot of flavor with strong statements by the sage and pepper. This sausage was milder, which I know many people prefer. I addressed the situation with some shakes of black pepper and a drop or three of Tabasco sauce.  It was much better, but it still could have used some more sage.  

Eric liked the home fries, and thought the pancakes were “good,” but reported that the bacon was just okay, and that the sausage links both seemed to have been sitting around for a while. And one egg had been overcooked. He mentioned the egg to Josh, who immediately left to get Eric another egg. It took a while to come back, but Josh must have grabbed it off the stove, it came back so hot — and as ordered.

I enjoyed Linda’s more than Eric did. Problems do flow from the size of the large holiday crowd. Linda’s certainly was jammed and at such times more things have to be pre-cooked. With all the bustle, things can slip. It happens to the best of restaurants. I should pick weekdays for my big breakfasts, but I prefer to grab opportunities as they arise. Eric is good friend, and always has a lot of interesting things to say and a different way of looking at things. I’ll certainly return to Linda’s, and you really need to try it, if only to experience the toast. And the eggs and scrapple and home fries, and whatever else you like. I love Linda’s.

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