Yolk Café

Google “Broken Yolk Café” and you’ll find a few West Coast eateries, but the Yolk Cafe of New London is one of a kind, thanks to owner and head hash slinger, Doreen Brett. A true neighborhood hotspot, the Yolk occupies the site of the former Jack’s Place—and before that, a market, various cafes, and an inn dating back to the early 1900s. Doreen, known simply as Dee to practically everyone, cooks creative breakfasts on the griddle while personally engaging each customer with jokes and copious laughter.

Locals walk up to the window where Dee’s griddle is full of pancakes, French toast, and bubbling omelets just to say hello, and if they are children, Dee may answer with a squirt gun. While gathering facts for this article, I was gleefully bombarded by a broken egg shell and a pickle spear. A staffer hadn’t shown up that morning, and I volunteered to wash dishes for my breakfast. A regular was tapped over me, though I did win Dee’s trust with my offer. As a reward, she sent a fresh strawberry pancake as an appetizer to our breakfast. That’s Dee’s style, and customers love it.

The menu spotlights traditional dishes with a twist. Our spinach, sausage & goat cheese omelet was excellent: the spinach was fresh and still bright green, and the sausage was sliced into discs from whole links. The curious Eggs in a Window was two eggs baked in French toast, and the Lobster Benedict featured a smooth hollandaise over tender lobster chunks. Dee was especially proud of her Huevos Rancheros: fried eggs, refried beans, cheese & salsa over triangles of toasted arepas. All egg dishes come with seasoned home fries made with red potatoes, containing the correct amount of inner softness and outer crunch from the griddle.

And that’s just breakfast. The Yolk also has a wonderful lunch menu: grilled chicken salads, half-pound Bountiful Burgers, build-your-own sandwiches, Reubens, turkey melts, and pressed PB&Js for the kids. Local vegetables and seasonal ingredients are used as much as possible; as we were eating, a child dropped off a huge eggplant from her mother’s garden. But Dee is really the reason to visit: her sassiness and hilarity with the staff and customers while managing a full griddle is nothing short of phenomenal—and it’s all in a day’s work for this lovable lady. The Yolk is open Tuesday through Sunday, 7am-2pm, closed Monday.