Mo’s Midtown

Mo’s is proudest of its home fries, and they are cause for admiration. Cut into large hunks and seasoned with brio, they are kept warm in a huge heap on the griddle in the open kitchen. Whenever the grill man finishes an omelet or an order of eggs, he takes his spatula and heaps a pile of these hefty potatoes alongside.

Pancakes are grand, too. Mo’s makes several kinds, including apple-walnut, blueberry, chocolate chip, and strawberry-raspberry. The unfilled and unfancy buttermilk cakes are the best. Made of whole wheat flour and with a faint sweetness reminiscent of cinnamon, they are thick and tender and featherweight, fairly levitated off the grill in irregular shapes and piled willy nilly (by ones, twos, or threes) on a plate. Not handsome pancakes, but memorable ones, they are breakfast comfort food.

Mo’s reputation is as a breakfast place, but there’s lunch, too: hamburgers and sandwiches (with hash browns available midday) and homemade soup. It’s a cozy spot, inconspicuously located in a cluster of stores near Farmington Avenue. Seating is in several booths along a wall, at a handful of tables up front, and at the counter with a view of the grill. Service is attentive and efficient, but not ultra-fast. Everything is cooked to order — expertly.