Intrigued by Kramarczuk’s hilarious “food as art” salad lady (see previous post), I organized a Saturday-morning expedition to sample their brief-but-promising breakfast bill of fare, which is offered 7-10am, Monday through Saturday.

Overall: tremendous. The price is right (breakfast for two people, with coffee and tax, came to about $13), and the limited selection covers all the right bases: sweet, salty, cheesey and potatoey.

The only real hurdle is the decor and ambiance. Service is cafeteria-style, and the Eastern European vibe is a little disconcerting if you don’t already know the drill. Thankfully, the modestly accented and charming serving ladies are happy to orient you and get you something tasty to eat.

The quiche is a revelation. As opposed to the extremely eggy (and light) breakfast quiches you’ve probably had at most other Twin Cities eateries, the Kramarczuk’s quiche errs on the side of cheese, making for a far more substantial and surprsingly more delicious entree. I like (and will continue to order) the daily quiche at Barbette on Lake, but doin’ it up Polish-style is pretty awesome.

Crepes (we tried the cherry and raspberry, skipping the chocolate) were also extremely respectable. Fruity breakfast crepes have a habit of getting disgustingly sweet and gooey, but the Kramarcrepes seemed to get the balance right, leaning upon a dusting of cinnamon to accent the delicious (if kinda of one-note) fruit filling.

The apple strudel was underwhelming (the filling erred on the side, surprisingly, of being undersweetened and bland) and the hash browns were phoned in, but the breakfast link sausages were, not surprisingly, delicious — they bring that zesty bratwurst flavor for the first meal of the day.

Skip the egg scramble (our came out dry and decent, but forgettable) and go with crepes, quiche and sausages for a hella good and really affordable start to the day.

And after breakfast, do as we did and check out the Ukrainian eggs in Baltic Imports (attached to the restaurant). Some of the more upscale models are incredibly detailed and geometrically gorgeous.

I didn’t buy any eggs, but did walk out with a copy of “Polski Dance.” It turns out they’re still making the kind of old-fashioned trance and rave techno I grew up with… in Poland. Acquiring the CD involved chatting with the distinguished older gentleman working in the gift shop who was probably a professor of ancient Slavic literature at the University of Krakow before moving to Minnesota to sell electronic dance music and painted eggs to douchebags from Uptown. Still, the American Dream, etc. etc.

Related posts:

1. The Skeptical Diner: Muffuletta for Brunch
2. The Skeptical Diner: Northwoods Cafe
3. The Skeptical Diner: The Original Pancake House
4. The Skeptical Diner: Pop! and Yum!
5. The Skeptical Diner: The Wilde Roast Cafe