Overall impression: a local (place for locals and regulars), simple and good diner breakfast, fast, nice staff. Not sure I would go back to eat-in, but maybe to try breads or pastries. http://www.helensbakeryinc.com/
My friend Nadine and I decided last minute to check this place out. I arrived at 8:55 am on a holiday Monday, about 15 minutes before she did. No sugarcoating - my first feeling when I walked in was discomfort. It was busy, packed with a 60+ crowd. I definitely felt like I stood out: alone, a youngster (at 40), and a newbie. There was an empty table I sat at after asking the other customers if I was taking anyone’s place. I wasn’t sure how to order, so I just stared pointedly at the large chalkboard menu.
Now here is where I started to become more comfortable – the man working behind the pastry counter called over asking what I would like (two scrambled eggs, Swedish rye toast and coffee), giving me various toast options and getting details on how I wanted things. Both he and the woman who was at the grill were super nice. That really is just the best set of adjectives I can think of – “super nice”, and I appreciated it. I have been to some old diners in Worcester where the staff did not welcome new customers, they seemed quite content with those they’d had for 40 years. This place was not like that.
My food came two minutes after I ordered it. As I ate, the unusually quiet place started to liven up, because of a young woman with her kids (maybe 4 and 2 years old). My friend Rob tells a story about going to Herbie’s on Southbridge street with another colleague whose father had been an electrician at Holy Cross. A number of Holy Cross physical plant guys were at Herbie’s at the same time. Rob says this guy got the rockstar treatment – everyone wanted to say hello and talk about his dad. At Helen’s today the same kind of thing happened to this woman. Once people she knew told others who her husband and father-in-law were, her kids were ooh-ed and aah-ed over, resemblances were marked on, and people reminisced about working with her family. This had the opposite effects of making me feel warm and fuzzy, and even more like an outsider.
So… by the time Nadine arrived it was humming. I had a lovely breakfast with her, but she is wonderful to chat with no matter where we are. I was happy to have company. Besides breakfast she got a loaf of soda bread to try, I’ll have to check back in a few days to see how it was. (A different friend also told me they have amazing baked beans.) I was excited by the fact that a 20-something couple was sitting at the counter when we left – they weren’t eating though, but picking a wedding cake.
I probably won’t go for breakfast again. This is not a place where one can be anonymous. If you are not a regular, you will likely stand out. That isn’t to say that if you come often, or even just a few times, you won’t quickly fit in (at least the staff and proprietors will be welcoming). I’ve got my own neighborhood places though– some near our house, one nearer where I work, so I’ll probably frequent those instead.
[Two days later: Nadine seconds that the service was friendly, prices very low, and adds that it might work better for me as a no-frills takeout place. The bread she got, rye with dried fruit, was not to her usual tastes, but good (she'd prefer more wheat/dark options, less white and fluffy options). She also thought the donuts, but not so much the cookies, looked delicious. Nice alternative to Dunkins?]
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