Editor’s Note: In 2021, Michael and Nicole Borrell began reviewing Lebanon Valley’s restaurants and eating attractions as the Lebanon Valley Food Critics. Since then, the couple has aimed to offer unbiased reviews of the eating and drinking establishments the Lebanon Valley has to offer. LebTown is pleased to be partnering with LVFC to share these reviews with our readers. Bon appétit!
Welcome to the second season of our highly anticipated Lebanon Valley Breakfast Wars. Three entrants from the Valley will compete to be declared the winner of Best Breakfast in The Valley.
Our judgement will be based upon several factors including style, quality, portion, taste, and overall impression. We will be judging at least two breakfast dishes from each restaurant.
Our first stop brought us to downtown Annville and the newest restaurant in our War, Cafe Haj Paj. This cozy café offers a front and rear dining room with an open view kitchen. The menu offers some classic breakfast staples as well as non-traditional offerings.
Cafe Haj Paj
Address
35 W. Main Street
Annville, PA 17003
Phone: 717-868-2442
Website:
cafehajpaj.com
Hours
Mon: Closed
Tue: 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Wed: 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thu: 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Fri: 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sat: 7 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Sun: Closed
For our breakfast today we got the Breakfast Burrito ($14) and Bananas Foster Belgian Waffle ($11) with a side of sausage gravy and biscuit ($6).
The burrito comes with scrambled eggs, choice of breakfast meat, cheddar jack cheese, and tri-colored peppers drizzled with queso and served with salsa, sour cream, and house-made tortilla chips. The house-made tortilla chips are great and the queso sauce was smooth and savory. This dish has a lot of flavors on it. Getting all of them together in one bite isn’t tough to do and it does give a very delectable taste.
The banana foster waffle dish comes with crispy waffles served with maple syrup and Chantilly cream. This dish was a great choice on this snowy morning. The crispiness of the waffles did not diminish at any point. We felt this dish was well-portioned and perfect for those with a sweet tooth in the morning.
The sausage gravy had hefty chunks of sausage blended within. The taste of the sausage stuck out over the creamy flavor of the gravy. Over top of the biscuit, we enjoyed this as a hearty side dish.
Did we just have the Best Breakfast in the Valley?
Next up we will travel to our other entrants: Rotunda Restaurant & Brewery and The Richland Railroad Diner. After which, we will announce our winner.
If you have a restaurant you would like us to visit or review, whether a place you like or are nervous to try, please message us on Facebook or email lvfoodcritics@outlook.com and let us know. We thank everyone for the recommendations and the kind words we have received.
