Dining Out: Kitchen Little

During my recent trip to Mystic, CT I was able to explore parts of town I had never visited before. We woke up on a rainy, gray Saturday morning and were immediately in search of breakfast. We already had a reservation for the next morning at the Engine Room (my fave) so we wanted to check out something totally new. Enter Yelp! One of the top rated breakfast places on Yelp was called Kitchen Little. We looked it up on the map and it appeared to be on a small island which was very intriguing. We quickly changed, hopped in the car, plugged the address into Waze and hit the road. 

Waze too us over a bridge onto Mason's Island which is a mostly residential community. As we wound through street after street of private homes we looked at each other and thought, "Is this right?" At the end of Quarry Road we saw a sign marked "Mystic River Marina" and in very small letters beneath it "Kitchen Little." We were on the right track! 

We parked in the marina lot and though it was a cold and gray day it was still pretty cool to walk around and look at all the boats. 

Kitchen Little is in the center of the marina parking lot. It's on the second floor and in the warm weather they have outdoor seating on that deck that overlooks all of the marina. 

On the first floor of the building is a marine specialty store. They have a mix of boating essentials, t-shirts and those ever popular rope bracelets. 

Upstairs there was a bit of a wait for a table, but thankfully they had the specials posted outside so we could get a head start on thinking about our orders. 

Once it was our turn to be seated we were ushered into the dining room. The host who was greeting everyone was donning a pair of suspenders and a mischievious grin. He seemed to know every customer and had an inside joke with each person, even little kids. 

Kitchen Little's catch phrase is "eggstasy" which at first I read as a combination of the words "egg" and "tasty" but it is actually meant to be a play on the word ecstasy (as in, breakfast euphoria). 

They have tons of cute branded items all over the restaurant, including these custom boat oars. 

The dining room is cozy and inviting. It reminds me of a lot of my favorite places on Cape Cod. 

At each place setting they have a mat advertising local businesses and then the breakfast menu right on top. 

The menu has hilarious categories like "carbohydates city" or "pork heaven" or  "wet your whistle." 

The breakfast specials Kitchen Little is best known for are numbered and listed on the back page of the menu. You order by number, not the name of the dish. 

To begin, I ordered a cup of hot chocolate. I was expecting a mug with Swiss Miss and hot water but what I got was one million times better! My hot cocoa came topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and rainbow sprinkles. 

My breakfast date ordered hot apple cider, a perfectly festive fall drink on a cold October morning. 

For her meal, my friend decided on one of the specials - scrambled eggs, jalapeño bacon, roasted red peppers, onions, tomatoes and cheddar cheese wrapped in a tortilla and topped with fresh salsa and a dollop of sour cream. 

Once she had enjoyed the first half of her breakfast burrito I asked for her thoughts. She said, "Everything is incredibly fresh. Even though this was a burrito, it wasn't too heavy or overly cheesy. The level of seasoning and spice was excellent."

After much deliberation (I always want the veggie eggs benedict) I decided to get the number six - a scramble with broccoli, mushrooms and Monterey Jack cheese. I love broccoli in omelettes. They add a nice crunch to an otherwise totally soft texture. 

My omelette also came with a side of expertly crisped home fries and lightly buttered rye toast. This plate was perfect for me. In fact, I wouldn't have prepared it any differently if I had made it myself. 

Before we headed out I went to the ladies room and I couldn't stop laughing at the sign on the door that said "Sea Witch." I was expecting there to be Ursula artwork on the walls inside, but there wasn't (much to my chagrin). 

We piled back into the car to head to the town center to do some shopping. As we drove out of the marina parking lot I noticed the sign we had passed earlier said "Thank you! Come again." We certainly will! 

Tell me, do you have a favorite spot in Mystic?