half & half

terrible dont go. slow service. too small. you wait and wait. sure the food is good but notgreator fantastic. at night the place gets even worse. terrible menu and unfriendly staff. dont order something off the menu like a drink or else the person making drinks gets mad. unreal. they need to get there stuff straight or else this fad will end soon.

this was our third visit to half & half. the first visit, we ordered stuffed french toast for me, and hubby had blueberry pancakes. they were great, and we enjoyed enough to return. the second time, hubby ordered blueberry pancakes again. i ordered shrimp and grits with an over medium egg. hubby's wasgreatagain. my shrimp and grits were delicious but the egg was raw. so, we gave them a try again today. i ordered brioche french toast and hubby ordered baked oatmeal with a side of bacon. he said the oatmeal wasn't as good as his pancakes breakfasts have been. he states it was tasteless. my french toast was two large slabs of white bread, lightly, and i emphasize lightly, dipped in egg mixture and fried. the egg mix was faintly present on the outsides of the bread and the insides were dry and white. not french toast. it was egg dipped white bread with syrup poured on. when i asked the waitress if this was the way the french toast was supposed to be, she told me yes, that it was always served that way. i asked her to clarify, because we were interested in bringing guests back this weekend and they enjoy french toast. but i didn't think they enjoy egg dipped thick wide bread. she said yes, they don't actually put egg mixture all through the bread. i said thank you for clarifying for me. i ate part of one piece. sent the rest to the garbage. when she brought our check, she had taken 50% of the cost of my french toast off the ticket. so disappointed in the food and service today.

note to half & half

starting my day with agreatbreakfast makes me feel like i own the world. everything feels right and
in its place and that nothing could go wrong. you know?
along the cramped stretch of maryland in clayton squeezed in with almonds, the posh nosh and
the now closed (sadness) companion is a tiny little eatery that is moving big flavors out of their
kitchen.

walking into half & half at 7am i sat down and surveyed. the décor is sort of everything at once.
nowhere for the eye to rest. mason jar light fixtures, distressed wood paneling mixed with that of
metal. benches. chairs. stools. bar. i thought for a minute if this obvious effect was ironic or used to
“shout” at the conservative, glossy and chic clientele that “this was a fashionable interior”.
as if unawares they would never know on their own or even care

baked oatmeal with roasted banana and walnuts: from the moment the hot and domed serving
cup omitting “mapley”, “bruleey” steam was placed in front of me i knew i had something. the
oatmeal at half and half is baked. for what i can see this allows the oat grains to fully expand in
size and potential. very creamy. a thin sheen of maple syrup coats the top and above this is fine
and high key delicious chunks of roasted banana. which if i ever eat another banana again…it’s
going to be roasted. the result is fruit that caressingly sweetens the oatmeal in the most perfect
way. atop this is whole walnuts. and i mean lots of them. i started to think that this oatmeal was
much more expensive than what i’ll be paying (a steal at $7). on the side? a teeny pitcher with
about 2t. of the most divine sweet cream. this is cream that is not sweetened. just fresh new and
fresh “sweet” cream that only recently left udder. not whipped. just thick…with a few bubbles.

avocado toast: the description on the menu was simple. just the ingredients. on a white saucer
placed before me was just one piece of toast. made/baked and toasted in-house. crushed upon it,
bright green and grassy avocado. dotting its green landscape—feta. doing what it does best.
lending salt and brine. and then at the end freshly cracked black pepper. before i selected my first
bite, i took the wedge of lime and squenched it atop. this toast and the oatmeal was some of
the best i’ve had in my life. i’m already thinking about when i can return.

earl grey tea: by the pot. less than $3. high quality honey accompanies. major points for
personalized pot.

half and half also has the rep of breathtaking eggs benedict. depending upon the time of the year
or what’s in season…your benny could have salmon, or some perfectly cooked mignon or even crab
cakes. note: try to get there right as they open. the stories and lengths of their lines are
legend.

as legend as their food.

sincerely,

tmwastl

very warm and friendly environment,greatfood, lots to choose from.greatselection of tea and coffee, too. i love the high community table and got to sit there today. the service was fast even though the place was packed. i tried the "cali" omelette and it was delicious. my friends ordered "hash veggie" and "ham and spinach eggs benedict" and they were very happy with their choices as well. wonderful experience overall!

my better half and i tried half & half for breakfast for the first time last weekend and really enjoyed it.  it's a cozy little spot with tables and a high top "community table" in the middle where we sat.  our server was wonderful.  jo had the oatmeal with fruit, which was baked and she said was pretty good (i'm not an oatmeal person).  i had the blt omelet--something new for me and their "lettuce" was a siracha slaw, which was delicious.  this was one of the best omelets i've had.  the roasted potatoes weregreatand the mimosas were really good too.  it's a little pricey, but the quality is really high. greatspot!

wouldn't know if it was worth the wait.. i went today, arriving around 11:25am and was told there would be a 40min or less wait for a 2 top. 20min into the wait i went to ask why the two 2 tops at the bar had not been filled and was told that because the bar was so busy dealing with drink orders, they were not being sat. i suppose this is sensible, but the reason there was such a long line for drink orders was that the hostess was not taking phone numbers to call when tables were ready so everyone who wanted a table had to wait somewhere in or by the restaurant, meaning more people were lining up for drinks and making the bartenders too busy to attend tables.

well, i ordered my bloody mary and it was another 15min before it was made (i supposed i tipped too soon and then there was no incentive for prompt service). apparently there was a problem finding pint glasses. now, i have my bloody mary and am 35min into my alleged 40min wait. 40 minutes comes and goes and i ask the hostess what the wait is looking like now (as other reviewers said about their visits, there were tables without customers that were either waiting to be cleared or were cleared), and i was told "maybe" another 10min, so i got a travel cup, took my bloody mary and left.

the menu lookedgreatand i would have loved to try it-- i have heard that the food is delicious, and the bloody mary was quite good-- but, with service like that, i have no desire to give them my business. i am not sure if the problem is with the management or the staff, but having worked in restaurants before, taking people's phone numbers and having another bus boy, or waiters clearing their own tables, would have lessened the wait and the burden on the bar, making it so that the bar could actually be sat and not overwhelmed with people ordering drinks because they could not leave for fear of losing their future table.

i went here for breakfast with two friends on a weekday morning. the place is minimally decorated, but cute and clean. our server was nice. i had the baked oatmeal which tasted incredible and is a reallygreatvalue for the price. my only complaint would be that the coffee drinks are a tad on the expensive side. i will definitely be back! there are plenty more things on the menu that i have to try.

i have read some of the reviews of this place and i keep seeing posts that the food isgreatbut the service is terrible. i have now been twice and agree that the food is awesome, but find the staff to be great. i have now had twogreatexperiences there. this is some of the best brunch in town. it is a little pricey, but well worth it. the waitresses have been excellent. both were friendly, attentive, and hospitable. both occasions were busy sunday brunch crowds. maybe they have made some staff changes since some of these reviews were posted. overall, highly recommended.

worth waiting in line for 20 to 30 min, it is different breakfast you would expect to see,greatcreativity. the only downside is the french toast, it is too dry and dissapointing, looks like someone just made a regual big size toast with some eggs on each side attached to it.... this one definately needs imporvement, otherwise good place

so so service.greatfood.. food is amazing. service absolutely horrible. still worth a trip to try the fried egg sandwich or steak and eggs.

wonderfully amazing!. wife and i were delighted to give this newly clayton cafe a go and were treated to awesome service and one of the best tasting hot meals ever!

highly recommend this delightful and quaint cafe for agreatplace to dine!

worth the wait. went for sunday brunch around 10 and the place was packed! we didn't wait long to sit down but did wait quite awhile to get drinks and food. i ordered one of their custom brewed coffees. they have several brewing options as well as your regular espresso, cappuccino, etc. which i really enjoyed. once the food finally got to us, it was incredible. we ordered the cornbread and chorizo which came with a side of potatoes and covered with over easy eggs. the chorizo was easily some of the best i've ever had. i really enjoyed the spicy chorizo and sweet cornbread combination. the entire plate was plenty hot and fresh. my only thought was that i would have liked more cornbread and just done away with the potatoes. the potatoes were really tasty but we didn't need an additional starch on the plate and the cornbread was a little small. we also ordered the blackberry french toast with mascarpone. so delicious! two thick pieces of brioche french toast with a generous portion of fresh blackberry sauce sandwiched in between-served hot! the mascarpone was a nice alternative to your typical powdered sugar and cream cheese.
they are obviously still working the kinks out (couldn't find sugar caddies and there appeared to be only one cash register/cc machine which the poor overwhelmed bartender had to close out all orders on in addition to taking his own tables at the bar.) but overall we had agreattime. the service was friendly and the food was delicious!