Merry Anne's: The Best Breakfast On Campus

By: Pat, Treshonna, and Wendell

Sitting down as a group one lovely morning for breakfast at Merry Anne’s diner on the corner of College and Fell was a new experience for all of us. None of us have ever eaten there before but having heard from our friends that it would be a good meal, we went in there with both a positive attitude and high expectations. What we first noticed when upon arrival was how quickly the waitress came over to our table. Almost immediately after taking off our coats we were having orange juice delivered to our table. She was very punctual and really seemed to care for our dining experience. She probably knew we were new comers because after her initial stop at our table for drink orders, we had to tell her multiple times to come back after a few minutes so we could look over the menu a little bit longer. After finally coming to a decision on what to eat, we each realized how we made an easy decision out to be a difficult one. We each got our favorite breakfast food which ended up being something different from one another. In our opinion, this was a good thing that no two meals were identical because this way we had more comparisons to make with other breakfast venues on campus than if two of us ordered the same thing. I, Pat O’Connell, ordered a plate of pancakes, Treshonna got French toast, and Wendell ordered an omelet because he, like Rocky, loves his eggs. The food came out a lot faster than we initially anticipated it would, and throughout our meal, we noticed our waitress refill drinks when needed and drop off napkins when she saw us running a little low. The price of each of our meals was a reasonable one, actually a lot lower than we had expected it to be based on how good the opinions we got from our friends. Because that had said they loved it and the food was really good, seeing a bill of twenty dollars for all three of us combined was not too bad at all. In terms of how sanitary the venue was, it was in pretty good shape. When we first walked in and followed our waitress to the table, I noticed how clean the seats, tables, and floor were when we passed them on the way to our destination on the far end of the restaurant. As for the bathrooms, Treshonna did not go to the ladies room at all during our time there but Wendell went to the men’s room and said that it was much cleaner than his dorm bathroom was. He does claim that for the size of the restaurant in terms of number of seats available, the size of the bathroom could have been a bit larger and had a few more stalls and urinals.

After leaving Merry Anne’s, we discussed our thoughts and opinions of our experience so when it came time to writing this blog, we had a general idea of how we each felt about the excursion. To no one’s surprise, we came to a consensus that we absolutely loved the dining experience, the food, the price, and the sanitation of the venue. For our evaluation and critique, we decided to compare our experience to McDonald’s, the Dining Center, and Subway and the breakfast that those three places serve. Although Merry Anne’s is a new name for us three here in Normal, we felt it has the service of a four star restaurant. Our three control eateries are fast food and self-serve so no comparison can really be made, but we were very impressed with how fast our waitress first came to our table and how many times she stopped at our table throughout our time there for drink and napkin refills and just to ask us how our food was. The food was, in each of our own eyes, better than the same dish at the other three restaurants. My (Pat O’Connell’s) pancakes were a lot better than the thin ones McDonald’s serves, and ten times better than the ones Watterson Dining Commons serves- those ones taste like they just got out of the microwave (Subway does not have pancakes).Treshonna said that she’s had better French toast at larger breakfast chains such as Ihop and Denny’s, but compared to the dining center (McDonald’s and Subway do not have French toast), she liked Merry Anne’s much better. Wendell simply said that his omelet was the best omelet that he has ever had in his life. It seems safe to say that no comparison to the other three really needs to be made after a statement like that. We all felt that the price was actually a little low for the food and service we got that morning. Paying twenty dollars for our meals, tax, and tip was an easy amount to pay between the three of us. While most people hate opening up the bill, from now on none of us will have a problem paying for Merry Anne’s. Last but not least, the sanitation of Merry Anne’s was very good; really clean throughout the entire building not only in the seating area, but the bathrooms as well. Compared to the other three locations, McDonald’s and the dining center are just plain gross. Subway is very sanitary, but for breakfast, Merry Anne’s, if a few bucks are in your wallet, the place to go for breakfast on campus at Illinois State University.