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Hartman’s Family Restaurant and Ice Cream Shoppe has a homey quality, unusual for such a large restaurant. Their decor is comfortable with wooden spindle-back chairs and wall-mounted antiques. Their home-cooked food is appealing and satisfying. Whenever we’ve visited for lunch or dinner, we’ve wondered why they don’t serve breakfast.

Well, now they do! As of this past summer, Memorial weekend we were told, Hartman’s started serving breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays, from 8 AM to 1 PM. My husband and I couldn’t be more pleased.

As we drove north on Sullivan Trail this morning, the sky was slightly overcast and the road damp with remnants of last night’s rain. Our talk centered around Hurricane Ike. Four million without power. Makes one glad to live in Pennsylvania, although our thoughts surely go out to those in Texas.

When we pulled into Hartman’s parking lot shortly before 9 AM, we saw only a few cars. Then we spotted the large “Open” signs mounted on the doors. I wonder how many don’t know about the new weekend hours.

After we were seated, our waitress quickly brought our coffee and large glasses of water. The one-page menu is deceptive in its simplicity. While many places offer a long list of various omelettes, Hartman’s offers a 3-egg omelette with your choice of three fillings. But it was the Belgian waffles that caught my eye, especially the one with ice cream. Hartman’s is famous for their ice cream. They’ve been making it since 1906. For some reason – still wondering why – I went with my usual breakfast fare – scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon, although I did order a blueberry muffin for a change of pace.

While waiting for our order, we chatted about various news stories – teachers’ strikes in Souderton, in Saucon Valley, and possibly in Northampton. And we talked of the upcoming football season and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ history. Suddenly, our friendly waitress was delivering our food.

My husband orders steak and eggs about once a month. It was time. As he sliced into his thin rib-eye, he said it was a little overcooked (it wasn’t bleeding), but still tasty. My eggs were moist and filled with flavor, among the best I’ve eaten in a long while. The blueberry muffin was still warm – light, homemade and filled with fresh blueberries. Delicious! The home fries were thinly sliced, different from most places. We’d asked for crispy and they were, yet not overcooked. Wonderful flavor.

Great service, great atmosphere, great food! What more can one ask?

Our bill came to just under $20 (plus tip) for a small rib-eye steak, eggs, toast, and homefries for him, and eggs, homefries, and bacon for me, plus two blueberry muffins and two coffees (with ample refills).

Hartman’s Family Restaurant and Ice Cream Shoppe is located at 5920 Sullivan Trail, Nazareth (Belfast), PA. They are open for breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am to 1 pm. They are also open for lunch and dinner seven days a week (click on their website for complete hours).

Sara

P.S. I’m still thinking of that Belgian Waffle with ice cream. Maybe next time!

UPDATE - On December 14, 2009, Hartman’s Family Restaurant closed its doors, as reported by the Express-Times. Sad to see another restaurant close.