The Hatchery — Restaurant in Ludlow

My mother and I are simply mere tourists, trying to escape the confines of eastern Maryland to visit the mountains of Vermont. These green mountains are simply a room to keep us hidden from the dissatisfaction we held with our small town. This was all a distraction, a mere fleeting search to come to terms with our own unhappiness.

At the stoplight we waited. Our eyes mundane and only craving brunch, but our eyes caught onto something else, something odd.

The Maryland flag. A reminder of our home, something we desperately wanted to escape. However, there was a comfort in this flag being seen in such an unusual place. It was so unexpected, yet so soothing.

We walked in. The lights were a golden hue, reflecting against the wooden tables like a gemstone. We were quickly seated and my curiosity got the best of me.

“Why is there a Maryland flag out front?” I asked. I felt a timid winge from my voice, why should I be asking such questions?

Nonetheless, the woman reciprocated with warmth, saying she was from Maryland. I smiled back, continued with a string of small talk, simple introductions. At the end of our conversation, she explained there were self-serve drinks, gesturing to the coffee bar. She then went off to give us time to look through the menus and decide.

When I decided, I stood up and went over to the coffee bar. I grabbed myself a cup and filled it to just the amount I wanted, continuing with milk and sugar. The autonomy this place gave me was refreshing, I could have my coffee the way I wanted. I didn’t have to explain anything, it was coffee. When I sat down I took a deep swig. The coffee’s taste wasn’t anything incredible, (most likely my fault, i made it), but it was comforting. It was a warm hug.

I ordered pancakes with fruit, whipped cream, and a side of scrambled eggs. My mother ordered the egg sammich. When my pancakes arrived I saw the design created with the powdered sugar, an egg with chicken feet poking out. Soon to be born, soon to hatch, soon to grow.

I ate my pancakes and eggs with fervor, the flavor filling the crevices of my mouth and filling my stomach. I barely had time to think when I devoured this meal, I was close to a starved animal who was just rescued.

When I took the final bites I started to become more aware of what was happening and where I was. I was in a cute cafe, far away from home but yet I still felt the comfort of home. How beautiful it was, that so far away from a place I detested, I could find a love for the same place.

We were the only ones left in this cafe, and unbeknownst to us it was past closing. We had become the thing we detested back in our tourist trap back home miles away. We had become the people who stay past closing. When we found out, we apologized and quickly left. But these workers were not abrasive, they simply smiled.

When we drove away, I kept my eyes transfixed on that Maryland flag. How odd it was that this world was so small. This reminder of a place I wanted to escape didn’t end with detestment, but appreciation. The fact that I found a place that appreciated Maryland even so far away, made me realize I could find a way to appreciate it too. And maybe like the egg with the baby chicken legs poking out, my love for my home will soon hatch, and grow. I just needed someone to show me. Maybe that someone is a restaurant I went...

We were seated to eat next to the garbage. There were three other tables open. I asked the hostess if we could sit by the window instead, she said no because they were tables (two tables pushed together) for more than 2 people. Instead of simply allowing us to sit where there were no customers, she chose her imaginary guests that weren’t even there over the comfort of her paying guests. If 3 larger parties were to have come in in the next 30 minutes there were other tables to seat them and she could have trusted herself to know how to manage. But that wasn’t the case. When a table of two had left, I asked politely again if we could move and she said no and sat two new people there instead. She then came back and said, “I was going to move you there.” But.. she didn’t, and there was still no one sitting at the open tables so I don’t know what the point of saying that to us was other than to taunt us, I scoffed in disbelief that she’d be so rude. We were told to help ourselves to serve our own drinks and utensils. We grabbed a couple small orange juices from the fridge (that had no price labeled) only to find out they were $7 each for what should have been $2.50 at best. The whole meal was mediocre and completely over priced. We paid $50 for 2 orange juices, a waffle, poutine, and sausage patties, we paid real restaurant prices for a poor cafeteria experience. The hostess, although with a smile on her face, lacked business and service skills. As not being from Vermont, she gave a poor impression of the town and an even poorer representation of hospitality in this area. I would not come back nor recommend anyone who visits this town to ruin their morning with such an uncomfortable,...

went to this place for memorial day. Have been many times, have gotten to go orders many times, my family and friends have gone many times. Today was a nightmare and the way my party was treated was not good. They refused to take an order from my group when we were ready. It was not busy when we got there, 3 people working there were standing by our table for a decent amount of time talking about the parade and people and small talk. I told one we were ready to order and i was told this particular person would be over. Many minutes later that person came by our table and I said again we were ready to order. They went to another table that came in before us and she said they were hear before you. That was a true statement and they also had taken twice as long and it seemed they were taking there time to be ready. My group was ready 10 minutes before them and no one would take our order. It was clearly a control thing and they wanted to show me and my group who was in charge. It wasn't that it was busy, it wasn't that we were being demanding, we just happened to decide quickly having been there so many times i guess we just knew what we wanted and wanted to order. The other group could take an hour to decide, i don't care that is their business, when it becomes my business is when the staff/owner decides my group is not important and our time is hers to control. It was inappropriate and it was not the way any business owner should treat a customer. Again for you questioning this post, we simply wanted to order , we made a staff person aware of it and that apparently was worth punishment by the establishment. It was juvenile and out of place. I would usually say something but I did not,...