Faye — Restaurant in Murphysboro

Awesome building, cool lighting, all in a very welcoming environment. The employees were super nice and not overwhelmingly present, which cannot be understated. As for the food itself, I can only speak to the dishes tried, two of which were from 1/22/2023 popup chef, Joshua Lanning, which I’m sure don’t fully represent the restaurant’s stable offerings, but still deserve a few words.

Potato Eggs: A “French Omelet stuffed with Crispy Breakfast Potatoes, Cheese, Onions, and Peppers", omelet only ($12). The first of two dishes tried from Lanning. The omelet was splendidly cooked as described with a perfect French-style texture, which is what confuses me about the rest of this dish. The "Crispy Breakfast Potatoes" were literally (what I'm guessing frozen) crinkle French fries that were fried in oil and then chopped. The choice made literally zero sense, as they were neither crispy nor seasoned "breakfast potatoes". They ultimately offered nothing substantial to the filling other than unnecessary volume and an unsavory mouthfeel. Though I had no problem with the onions and peppers, as they added complementary texture. Shredded cheddar was added in the filling, which certainly wouldn't have been my first choice for a $12 stand-alone French-style omelet. Lastly, the omelet was topped with an under- seasoned and also rather out of place cheese sauce that was sprinkled with a few shakes of paprika. Was very confused and most certainly not worth the $12, which just seems to be a one-off for the very decorated chef.

Fried Chicken Biscuit: Fried chicken on a biscuit with “BrightBird Dust and Hot Honey”, sandwich only ($10). Second and last dish from Joshua Lanning. Absolutely delicious. A fried chicken biscuit sandwich is the perfect breakfast dish. Lanning absolutely nailed it, probably one of the best I’ve ever had. Biscuit had an excellent flaky exterior with just enough salt and bite and a chewy but skillfully cooked interior. But would I pay $10 for just a chicken biscuit again? No.

Biscuits and Gravy: “Biscuit + scratch-made sausage gravy”, ($7 for a half order). I believe this is on the regular Faye menu. Biscuits, yes! Gravy, ehh. The pork was thoroughly-cooked but abnormally chewy and under-flavored and developed. Though the gravy had a nice consistency, it was under-seasoned and ultimately, bland. The biscuits were the absolute star and that’s the most important start to a great dish.

Absolutely loved the fresh orange juice, I mean it’s freshly made orange juice, what’s not to love. I would very much like to come back soon and try and regular house menu items.

But here are some final thoughts. It is such a great idea to pay as you order, just removes so much stress and discomfort, please don’t change that. Though I love restaurants/eateries with self-serve ice water, the cups here are just unnecessarily small. I also wish they had salt and pepper on all the tables, I would like to think most of us are just far too polite to ask for them while eating. I think it would also be a good idea to have hot sauce (with a few choices) on the tables instead of having one bottle that get shared amongst everyone there. I think particularly those they are trying to sell (the roja and verde), which would likely help to sell more of them as people leave and want some to take with them. Last thought, it would be a good idea to add a side component to the breakfast dishes (actual breakfast potatoes or hashbrowns would be an ideal choice, but there are plenty of other seasonal, rotatable, etc. options ), particularly for the cost of the dishes as they currently are.

Overall, this place is already soaring, but there is room to go higher, just look at the open floor plan and ceiling! I hope they continue to...

TLDR: Food is okay but can quickly turn pricey.

So, to preface this, I like breakfast and I like a big breakfast. One where you normally get all the things like pancakes with eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns or a plate of eggs, bacon and hashbrowns with biscuits and gravy. Basically, an entree with two or three sides.

Been here a few times and I've had most of everything people tend to talk about from here. Crullers were good and I appreciate them as this kind of donut has become hard to find in recent years, though I think these lack the traditional fluffiness and big air pockets of a typical Cruller, they are still quite tasty, and I like that they are flavored. Biscuit sandwiches seem a little small for the price and sometimes the biscuit seems tough to bite through, though I've chalked this up to different chefs. Order of biscuits and gravy were pretty good, though gets a little pricey especially if you order an egg or something with it. I agree with another reviewer who said they needed to add salt and pepper to their meal, unfortunately a lot of their stuff is either really sweet or a tad bland and needs something extra like salt/pepper/hot sauce to really be something great.

The really bad part for me is the menu is basically ala carte only. If you order a traditional breakfast, let's say French Toast with two eggs and a side of bacon, that's $16.50 plus coffee another 3.50, so that's $20 on one person for breakfast. Two people can easily sink $40-50 for breakfast here alone, especially when you want to add in a tip, while in another town over the same breakfast for two costs $10-$15 less than this. Kind of surprising to find a place like this in a town like Murphysboro where you could walk two blocks over and be in a low-income housing neighborhood. I would expect a breakfast spot with these prices to be in St. Louis or, at least, Marion where the median income is much higher, and most people can afford to eat at a place like this.

With all that said, the place used to be an old car dealership and I really love the aesthetic they've went with in the remodel. I wish the seats were a little more comfortable, but everything really works well with the space. Service is usually good, though the people working behind the counter seem very busy and it can take a few minutes to get...

The lady at the counter was very quick to help us and explain everything. I took a number, menu, and sat down.

The menu surprised me, because of higher than average prices and lack of variety, but it's a small place so it makes sense. Altogether we got biscuits (2) and gravy, french toast, two coffees (flavored pricier ones), and three sides. With a tip, it came close to $50. For the record, I didn't feel pressured to tip, but the girl at the counter was very nice and helpful.

The small menu and price made sense when I saw and tasted the food. This is QUALITY breakfast, not just an average, careless, thrown-together small restaurant (which seems to be the standard around here sometimes).

Everything tasted homemade, fresh, and like it was professionally made. Nothing seemed premade or like it had been sitting out a while. I mean, usually a sausage patty comes to you as a premade, cheap, puck but that is NOT the case here. The coffee was amazing and very unique, the bacon wasn't just some skinny little strip (actual Wenneman's bacon - they're the real deal). I could go on and on.

I completely feel like I got my moneys worth and then some. A cheaper coffee and no sides and we would have been under $40, easy. I have never had a dine-in breakfast this good.

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