Tucked Away The Broken Yolk

Off the beaten path, down that flight of stairs, or tucked behind some crappy façade in a strip mall, some restaurants are overlooked because of their weird locations. It’s almost like there’s a parallel universe of Milwaukee dining lurking just beyond the curtain of the conventional. Just because a restaurant isn’t on the East Side or in Bay View, though, doesn’t mean the food’s not worth tracking down. Case in point: The Broken Yolk (2040 W. Wisconsin Ave., 414-935-1111).

Perched on the thin seam that runs between the West Side’s Marquette and Avenues West neighborhoods, The Broken Yolk is a dab of brightness in a concrete desert. It’s a place where sunlight streams in through huge glass windows and dances on pastel yellow walls while college students and local professionals greet the day over omelets and stacks of pancakes.

The dining area is open and inviting, with plenty of tables and seating. Ordering is deli-style from an unobtrusive counter/kitchen. When he’s not hovering over the grill, apron-clad manager Jim Gatto pops out from the kitchen to banter with customers and passersby.

The Broken Yolk trumpets its family ownership and local ties from every wall: pro-Yolk posters—little more than blown-up and repurposed family photos—highlight Baby Nicholas’ list of reasons to eat at the Broken Yolk (No. 10 is it pays for his college tuition) as well as family-recommended entrées and breakfasts. A welcome letter from Gatto to Broken Yolk patrons—signed “the short dumpy guy behind the grill”—takes up the better part of a wall. It’s cutesy and a little cloying, but it also speaks to Broken Yolk’s family ties and greasy-spoon charm.

Broken Yolk’s oft-amended menu has more than 30 recommendations for specific breakfast and lunch food couplings. Nary a permutation of egg, meat, or grain has been left out of the gargantuan and evolving menu, which crawls down the walls behind the counter. Expect familiar breakfast fare of high quality and with some commendable variations. (Like marine-style French toast layered over fried eggs.) Wash it down and caffeinate with a lineup of New England Coffees. And order an extra cup—after all, Gatto has a kid to send to college.