In case this is your first Review, let me remind you of the rules.

The Budget Epicurean has not been compensated in any way for this review, and all opinions are my own. For reviews, preference will be given to unique, local, family-owned establishments.

Food locations will be evaluated based on:

• Taste: 1 (wet toast) – 10 (your taste buds have died and gone to heaven)
• Atmosphere: 1 (gas station bathroom) – 10 (Buckingham Palace)
• Value: 1 (not worth it) – 10 (super duper deal)

This is a review of a local diner in New Bern NC, called Morgan’s Tavern & Grill. We had come to historic New Bern for our anniversary knowing little about the town. After exploring the downtown Farmer’s Market, we were getting hungry. We wandered around, and just as we were about to pull out Google, we saw their adorable outdoor patio space, like a beacon in the dark.

It is made of beautiful multi-hued brick and wooden beams, and the interior is astounding. The super high cathedral ceilings and exposed brick, metal, and woodwork merge with multiple skylights and segmented dining areas to create a feeling of openness and airy comfort.

Their stated philosophy is simple: “Provide great service in a casual and comfortable atmosphere with quality ingredients.” They also say “At Morgan’s, we believe in tradition, not trends.”

The waiter was super pleasant and funny, he made us feel like we were lifelong friends. He made several suggestions based off our answers to questions about what we were looking for in our lunch. The sweet tea was hurts-your-teeth sweet, the way it should be, and I never saw the bottom of the glass long before another full one was set in front of me.

We also tried 2 of their local brews, Morgan’s Porter and Morgan’s Nut-Brown Ale. They were both splendid, smooth and crisp with no bitter hoppy after-taste (just the way I like it). Sort of dangerous, because you keep wanting more… unfortunately you can only get it there and on tap, so we couldn’t take some back to our airbnb.

Before anything else, your table gets a plate of fresh-from-the-oven flaky croissants drizzled with honey butter. These things were so light and buttery, we inhaled them in seconds flat. And wished we had more. I’m sure they would have brought more too, but we held ourselves in check, waiting for the good stuff to come.

We also decided to try the Lobster bisque as an appetizer, because we were at the coast, after all. It was light and creamy, and not at all ‘fishy’ tasting. There were some pretty good chunks of lobster meat as well. I normally don’t like bisque style soups, but this is one I could have eaten a whole bowl of by myself.

Many of the menu items had creative and clever names, and it was difficult to choose because they all sounded so good! Their lunch and dinner menus are similar, though the dinner one adds more delicacies from “Sound to Sea” and “Pasture to Plate”.

The menu was clearly written by someone with a great sense of humor. It included all kinds of classics like chicken sandwiches, a Reuben, a black & bleu cheeseburger. But they also have such offerings as portobello burgers, tuna lettuce wraps, and a grilled salad for the health conscious among us.

And for those who want the opposite of healthy? Well… they get what we ordered!

*The Why Did You Do This?
Our half a pound burger on our classic kaiser roll but this time
we top it with smoked bacon, melted cheddar cheese, fried onion
rings, fried cheese and roasted red pepper ranch sauce. This is
not for everyone!!!!! 12.50

This burger… was… massive! Why did we do this??

I’m glad this was mostly the boy’s responsibility to finish. I could barely get my mouth around the whole thing. The crispy fried cheese and onion rings were pretty awesome when combined with the burger and bacon, I must say. And the roasted red pepper sauce was on point.

Meanwhile, I wanted something slightly less filling.

Hot Turkey, Bacon & Raspberry
Thinly sliced roasted turkey topped with melted provolone cheese,
bacon, raspberry jam & ranch…… Sounds strange but it works. Your choice of sourdough or wheat berry.
Served with your choice of side item. 8.50

This sandwich sounded like Thanksgiving on a plate, and it was essentially that. The sweet jam and the salty bacon was an awesome combination. And the fries were seasoned with something slightly spicy which we both enjoyed. It was more than enough, I ended up eating half and taking the rest to go.

They also have a cart with all their desserts on it sitting in the aisle so you can’t help but walk past it once or twice. When I saw something molten and chocolatey I knew I wasn’t leaving without it! So even though we were stuffed by now, we went all in and ordered the molten lava cake with ice cream!

It was ooey gooey amazingness drizzled with even more chocolate and caramel sauce and I was in heaven! Pretty sure between that and the four glasses of sweet tea I’ve doubled my diabetes risk but what can I say… worth it.

All the food was amazing, the service was great, and the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable. We would definitely come back here again if we lived nearby to try more of the menu offerings. Overall I’d rate Morgan’s:

• Taste: 9.5
• Atmosphere: 9
• Value: 8.5

 

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