Eggs & Moore
The A- frame sandwich board sign outside the small storefront on the 2300 block of Arlington Avenue promises “laughs & entertainment” that are always free, and indeed the punchlines and quips are delivered in spades.
It’s neither a theater or comedy club but, rather, a diner, where life imitates art in a daily matinee behind the counter and over the steaming and hissing bacon, eggs, sausages and hamburgers on the griddle.
The classic TV sitcom “Alice” went off the air in 1985, but there’s a veritable live action revival at Eggs & Moore, as Mount Washington native sisters Amy and Marnie Moore, their cousin Lisa Duffy and longtime friend Matt Ansani assume the roles of Alice, Flo, Vera and Mel but with deliciously thick Pittsburgh accents and the requisite and non- stop yanking of chains and busting of chops.
A sample from a recent Saturday morning:
“You smell like regret and lost youth.”
“A break? You’ve been on break since we opened.”
“That’s them. Miserable things 1, 2, and 3.”
“We sent her out for left- handed toothpicks. She was gone a while.”
Of course, that’s when they aren’t singing along with the oldies on their playlist. The “Alice” analogy isn’t lost on them either, as there’s a framed black- and- white of the TV cast on the wall and a sign with the show’s catchphrase “Kiss My Grits.” Those are among a gallery of old photos of parents and grandparents that drive home the family element of the place, along with a circa 1987 picture of the three diner matrons as high- haired teenagers.
“There was lots of Aqua Net happening there,” Amy Moore said.
She’d previously worked at the Micro Diner, and this was a short- lived second location of that Mount Washington favorite. Amy took it over last year and made it her own as Eggs & Moore after enlisting sister Marnie, a service industry lifer formerly at La Tavola and Alla Famiglia, as well as cousin Lisa — who is technically also their “aunt” by marriage after she married the Moores’ blood uncle from another side of their family ( it’s hilarious to hear them explain this) — and Mr. Ansani.
The mugs of coffee are hot and the plates of pancakes are delicious: Two large ones chock full of plump blueberries and powdered sugar are $ 5.99 and are complemented nicely with a copious side of bacon ($ 1.50).
Hot Italian sausage with sauteed peppers and onions, and gooey provolone between Mancini’s Italian toast ($ 5.99) with a side of chunky and crispy home fries ($ 1.50)
was the perfect foil to a restless stomach after a late night.
Conversely, the Mexican Scrambler ($ 8.99) was a flavorful and filling Monday morning start to the week. Made with seasoned ground beef, sauteed peppers and onions, jack cheese, and both red and green house salsas, and topped with sour cream, it was almost like a plate of breakfast nachos.
In the 23- year history of this column, no previous stop has ever been made in Arlington, as the less than a half- squaremile, almost entirely residential city neighborhood of about 1,800 has no central business district of which to speak.
But now it has eggs, and more: a tightly knit family diner with a heaping helping of good humor.
Eggs & Moore: 2332 Arlington Ave., Arlington; 412- 863- 7228; https:// www. facebook. com/ eggsandmoore.