Doc Taylor's fills breakfast-lunch bill

Ray Labuen, chef and general manager at Doc Taylor’s, holds Chocolate Chip Mouse Cake. (John H. Sheally II/The Virginian-Pilot)

By Tammy Jaxtheimer, Restaurant Critic
The Virginian-Pilot

There is something about having a breakfast place to call your own. When the place offers $1.95 adult breakfast beverages every day, it makes it all that more special.

Doc Taylor's has fast become many folks' favorite since its opening a year ago. The menu has many namesakes, like The Ray Ray, a dish named for Ray Labuen, who formerly wielded his spatula and tongs at the Belvedere and now has found a home on the range at Doc Taylor's. Other items are named for regular customers.

Doc Taylor's, owned by Scott Ferguson and Bill Gambrell, is right next door to their other popular restaurant, Tautog's, both on 23rd Street between Atlantic and Pacific avenues. Doc Taylor's is in the circa 1939 former Beach home/office of the late Dr. Waller Taylor Sr.

The main dining room has a couch, and there's a Foosball table in an adjoining room. Additional seating is available near the grill and on the porch. Bar stools - at both the kitchen counter and the beverage bar - appear to be premium seating on weekends.

Omelets offer seven appealing choices, and still more selections if you consider that one can substitute egg whites or organic eggs for an additional $1.50. Having confirmed that corned beef hash ($2.50 side) was homemade, I had to have some. I ordered it as a side with The Beach Bum ($2.75), two eggs, toast and bacon. The bacon was in need of a reheating to lose its early morning prep flavor. My sunny-side-up eggs were appropriately soft; however, a hot grill made the edges crispy, a trait that some folks may not care for. The same hot grill made the corned beef patty far too dark on the outside for maximum pleasure.

The Ray Ray ($5.95) is a fried egg with choice of meat, cheese and grilled parmesan tomatoes in an onion roll. I had enjoyed this creation when Labuen was at the Belvedere. My guest had to experience it, and I wanted to see if it was as good as I remembered. My guest requested andouille sausage as the meat, which brought the sandwich to a whole new plateau. The meat surcharge of 95 cents was well worth it. Shredded hash browns accompanied the showstopper sandwich. We wished our server had prompted us that there was a choice of grilled potatoes, which we would have preferred.

Service was friendly and familiar. We were extremely appreciative of her honesty about which menu items she recommended and which ones were being removed because they were not well received.

From more than a dozen sandwiches, burgers and wraps she recommended Dr. Mike's grilled veggie wrap ($5.95). The wrap was very good, but I became skeptical when I discovered that our server was vegetarian. Vegetarian servers' recommendations can be biased, or certainly limiting. Grilled red peppers, portabellas, yellow squash and spinach were folded in a soft flour tortilla tastefully spread with cumin aioli. The light and relatively healthy choice made me feel better with the side of crinkle fries ($1 add-on).

Homemade Key lime pie ($3.50) and a pancake ($1.25) served with real butter gave us a sweet ending to my newfound breakfast and lunch spot. Here's hoping I can get on the Foosball table while waiting to eat when I return on the weekend. Waiting at the Doc's is nothing new and a must-do.