Bud’s offers warm and cozy breakfast

Let’s face it: The holidays are over, and we all ate so much that the idea of dining out seems a little, shall we say, superfluous. But that never applies to breakfast. We feel no matter how much you’ve indulged, it’s always cozy and affordable to treat yourself to breakfast.

Making even bacon and eggs at home is very labor intensive for the one in the kitchen, so why not leave it to the pros? For nearly 50 years, breakfast has been served to devotees of the restaurant that has been many names over the years, but which is now known as Bud’s Diner behind Liamos Market on Lake Street.

Residents of the Lake Street area in Nashua have been coming to this no-fuss restaurant for years. They know the cooks, the servers and the small, but well-executed, menu. It’s as much a Nashua institution as the attached Liamos Greek market, where you can buy homemade spanakopita, the best marinated lamb ever and Koulourakia, sesame cookies.

But that’s for dinner. We’re still on breakfast.

We visited Bud’s over the holidays and were greeted with such a sincere “happy new year,” we thought our server had mistaken us for someone she knew. But then, we noticed everyone was greeted that way. The regulars got an added hug.

We love a restaurant that has lots of booths, and Bud’s, where you seat yourself, has plenty of those, as well as tables and counter options.

Once we settled in, our server brought us hot cups of coffee ($1.50), which were always kept full. Our server was so used to regular customers that she thought we’d be ready to order before we even looked at the menu, but she was happy to come back in a few minutes.

We took the time to really look at the breakfast menu. For the super-hungry, there is (we love the name of this) the Grown Boy Special ($7.25), three eggs with bacon, ham and sausage with home fries and toast. We love the fact the word “and” is printed boldface in the menu, just so you know you get all the meat sides.

Another menu item for the famished is Bud’s Special Omelet ($6.95), three eggs with chopped onion, green pepper, mushrooms, grilled sliced ham and American cheese with home fries and toast.

And not to be outdone is the Steak and Eggs ($8.95), with an 8-ounce sirloin, three eggs, home fries and toast.

Mr. T for T went for a Cheese and Mushroom Omelet ($5.95), a three-egg jobber stuffed with shrooms and American cheese. He would have preferred a choice of cheese and gone with cheddar, but was happy with what he got. He also loved his side of sausage ($2.75), three really big and spicy links – larger and more flavorful than many of the breakfast sausage we’ve had at breakfast. He also got two hefty pieces of buttered white toast and a massive hill of home fries – you can choose with or without onions. Both the T for Ts had their potatoes with onions and were impressed with the large hand-cut chunks of both vegetables, fried to the perfect crispiness.

Mrs. T for T went for the Two Egg Breakfast with Corned Beef Hash ($5.95), home fries and rye toast. By the way, all the toast here is slathered with what tastes like real butter and not margarine – thank goodness. She ordered her eggs over hard, seemingly a simple request, but one which often results in either too-runny or too-rubbery eggs. In this case, they were done perfectly, and the eggs tasted farm fresh. The hash was a little disappointing. It tasted canned and wasn’t fried crispy enough.

Kids 12 and younger have a special breakfast menu from which to choose at Bud’s, all of which come with milk or juice.

We think $3.75 is a great deal for a piece of French toast, two pieces of bacon or two sausage links, home fries and toast.

Junior T for T kept it simple and just had one, very large Chocolate Chip Pancake ($2.75) with a side of wheat toast.

We know a longtime Nashua resident who comes to Bud’s just for the muffins ($1.50), which look more like a giant cupcake than the usual muffin shape. The muffins come in corn, bran and blueberry.

We tried the corn and thought it had that wonderful, grainy homemade flavor. Warning: It is a big muffin. You might like to do what our friend does and just have it alone or with a fruit cup for breakfast.

Bud’s does have very nice lunches, too, including fresh seafood, a 12-ounce Sirloin Steak ($11.50) with potatoes and vegetable, Liver and Onions ($8.95), hearty sandwiches and homemade soups.

But like we said, we’re always looking for that comfy, homey breakfast place, and Bud’s definitely fits the bill.