Bountiful bowls of breakfast
PRESS ON MONMOUTH
421 Monmouth Street, Newport | (859) 261-3397
HOURS: 8 a.m.–3 p.m. daily (brunch menu on weekends)
MENU: www.pressonmonmouthnky.com
An airy eatery with industrial verve and inventive breakfast, it serves brunch and lunch dishes, espresso and mimosas on the side.
If you see someone tucking into a bowl of eggs, topped by smashed avocado, diced tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese, perched on a Tater Tot waffle and doused in chipotle sauce, you’re looking at a dish that is called simply, “Breakfast.” It is among the most popular dishes on the menu at this bistro that feels both urban and homey.
“People really like our bowls,” says Katie Parnell, Press on Monmouth’s general manager and executive chef. “We have grain bowls and Tater Tot waffle bowls, and the Tater Tot waffle is what we are known for.”
This culinary gem is a crunchy-delicious combo of Tots and cheese pressed in a waffle iron and served with a variety of toppings options: black bean salsa, peppers and onions, beets and butternut squash, bacon and chorizo. “See that your table is set with neatness, and everything on it well ordered,” Bryan wrote, and these bowls are certainly “well ordered.”
Owned by the Cafeo Hospitality Group, Press opened six years ago with a minuscule menu and a tiny kitchen, with equipment limited to a few hot plates, panini presses and waffle irons. Fast forward to 2022 and the restaurant has a full kitchen, a menu that has tripled in size and a line of customers known to curl out the front door.