The Busy Bee Dinner vs. Sage Port Grill

The Busy Bee Dinner 

vs.  

Sage Port Grille

 By: Paityn Blanchard 

Sage Port Grille building

The busy Bee Dinner Building 

 

        Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day. And for most college students who lead busy lives breakfast is severely under appreciated. 

        It’s the best when you actually get

to sit down and eat your food instead of just shoving a banana down your throat on your way out the door. 

        Just to clarify, this won't be an article about the importance of a healthy homemade breakfast. Although homemade breakfast is great, I think it’s time that the breakfast restaurants got some credit. 

        

        So, in the name of research… and hunger, me and my colleague (AKA boyfriend, Jeremiah) did what any good citizen would do: we went to two of the most popular breakfast diners in the Tri-Cities, ate way too much, and judged them. 

        The goal of this review, other than

an excuse to go out for breakfast, is to shed some light on the ins and outs of The Busy Bee Diner and Sage Port Grille and use this information to decide on the best breakfast experience for you.

First Impressions:

        Both restaurants were in Kennewick, The Busy Bee is on Kennewick Avenue, and Sage Port Grille is right on Columbia Park Trail. Because of their location, both restaurants were a little further on the sketchy side when it comes to the exterior of the buildings, the people around, and the other buildings around the restaurant. 

 Let’s break this down further:

        My first impression of The Busy Bee was, to be honest, a little disappointed. 

On Google Maps it showed a cute dinner style restaurant but managed to exclude the surroundings (probably for the best). The exterior reminded me of an old rundown laundry mat that is across the street from my high school. 

        The chipped paint on dingy white brick made it seem old and unkept. There also wasn’t a lot of parking, which could be annoying if a lot of people were trying to get in and out at the same time. 

        The Busy Bee had a rocky start, but as soon as I stepped inside, I could see why people love it so much. 

        We entered through the outside seating

area and were immediately greeted by a very friendly waiter, and we were seated immediately!

        The seating was comfortable, and the tables and chairs were clean. The inside seating seemed crowded but was decorated with lots of paintings and cute little bee decorations which gave it a warm nostalgic vibe, almost like you were stepping into your grandma's kitchen. 

Image of the interior of The Busy Bee that does NOT capture how cute it was

At least that's what my grandma's kitchen looks like.

        The Sage Port Grille, as said before, had a similar start. The exterior seemed a little more put together than The Busy Bee with a cool tin roof sign on the front of their clean brick building. To me it gave the brick building a spunky farm-Ish feel. 

Creepy Mannequin waitress

        When we walked inside it was pretty

dark but not gloomy, and we were greeted by a horrifyingly realistic manikin dressed up to be awaitress as well as a fake man falling through the ceiling!

Sage Port Grille’s dead man in the ceiling

        We were then told by our waiter from behind the counter to take any open seat. This waiter was not as enthusiastic as the one at The Busy Bee, but we were still seated very quickly.

        The booth that we chose had very uncomfortable seats to the point where it felt like I was sitting on a vertical 2x4. 

(However, I had been there in the past and sat in the window booth

and the seats were very comfortable.)

Service:

        As I said before, the service and friendliness from all the waiters at The Busy Bee were phenomenal! I was greeted with a smile by my waiter as well as the waiters who were serving other tables. Our waiter asked us how we were but wasn't intrusive. She first asked if we wanted drinks and brought us what we ordered very quickly. She checked in on us frequently but not

too much to the point of feeling rushed or annoyed. 

        Within less than 10 minutes of ordering, we received all of our food, hot, and delicious looking. Our waiter continued to check on us throughout our time there and would even make some light small talk which I found made the whole experience feel very welcoming.

        At Sage Port Grill, the waiter was nice but didn't go above and beyond, like the waiter at the Busy Bee. 

(But seriously, the Busy Bee had some of the nicest and most fun waiters I've ever met!) 

        Anyway, after we were seated and tried to find a comfortable part of the booth the

waiter came and took our orders. She was friendly and knowledgeable about the items on the menu; it took Sage Port an average amount of time to get the food out to us but still not nearly as fast as the Busy Bee. 

        The food came out one at a time and in an odd order. 

        First, she brought out the giant pancake, then my side of toast, then my eggs and hash browns that the toast is meant to go with, and then Jeremiah’s biscuits and gravy. 

        By the time the main meal came my

toast was already cold, which was a little disappointing. 

        Our waiter warmed up to us as our time

there went on and got very excited when I asked what she recommended I toped my

pancakes with. She said I should order bananas with their PeanutButter syrup. 

That my friend, 

was the best pancakeI've had in a while! 

        Our waiter checked on us about 4 times

throughout our visit, She wasn't as chatty as the other waiter but still made sure we were doing ok, just didn't go that extra mile of checking in on us, talking to us, or asking if we wanted to-go boxes or refills. 

        If you're the kind of person who doesn't like to be bothered or talked to too much, 

then this place might be perfect for you!

Overall Taste:

        At The Busy Bee it really depended on what you got when it came to amazing flavor. 

        I ordered  the “Worker bee breakfast” which consisted of a biscuit, with your choice of meat, your style of eggs, sausage gravy, and hash browns. 

The Worker Bee Breakfast

        Jeremiah ordered the jalapeno breakfast’s burrito. It was no joke the BEST breakfast burrito I had ever had! It was warm and had so many flavors, but it all

came together in the best way possible. It had the flavor of spice but was still manageable to eat. 

The Chorizo Burrito 

        Jeremiah said that he wished it was a little spicier considering that one of the first ingredients where jalapeños… 

I thought it was perfect!

        Last but not least, we ordered their large pancake, and it was delicious! 

(I could not find a picture of the pancake online but trust me, It was scrumptious!)

        The food at Sage Port Grill was pretty even throughout. 

        We ordered biscuits and gravy similar to

what I got at the busy bee, and just plain scrambled eggs with hash brown. 

        (I could not find an image of this one either but just imagine scarmbled eggs, hash brown and cold toast on a plate and you’ll be set.)

We also tried their giant pancake; it was huge! 

Giant pancake 

        All in all the food we ordered was average. It tasted good but didn't have anything that really set it apart; in my opinion it all was stuff that most people with decent cooking abilities could make.

       I tried to order similar items at both restaurants so let's break it up by food items.

Biscuits and gravy:

At The Busy Bee, the biscuits and gravy were loaded with eggs, bacon, cheese, and lots of gravy. The biscuit was fluffy and warm, but I think that the gravy could have used a little more of the sausage flavor. It was definitely fresh, but I think I could have used a little more of the sausage

grease.

The Sage Port Grill’s Biscuits and gravy were good, but there wasn’t anything more than

what I could make on my own at home. The gravy had more flavor than The Busy Bee but didn't have the extra yumminess on top which made it feel a little underwhelming.

Pancake:

        The pancake at The Busy Bee was definitely large; it was light, fluffy, and came with homemade blackberry and raspberry syrups that were so good and fresh. 

        The pancake was warm and filling but not too greasy or heavy. The Sage Port Grill’s pancakes were even bigger and equally fluffy and delicious. 

Although they didn't have homemade syrups, they did have lots of toppings. I ordered bananas and peanut butter syrup which I thought would just be normal peanut butter, but they actually had syrup that was PeanutButter flavored, which I thought was cool very unique. 

        I wasn't able to finish the pancake because it was so big and didn't end up putting it in a to-go box either because it had gotten very soggy from the syrup.

Menu:

        The menu at The Busy Bee had a good number of options and some interesting flavor combinations that looked really good but unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to try them. 

        I liked how they had pictures of a lot of their dishes. However, I did not see any deals like you might find at Dennys or Ihop which makes it hard, especially for college students with a small budget. 

The Busy Bee’s Menu

        At the end of our visit, I remember feeling filled but not stuffed, I really liked how fresh everything tasted.

        The menu at Sage Port had much fewer options than the busy Bee and didn't have any pictures, which isn't necessary but was a nice luxury at the Busy Bee. 

Sage Port Grille Menu

        If you are the kind of person who doesn’t like too many options, Sage Port would be great for you! 

Everything is pretty simple but still delicious, and there aren’t so many options so it won’t take you forever to

pick.

Was it Worth it?

      At the Busy Bee Diner I spent a total of $54.18 for two meals and a large pancake. 

        The Burrito and Biscuits and gravy were around $20 each, the pancake was $4, and my orange juice was $4. 

Because of the price, I don't think I would come here again unless it was for a special occasion. 

        It really depends on how much you are willing to spend. Even though I had a

very enjoyable time at the busy Bee and loved all the food I ate, because I'm a running start student without a full time job it’s not quite worth the price for me. But that doesn't mean it’s the case for everyone. 

        However, at the end of our visit we received a punch card. You receive one

punch per person per visit. The punch card has 10 spaces so if you bring a lot of hungry people, the next time you are there you can get one free dish. 

This was a fun and unique way to get customers to come back and can be a very good deal if you bring enough people.

         At Sage Port Grill we only spent $45 but did have a slightly less enjoyable experience.

        The seats were a little uncomfortable, and the food just wasn't as good as what we got spoiled with at the Busy Bee. 

The eggs and hashbrowns, and biscuits and gravy were both about $16,

and the giant pancake was $8. I found the pancake price pretty ridiculous, but they made up for it when they brought out a foot long in diameter pancake that was still light, fluffy, and buttery. 

        

 If you want to go somewhere that has a little more of that local feel and quality that is just a couple steps ahead of a franchise without spending too much, 

I'd go with Sage Port Grille

        

        On the other hand, if you want to treat yourself and some friends or family to a delicious, fresh, nostalgic, dinner style breakfast and have the money to do it, then 

The Busy Bee Dinner is the place for you.

So, Which One Is Better?

Both restaurants had some great things to offer so now it comes down to your preferences. 

        The Busy Bee excelled when it came to customer service, and they also had some delicious food that looked and tasted amazingly fresh. 

       However, there wasn't a lot of parking or seating. I could imagine that it would get pretty crowded there on a nice Saturday morning or even on a cold day

when the inside seating is all that is available. 

        Although the food and homemade syrup was almost to die for, I probably wouldn't go there anytime soon because of the price. For me it would definitely be more of a special occasion breakfast spot.

        On the other hand, the Sage Port Grill had a fun and spunky atmosphere with lots of art and quirky photos on the walls that gave it a unique vibe. 

        The food, service, and prices were average. I liked the food but didn't love it, the service was good but not amazing. All in all, I had a good time, but I think a few things could have been a little better.

Although I may have had a more enjoyable experience at The Busy Bee, because of the

price, I'd be more likely to go to the Sage Port Grill again in the near future. 

        Both diners put some great things on the table (literally). Now it’s up to you to choose your next culinary

destination! 

Thank you for reading!