The Yolk is running a serious breakfast revolution in Rock Hill
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The Yolk Rock Hill
“I won’t eat breakfast anywhere else,” says the woman on the bench next to us. We’re about 10 names and 30 minutes deep in a wait list out the door to get into a nondescript diner in a strip mall anchored by Food Lion in Rock Hill. She meets my uppity urban skepticism with a battle cry: “It’s way better than Toast,” she says matter-of-factly, and our name is called.
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The tiny restaurant has one long communal table down the middle (first come, first served seating) and a handful of booths around the perimeter. Even in this their expanded new location, demand is high and seating is scarce–so much so that although it’s a sweltering 90-degree morning, all the outdoor tables are filled too.
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The food is inventive and impressive. Daily specials dominate the chalk wall in the back and, not surprisingly, eggs are the main attraction. If omelets and breakfast sandwiches aren’t your thing, they’ve also got pancakes, waffles and French toast classics with intense flavor combinations like the dark chocolate pancakes with white chocolate chips and chocolate buttercream or the blueberry French toast with banana cream. (Holy crap.)
They’ve even got a gluten-free sweet potato waffle and a vegan grain bowl for your specialty diet friends. (That’s me!)
Our table managed to cover a little of everything. My mom got an omelet, my sister got oatmeal and a yogurt parfait, my sister-in-law got shrimp and grits (her favorite), my brother got some kind of steak and biscuits special and I got the vegetarian hash. Everybody was happy across the board. Of particular note is the seasoning on the potatoes that I can only assume is their Perfect TN Seasoning, a nod to the owners’ Tennessee roots.
This place has a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives feature written all over it. It’s laid back, approachable and familiar but the food is elevated with high-quality ingredients and an obvious professional chef’s execution. Chef Gregory Collier and his wife Subrina are the masterminds behind this breakfast revolution in a town not exactly known for its food scene… yet. They’ve got a seriously good thing going.
Is it better than Toast? You’ll just have to haul it down to Rock Hill and weigh in…