I can often be seen in the morning at the Riverview in Billerica, MA, just over the border from Bedford. Set in a boxy standalone building separated from the Concord River by a huge asphalt parking lot, the Riverview is a marvel of architecture and naming. How could someone build a building so close, yet so far, from the historic Concord River and then name it "The Riverview"? To see the physical space of the Riverview, one could not imagine that this would be one of the best breakfast places (they are also open for lunch) in the Boston suburbs.

The Riverview has a robust takeout window business. To get there, you drive in the non-river side of the building, around the back, and through. The median strip between the take-out drive and the parking lot contains a small kitchen garden planted by the owner. In the late summer, the produce from the garden is used in the menu items. I often imagine what it would be like if the Riverview were actually on the river. It probably would ruin everything, because the Riverview is all about what happens inside.

Run by a Greek family, most of the heavy lifting of the business is carried out by the sons. They love people, and if you go, you will feel a sense of being at someone's home as soon as you enter the door. After entering a small vestibule, you will be greeted by a sign showing the day's specials. For breakfast: broccoli and cheese omelette, blueberry pancakes, Mexican omelette on a typical day; for lunch: meatloaf sandwich was a recent favorite. They have just recently upgraded the tables and chairs, but there is no mistaking the interior, straight from an old Montgomery Ward catalog. The menu for breakfast is one page and laminated, with 10 specials. I typically start with decaf coffee, then order the number 1: two eggs over easy, hash browns, and wheat toast, hold the meat. On a Mexican omelette day, I usually go crazy and order one of them. On a two eggs day, I usually spend $7.50; on a mexican omelette day, I will shell out $11.

There are many regulars whom I see every morning I go. Having gone to breakfast places all of my adult life, I usually find a place that I can return to often, where the people are warm but give you space, where I can be anonymous but my everyday tastes remembered. The Riverview is that place for me, now. See you there.