Donna’s Runway Cafe

I love this place SO much. Every time I visit my folks in Hardwick, I beg them to go to the Runway Café with me for brunch the next morning. It’s a teeny place with maybe 10 tables, and the service is fast and friendly. With views of the runway, it’s always a treat to drink coffee and chat with the locals while watching various small planes, gliders, and those parachute-​with-​a-​giant-​fan thingies taking off and landing.
Typical greasy-​spoon fare, without so much grease. :)
Love it.

An awesome local place. Great views of planes taking off and landing. This is where you come to dine amongst the locals and it always delivers.
The food is solid. I got a western omelette and it was huge! served with hash browns or home fries.
They’re quick to keep your coffee full.
This isn’t five star dining by any means but hey, if you’re passing through for breakfast or lunch you’ll have a great meal with some of the most authentic local atmosphere in Blairstown!

I have been here twice, and the food is always hot and delicious. The waitress was great, very bubbly and nice, and she knew her job very well. I give her an A+. The place is really small with only 8 booths and a few chairs at the counter and there is a large cut-​out area that allows you to see the kitchen… and that is where the my real issue is. The last time I was there, I witnessed a few acts done by the cook (middle aged guy with a fireman t-​shirt) that I don’t really consider very hygienic. He ate food off of plates he prepared, dropped a rag on the floor and then reused it to clean a kitchen utensil. He also went from handling used dishes, cleaning them in a sink and back and forth to the kitchen to prepare food, without washing his hands. He also didn’t wear any type of white kitchen uniform (no gloves) and kept wiping his hands on the back of his pants. I guess these are things you find with smaller, less managed kitchens, but I have also witnessed some mom and pop places that are much more diligent in keeping things more sanitary. I wish these small time cooks would take a food hygiene and safety course. I am still undecided if I will return.

Flew in in the skyhawk today. My first impression of the restaurant was that it was very small. But that didn’t matter there were still probably 20 people In there cresting a festive atmosphere comprised mainly of pilots. There were a few table games that were fun to play while waiting for our food. I have to say it did take a tad long. I got an omelette which wasn’t too stellar it was mediocre. My CFI goes there for the pancakes and man were they good, coming with a Christmas tree stamp In the middle. In conclusion it’s ok service, good food and an amazing place to sit back relax and watch airplanes

You don’t go to Donna’s for the New Jersey Blueberry pie, even though the berries are so sweet and crunchy that each pops in your mouth; you wonder at how the crust can be so flaky yet the berries so fresh. Neither would you go for the homemade chicken parmesan, or the Reuben, or whatever else Donna dreams for that day.
No, the food at Donna’s is really an extra. It’s the champagne at the end of the race, the flavors of earth after a 400 mile day soaring, or the laughter of a son who «just wanted to see the planes». For those who go to Donna’s to for that little ‘extra’, the food is priceless.