goTriad.com

Every now and then I make a really good decision. Take last weekend, for instance, when I had suggested that my daughter, husband and I go to an old standby for brunch and, at the last minute, decided it would be much more exciting to try some place new instead: Winston's Eatery. The restaurant recently made it onto my list of interesting and affordable Triad spots, and I'm so glad that it did.

Winston's Eatery has been up and running for about a year and a half , but this summer they made big changes, including hiring chef Jesse Williams to turn the place around. I was happily surprised to learn this. Williams, after all, is the guy who put the Kitchen at Elkin Creek Vineyards on the map and in the news - catching the attention of both of the New York Times and Southern Living along the way.

The Eatery is located in a fantastic old brick building just south of downtown Winston-Salem, right up the street from the Children's Museum. From the outside, the building - called the "Railroad Building" and listed on the National Register of Historic Places - has a charming warehouse-depot feel. Inside, the walls are painted picholine olive-green, with wood accents and one rough brick wall adding to the cozy, rustic warmth. Fresh flowers grace every table, and salt and pepper shakers live with packets of sugar in tiny turquoise lunch boxes -- lovely little details that suggest the care the kitchen takes.

Our waitress greeted us with a smile at the door, and in minutes we were seated, sipping good hot coffee, listening to Screaming Jay Hawkins sing "I Put a Spell on You," and trying to decide among the tempting choices.

It's always a good sign when I find myself unable to make up my mind over more than a couple of options. Here, I wavered between the poached eggs with fried green tomatoes, sausage, and hollandaise (Eggs W-E), french toast with pecans, and blueberry pancakes before deciding on the vegetable omelet, with roasted red peppers, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. My husband Jake went through a similar struggle before ordering the W-E Breakfast -- two eggs, hash browns, and bacon or sausage. For our daughter Camille, grilled toast and scrambled eggs.

While we waited, Camille drew and Jake and I enjoyed our buttermilk biscuits with strawberry jam. (Given the choice of having our biscuits before or with our meals, of course we chose before!) The biscuits arrived split in two and heaped in a tiny metal pail --another nice touch. With their richness and slight heaviness, they reminded me of a scone -- a tiny bit sweet and with a somewhat cakey crumb. Out of habit, I almost always have my biscuits with raspberry jam at home, but the strawberry jam here was a nice, delicate match for the baked treats.

When our meals arrived, Jake was pleased to see that his fried eggs came out exactly as he'd ordered them -- perfectly over medium. More often than not, they're either far undercooked for his liking or fried until the yolk is hard and pasty dry. These were just right -- bearing a little golden oozy yolk but plenty of firmness in the white. The potatoes were crispy and browned and tasty.

The Eatery's omelets are made exactly as I like them: a thin wrapping of well-seasoned egg rolled around delectably prepared fillings. No giant, fluffy, overcooked-to-rubber omelets here. Instead, they're nearly crepe-like in their delicacy, perfectly cooked so they're almost custardy inside. The filling was simple but of high quality and incredibly flavorful.

In fact, this is one of the first restaurant meals in recent memory where I have not had to doctor my food with salt and pepper to try to eke out some flavor. As it should be, here the flavor had already been heightened for me. To me, this ability to season with a judicious hand is a sign of a confident chef with a well-tuned palate -- more of a rarity in professional kitchens than you'd think.

I talked to Williams after our meal and let him know how much we'd enjoyed everything, and I got the feeling that really mattered. He was down to earth and friendly, and we talked about omelets and being picky and about his hopes for the burgeoning Triad food scene.

I hope to return to the Eatery soon -- for a grilled pimento cheese and bacon sandwich and some apple cider slaw for lunch, or shrimp and grits for dinner, or to see how well they do pancakes.

And for something special, I hope to make it to one of the Eatery's monthly beer dinners, where Williams pairs each of five courses with a beer to match. Out of my everyday price range, but a treat worth keeping in mind. Judging from October's menu (which featured Belgian beers paired with fried sweetbreads with white truffle German potato salad, barbecue rabbit sandwich with potato bread and dijon essence, and braised honey and ginger spareribs with house sauerkraut), these dinners allow Williams to explore his creative range beyond the simple, comforting fare he does so well.

Cheap Eats features local restaurants for diners on a budget. It runs every other week in Go Triad. Contact Angie DeCola at angiedecola@hotmail.com.