Is there a more innocuous yet divisive food in the breakfast realm than oatmeal? For every enthusiastic consumer, there’s a hardened detractor. It’s all contingent on where you fall on the breakfast food spectrum. Are you washing traces of bacon grease and egg yolk or bits of shredded wheat and bluberry remnants off of your breakfast vessel each morning?

Regardless of where you find yourself on that spectrum, it’s tough to deny that the oatmeal served in many restaurants leaves much to be desired. While breakfast spots like to push the boundaries regarding what they can cram into a breakfast sandwich, omelet or benedict, the oatmeal-led world of hot cereal has largely remained untouched.

While the egg’s rebound following the low-cholesterol scare tactics of yesteryear has been striking, oatmeal’s has manifested as chilled overnight oats, (which is a whole separate rabbit hole that we’re not going to burrow into today). The bottom line is that we’ve done nothing to lessen the grease crowd’s oppsition to this humble pantry staple.

A spot named “The Sassy Biscuit Co.” isn’t the first place one would expect to solve this problem. Alas, the BLT I scarfed on my first visit may not have been the most decadent item on their menu of waffles, biscuit sandwiches and soul food, but the combination of thick house-smoked bacon, heirloom tomato, lettuce and ailoi on a house biscuit was still a far cry from health food.

Peruse the menu, and you’ll find a little section appropriately titled “porridge”. It’s easy to miss and perhaps even easier to sneer at and ignore, but these bowls of whole grains push boundaries just like the rest of the menu.

Take “The Pa”, a sweet and crunchy bowl of oats topped with roasted sweet potato, apples and candied pecans. It’s a festive celebration of autumn that’s excellent year round.

This bowl’s antithesis, named what else but “The Ma”, begins simply, with oats under a generous schmear of blueberry coulis. The folks in the kitchen then get adventurous with the carbohydrates and perch a thick slice of lemon tea bread right on top. There’s only one justifiable way to eat this: Take your spoon, go full slasher film on the tea bread and mix the bits directly into your oatmeal.

The base of both bowls are hearty steel-cut oats; the heftier, less processed cousin to rolled oats. Granola fans can get their fix with the Sassy Biscuit’s final porridge: “The Nana”, which features soft banana granola and steamed milk.

While these creations may not be as earth-shattering as a fully-loaded biscuit sandwich or a plate of fried chicken and waffles, they manage to bridge the gap between wholesomeness and indulgence. While oatmeal and its brethren may never see mass appeal in the restaurant world, The Sassy Biscuit Co. is taking a step to provide this divisive pantry staple the repesct it deserves.

Given the name of the restaurant, one may be persuaded to order a biscuit alongside their oatmeal. As long as total carbohydrate influx doesn’t bother you, it’s a fine idea. Just be prepared to move around a bit after.

Find The Sassy Biscuit Co. 7 days a week at 104 Washington St. Ste. 100 in Dover, NH.