Dexter D.
Yelp
I can honestly say that there have been some improvements since our last visit in 2020. Unfortunately, these improvements were primarily because of the new ordering system. Several kiosks will take your order in several languages, though we couldn't figure out if we could place one order in two different languages. Our guest from Japan was able to order his own food in Japanese so that took some stress off of us. Once we understood what he wanted, we restarted the order in English and ordered and paid for everything on one check. While I am not a fan of self-checkout and ordering kiosks, I can see how this can make the ordering process less frustrating for non-English speaking guests.
Once we were done with placing our order and had our receipt in hand, a very friendly staff member helped us with our drink cups and pointed out where to dispense our own beverages. My companions went to find a table while I waited for our order number to be called. Because it was relatively early, about 7:30am, the wait was very short, about three minutes.
There are two styles of seating. Regular wood tables with wood chairs or taller wood tables with tall benches. I'm not sure who ordered those tall tables and benches. I would think that both older and younger guests might have a difficult time getting seated and if your feet don't reach the floor, sitting on those hardwood benches would quickly become uncomfortable. Of course, that could have been part of the logic because hikers might eat and then just sit all day if it were too comfortable.
I liked that the Garbage and Compostable containers were clearly labeled. There were also a few baking racks that held some trays that guests were supposed to bus their own plates and utensils to. The racks were also clearly labeled so items could be stacked in a way that made sense and prevent accidents.
And that's where the good ended. The food (yes, that's why we were there) was edible but only for sustenance and not overall enjoyment. The coffee was typical of institutional coffee, what I call "cardboard" coffee because of the sour cardboard aftertaste. Our guests enjoyed his short stack of two plate-sized pancakes. I do give credit that the syrup dispenser dispensed warm syrup. Pats of butter were also available. Two of us ordered the standard "Full Breakfast" without any upgrades. Two Pork Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, (Country?) Potatoes and a small croissant for $11 each. There were options to change potatoes for more eggs; upgraded pastries, etc. The sausages were fine albeit cold; scrambled eggs were created in bulk, unevenly cooked and bland; potatoes cold, dry and really inedible. The tiny croissant was the winner on my plate.
I'm sure that the employees do the best they can with what they have to work with. The non-competitive nature of National Parks Concessions does not create any reason for the vendor to seek real improvements since they have a captive audience in the park's visitors. If this quality of food were to be served outside of a National Park environment, I have no doubt the restaurant would be another casualty of popular opinion.