Don W.
Yelp
I've lived in Durango since 2000 and I've been wanting to try this place for years but I could never tear myself away from CJ's to try. So when CJ's closed, I began using Durango Grill, Oscars and the new, Ruperts. My favorite server (Jeanie) wasn't at Ruperts today and it was the perfect day to try the College Drive Cafe.
The first thing we noticed when we walked in was the odor because it was either a VERY stale Mop head and/or odiferous rags used to wipe the tables but regardless, it was dirty, nasty and stale order that was an instant turn off. I ordered my usual, biscuits and gravy with VERY LIGHTLY scrambled eggs emphasizing that "runny"' was better than rubbery but I didn't learn that hash browns (home fries) weren't included in my entree and so I had to add them, far exceeding the price of Ruperts and Oscars. Again I ordered my eggs, emphasizing that I had to have them very lightly scrambled and that runny was preferred to rubbery and absolutely NO BROWN. Neither my bothers omelet or my eggs came with any brown on them, they were still over cooked and cut like rubber. My brother was happy with his omelet but he insisted that the bacon didn't even come float to the Hickory Smoked Bacon at Ruperts. We both noticed that his one biscuit with an added (up charge) serving of sausage gravy had more gravy than my two biscuits ordered as my entree to the point that I had to ask for more gravy.
So I had to order more gravy I was Brough a tablespoon and still had less then my brother, add hash browns AND send my scrambled eggs back so they could manufacture car tyres from them, although my new eggs came out somewhat acceptable (I never send back back food), they were still very done.
My brother asked for a take-away box for all of his left overs and we were brought a flimsy (the lowest quality available for sale) paper plate and a 1' square piece of aluminum foil, our server seemed really put off when brother show her his overflowing dinner plate of breakfast food asking if she thought it would fit on the flimsy plate. She asked if he needed another paper plate where I interjected -- asking if she might offer a take-away box so the plate wouldn't collapse on our way out. She brought a box and I used the chinsiey paper plate to bring home my side of of hash browns and my slightly overcooked eggs. Although our server brought me a tablespoon more of the sausage gravy, it was only enough to coat a fraction of my second biscuit where my brothers singular biscuit was still overflowing with gravy which is worth mentioning that the sausage here at the College Drive Cafe is, without question, the best sausage gravy I've experienced in Durango minus the two breakfast places I haven't tried (Hermosa and "The Joint.."). We've been going to Ruperts because I had gone to CJ's for 20 years and whom we miss something awful as we do the crowd but sadlyy, Jerry was fed up with the politics tied with running a Diner, Drive in or Drive.
The ambience of the College Drive Cafe is really nice (minus the dirty smell of a filthy mop) and our server was great but what was especially impressive was the following that this place has because the crowd was as regular as Jerry had at CJ's - but my brother and I will NOT be returning to the College Drive Cafe which I understand was better with the previous owner a few years back.
CONCLUSINON:
If you can get past the filthy mop smell when you arrive and you don't mind that it might be as cool as 50 degrees (cold enough that not only do all of the customers wear their coats but the help dos too). Honestly, I had super high hopes for this place and admittedly, the sausage gravy was the best I had since Bob Evans (Elias Brothers) out east with a generous amount of sausage in in but it didn't matter since they didn't give me enough in my outrageously priced entree. Quite frankly, I talked to the owner of Ruperts as to how he might slightly improve his sausage gravy and although the alteration was nominal, he did choose to not try it out and NO, OF COURSE my way isn't the best way but I merely suggested that he might try the recipe from Bob Evans and maybe even do a taste test from his loyal costumers that order sausage to see which they prefer. Whether Ruperts used my idea or not, I wish they'd put more sausage in like the College Drive Cafe does. And where College Drive Cafe uses Sunny Farms sausage, it's riddled with way too much sage to the point that the sage takes over the dish or any dish it touches just reminding me to not purchase Sunnyside Farms Sausage.
You can email me using Yelp or respond to my posted email address though Yelp. When I began this review I started with three stars but then I reduced it to two and after reading other reviews, it was a no-brainer to reduce it to only one star and ONLY because the gravy was great in spit of the skimp helping and PLEASE do not tell me that I shouldn't be eating a gravy that's all fat because it is my breakfast weakest
