Wendy B.
Yelp
This is a newly opened, corporate chain restaurant from the Midwest region of our country, trying to expand by opening franchises along the West Coast. It did not impress me.
First, before making our final decision for breakfast, we asked to taste their country gravy that they use for their Chicken Fried Steak. This turned out to be a really peppery, meatless cream gravy. If you really like pepper, this might be for you, but one taste convinced us to avoid ordering anything that was served with that.
While disappointed that we wouldn't be finding our dream CFS here, I was further convinced after observing a diner at another table trying to cut his chicken fried steak rather unsuccessfully, implying it is quite tough.
What we did order:
Bacon Avocado Ranch Omelet. The 3 egg omelet was heavy, overcooked, and bland from being cooked in a flavorless shortening. While there was a generous handful of chopped bacon on top, the bacon was not smoky, nothing to write home about. The cheese was an afterthought, just a very light sprinkle on top and too mild in flavor. The "ranch" part was a drizzling of their version of ranch dressing with a mustard componant I was not in love with. After seeing how they cooked their omelets, I could not, in good faith, recommend any of their omelet items.
And how does one ruin perfectly good hash browns? These were cooked on a griddle with a poor quality vegetable shortening. My impression was that they tasted bitter, possibly cooked on a poorly cleaned griddle, rendering them rancid tasting and inedible.
The Ribeye steak and eggs were not much better. The steak was a mediocre grade of beef and rather bland tasting. To their credit, at least it was cooked to a nice med rare.
Both breakfasts came with hash browns and a choice of 2 buttermilk pancakes, toast, or fruit. The pancakes were good but fell flat as far as being described as having "a vanilla" ingredient. I could not detect any. At least, they were tender, big, and served with good-tasting whipped butter. However, there was nothing out of the ordinary to would booster their claims to be the "best pancakes in town." We have had better locally, but these are a safe bet. The syrup was great and did make the pancakes enjoyable.
Pecan pie. Not bad, not good. On a positive note, it had a less sweet custard filling. The pie crust was not up to expectations.
They serve everything on their menu all day long.
The hostess and servers are impressive, very attentive, and hard-working.
The restaurant is very clean, but the dining area is an echo chamber. The cacophony created from the lack of accoustical planning and competing diners was intolerable as the restaurant filled up. It lacks ambiance and feels rather sterile, which normally wouldn't be an issue. But add that to the other disappointments, and it is worth noting.
I had no desire to bring any leftovers home, an oddity for me. I should have returned my omelet meal to the kitchen immediately and requested something else.
Sorry to say, I doubt I will ever return due to the poor quality of the breakfast foods we had.
