Breakfast in America

So here we are again, back on the road with most of the Hatton family. This time we are tackling the Western States with short stays in Utah and Colorado.

The first leg of our journey is more about getting to a Utah destination and with one driver for the first half of the trip, we’ve broken up the road into smaller portions. I am, after all, traveling with kids – great travelers, my kids, but there are times… Well let me just say I’m thankful for hotel pools to wear the darlings out.

The Sunridge

Today, we ate at the Best Western Hotel restaurant – The Sunridge – “The place to eat” (their slogan) when the place you intended to eat at is closed (my little addition to that slogan). We intended to go to the Baker Bistro on Washington, but sadly it was closed. Will someone let me know what we missed?

Continental Breakfast

The Sunridge is a friendly coffee shop type place. I wouldn’t say it was gourmet, but the portions were certainly plentiful. Jessica enjoyed her Continental Breakfast with banana muffin and fruit bowl. Fresh fruit, but a bit too much melon for my non-melon-lover girl.

The Gourmet Omelet

Cameron’s pancakes were loaded with blueberries and his take on the bacon? Perfect! I ordered the Gourmet Omelet – loaded with all the things a lactose intolerant acid reflux sufferer shouldn’t have, but hey – I’m on vacation! That’s what pills are for. I have to say the highlight was the hashbrowns and the lowlight was the frozen butter which I had to tuck under my tea cup to melt. Rather a funny situation when I think back on it…

Spendy Scale: $ (Especially if you stay at the Best Western Sunridge – $2 off per person for breakfast or dinner)

Coffee Rating: not reviewed

Other Offerings

• Lunch and Dinner
• Next door to a bar and grill
• Room service for guests
• Takeaway

Contact Information

(541) 523-4495

Hours

Pending

Local Attractions

• Adler House Museum
• Baker Heritage Museum
• Eltrym Historic Theatre
• Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

Jack Lalanne\’s Sample Meal Plan

Fuller's Coffee Shop

Search the Internet and you’ll find that 90 percent of the people who review Fuller’s Coffee Shop absolutely love this place. I, unfortunately, do not.

Fuller’s Coffee Shop has been on my list of places to go since I started this blog. The problem with my getting there is that this is a bar stool diner with no tables for groups. Therefore, my Monday Morning Breakfast Bunch couldn’t exactly meet there and enjoy the meal together.

The place is adorable with its zigzag counter that spans the length of the place. It kind of reminds me of a Chock Full O Nuts diner in New York City. Like that place, Fuller’s is all chrome, Naugahyde and Formica. It’s a fun experience to belly up to the bar for breakfast. The fun, though, pretty much stopped right there for me .

Horrendous Hashbrowns

I ordered a traditional breakfast with hash browns, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. They serve “homemade” bread – wheat or white – for toast. I thought, “Cool! I like the sound of that”. At first glance, all looked well. I was given ample amounts of everything at a great price – the kind you would expect at a place like this. But then, I tasted it. No, wait! That couldn’t be right. I tasted again. First the hash browns and then the toast. Though crunchy and deep golden brown, the hash browns tasted of old grease – really old grease. I doused it with salt and pepper to hide the rancid taste, but alas, not enough improvement to continue eating. The eggs were fluffy and tasty. The bacon was thick and meaty. The toast? Oh my…I tasted that once, twice and then? I did something I NEVER do when I go out to review restaurants. I called our server over and asked, “What in the world is on this toast?” She answered, “It’s uh…margarine.” Then I had a knee-jerk reaction – really and truly. “You put margarine on homemade bread? This is absolutely disgusting. That’s just wrong.” Yes – I said that. Funnily, our server agreed with a kind of sideways glance at the kitchen.

Bless her heart, she made me another round of toast – plain, with a side of real butter. Not great butter, but butter nonetheless.

My friend did much better with her French Toast. Beverages were ordinary and unremarkable in taste, but nicely presented with cup, doily and teapot for my Stash Earl Grey tea.

The menu is slightly confusing. If you want a smokin’ hot deal, read the Side Order menu. While some of the sides seem spendy compared to the full meal prices, you’ll find a couple of breakfast sandwiches that I saw my fellow dinners enjoying. Small sides, they are not.  These are hefty sandwiches and should be on the regular menu.

If  you do decide to go, be sure to have cash on hand or checks. They do not accept plastic though there is an ATM inside for your convenience.

Spendy Scale: $

Coffee Rating: Not rated

Other Offerings

• Lunch
• To Go for all items on menu

Contact Information

Hours

Mon – Fri: 6:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Sat: 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Sun: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Local Attractions

• Museum of Contemporary Craft
• Powell’s Books

How would you like to help out a local SW Washington theatre company and enjoy a pancake breakfast for just $7? Pretty slick deal, right? You bet it is!

I’m on the Board of the Metropolitan Performing Arts Academy and we are hosting a fundraising event at Applebee’s on12717 SE 2nd Circle in Vancouver, WA, on October 2nd from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

$5 of the $7 ticket price goes to our organization. The money will be used to purchase sound equipment. We’re not talking walkie talkie’s folks – wireless mics are expensive. Won’t you help us?

If you’d like to a ticket or two or ten, contact me at slhatton@comcast.net

Our Upcoming Show

Hang in there folks. Just trying to organize my life. Need to get the kids in school and then I’ll be back to regular posting. Got some new ideas that I’m going to be introducing to this blog.

WATCH THIS SPACE

Morris Fenton and his partner, Gwyn Manney (formerly of Shelby’s in Washougal) are now at Olivers at the Camas Hotel in Camas, WA.

I was distraught when I heard they left Shelby’s, but thanks to the article in the Post Record, they are found. Menu looks amazing. No breakfast – dare I say “Yet?” No matter. I’ll be making reservations soon.

Note to self: Never lend a notepad with notes from two breakfast visits to ANYONE.

Sigh.

Dear readers,

I haven’t forgotten you. I was the Book Fair Goddess at my daughter’s middle school last week and if any of you are extreme mom volunteers, you know exactly what that means – all day commitment to helping Scholastic make money and hopefully, earn free books for the school. Allow me to toot my own horn; our book fair made over $10,000 in profit. YES! My last middle school volunteer gig was a success.

And so, my schedule is a bit  easier (except for being in Bye Bye Birdie - our local theatrical production with an amazing cast and director). Shameless plug, I know.

I will be playing catch up with the blog so please bear with me. I’ve got a couple of tidbits to share. Watch this space!

Breakfast lovers – I missed you! Just so you know, one teeny little mistake (like hosing up your blog URL in the WordPress General Settings screen) can take your blog down.

I did that a few days ago and until I could figure out what I did wrong, I consoled myself with comfort food – lots of good breakfast and of course, chocolate cake.

I’ll be playing catch-up so look for updates within the next couple of days.

Everyone knows you should start your day with a good breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day, typically eaten in the morning. In truth, breakfast foods taste good any time of the day.

Mine usually consists of cold or hot cereal, toasted rye bread and half a grapefruit. However, my favorite breakfast is one that someone else cooks for me. I’ve made it my mission to find the best breakfast places in my area and beyond. This will be a guide for the best one-off locations, mom-and-pop cafes and bakeries. Sorry folks…no restaurant chains will be found here. After all, when you’re traveling around the States, do you really want to eat at a place you can eat at when you’re at home? I think not…

Here, you will find short reviews and recommendations on where to get your first meal of the day. Got a great suggestion for breakfast? Please share!