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The Waffle Barn is a small chain of three restaurants that dot the Sacramento-area landscape, owned by the same folks, but each restaurant is unique in decour, but identical in service, menu, hospitality, and just about everthing that draws you into their store to enjoy a delicious breakfast. Thursday, May 17, 2007, the Sacramento Breakfast Club decided to visit another Waffle Barn, which is located along Fair Oaks Blvd, in Carmichael, which is an unincorporated suburb of Sacramento. You may recall our visit to The Waffle Barn, in Roseville, back in August 25, 2006, and how we strived to get our name on their wall by eating their gigantic breakfast, but we just couldn't make it. Well, if you don't succeed in Roseville, you might want to give their Carmichael store a chance, however none of us were that brave, as on this late spring morning, after a hard night at work, none of us could imagine eating a nearly five-pound breakfast. Whatever the case, it's nice to dream about it!
Left: The busy restaurant, located on Fair Oaks Blvd, just south of Marconi. Right: The decour consists of brooms, bicycle parts and old farm implements, tacked on to the wall. I guess you have to put up with that, if you crave country cooking. As soon as you enter The Waffle Barn, through their double doors, you're greeted by a friendly cashier, and a white board that lists the daily specials. Waffle Barn as a split dining room arrangement, as you can either sit to the left, or go down the wide aisle, passing the breakfast bar and the kitchen to you left, as you enter another dining room to the right of the cashier's station. Our friendly cashier seated us in the dining room to the right, and we couldn't help but to notice the quite funky decor attached to the upper walls, such as brooms, bicycle frames, signs and bicycle handlebars. I scratched my head and pondered the question: "Have I ever seen bicycle parts attached to a wall in a restaurant during by breakfast clubbing days?" Not ever, nor in a New York minutes. To top it off, Waffle Barn proudly flies a winged pig, painted pink from the ceiling, located above the cashier's station. Maybe their mascot pig is just for luck, or maybe it's just an indication of the fine breakfast that you'll enjoy at The Waffle Barn. Whatever the case, it works for The Sacramento Breakfast Club.
Left: The mascot, hung from the cieling. Right: The friendly cashier's station is a hub of activity, as you enter the restaurant on a busy Thursday morning, after working the night shift. As soon as we were seated, we were provided with menus, and asked what our drink preferences were. Besides core members Eric, David and Dan, we enjoyed the company of Jeff B. and Gayle M., who are attending more meetings and are their way to becoming regular members. Coffee is the drink of choice for most breakfast clubber's, but Gayle prefers tea, which is ok with The Sacramento Breakfast Club, as we're truly equal opportunity employers. During visit to Waffle Barn, no fewer than three folks visited our table, offering to refill our coffee cups, and made sure Gayle was kept well-supplied in tea. If you love coffee, folks, that's top-notch service!
Photo: The cashier's station is the extreme right of the photo, as the daily specials are viewed in the lower right-hand corner. In the center of the photo, you'll notice patrons seated at the breakfast counter, with the kitchen in the background. As the name implies, The Waffle Barn specializes in waffles, but if you're like me and not a fan of waffles, you'll find plenty of other dishes on their extensive menu to tempt your palate. David and I both love omelets, and he chose a "Farmer's Omelet" from the menu, which was basically a three-egg omelet, with all the meat you could put in it, served with home style potatoes and topped with country gravy. Does it get any better than that? It was a hard choice, but I decided to order two eggs over easy, home style potatoes, with extra diced peppers and onions, grilled Polish sausage, with biscuits and gravy on the side. Dan ordered a similar dish, a typical scramble, smothered in gravy, while Jeff and Gayle ordered more modest dishes. David, Dan and I have noticed that we have many things in common, as we almost ALWAYS order a breakfast dish that's smothered in gravy, or at least order breakfast gravy on the side. If you've ever served in any branch of the United States Armed Forces, you'll understand...
Left: Our friendly waiter Reed serves us our breakfast. Right: It's David's turn to foot the bill, and he does it with grace and style. At Waffle Barn, we were treated to superior service from a very friendly and efficient waiter by the name of Reed, who was "Johnny-on-the-spot," always there for us, very friendly, but not intrusive. Reed was even kind enough to take a photo of all of us, which is a service that outstanding waiters and waitresses provide, which is definitely above and beyond the call of duty. We appreciate a guy like Reed who keeps our coffee cups full, provides friendly banter, brings us our delicious meal, and who'll gladly take photos of us, when we politely ask him to do so. Reed, you're a great waiter! Oh yes, we're happy to leave a generous tip for a fellow like Reed.
Photo: Oh boy! My delicious breakfast of country biscuits, smothered in gravy, home style potatoes, Polish sausage, three eggs, fried over-easy, and a delicious cup of coffee, just recently topped-off from Waffle Shop's bottomless coffee pot. Back to the food... how could I describe our breakfast? Let's see... Delicious! Wonderful! Perfect! Good value? ... Yes!! The Waffle Barn is a very busy restaurant, seven days of the week, and its not unusual for lines to be snaking out of the building on a weekday morning. If you have to wait a few minutes to get seated, don't worry, as Waffle Barn is worth the wait. Take a tip from the Sacramento locals, as this place offers delicious food, friendly, efficient service, at a price that everybody and afford. Oh yes, you won't walk away hungry, as you'll probably ask for one of their styrafoam containers to cart a portion of your meal home, to enjoy another day.
Photo: Today's edition of the Sacramento Breakfast Club, from left to right, Eric Rench, the author of this web site, regular guy David DeMario, Gayle Martin, Dan MacLeod, and Jeff Brown. Thanks to waiter Reed for taking the photo using my camera. If you're a regular reader of The Sacramento Breakfast Club, you've probably heard our rants and raves against chain restaurants, and how we prefer to patronize the local guy. Well, with only three restaurants, The Waffle Barn isn't exactly a national sensation, and since all three restaurants are located in the greater Sacramento area, they're "fair game" for our club. We can't pass by a restaurant that serves and outstanding breakfast, and Waffle Barn excels in the breakfast category. You just can't pass by The Waffle Barn if you're looking for an outstanding breakfast. The Waffle Barn Restaurant, located on Fair Oaks Blvd, just south or Marconi Ave., is highly recommended by The Sacramento Breakfast Club. The Waffle Barn Copyright(c) 2007 Eric's Enterprises, Etc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002. Web page design has been created by Eric's Enterprises, Etc., website design, and more...
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