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I remember as a young child in the early 1960's, driving over Pacheco Pass, on the way to "Grandmother's House," literally speaking - my grandmother lived near San Jose - and passing by a small fruit stand, mostly selling cherries, to travellers on California State Highway 152. Over the years, the fruit stand has blossomed and grown - pun intended - and now includes a campground, gas station, amusement park and... a restaurant, Casa de Fruta Orchard Restaurant. As with all of reviews that I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: Casa de Fruta Restaurant is a Central California restaurant icon, and has been in business since the 1960's. It's mid-Sunday morning, October 01, 2017, and we've just wrapped up a great weekend at the 2017 Northern California Renaissance Faire, and we're ready for breakfast. Update to Sunday, October 07, 2018. After enjoying another great weekend at Northern Califormia Renaissance Faire, we enjoyed a great breakfast at Casa de Restaurant, as the Casa de Fruta resorts likes to call their restaurant.
Photo: One page of the extensive breakfast menu. Casa de Restaurant is open 24 hours, every day, and they are really serious about breakfast. After looking over the breakfast menu, I just HAD to go with "Tri-tip and eggs." Way to begin a Sunday morning!
Photo: On this mid Sunday morning, October 07, 2018, we were fortunate to have Jennifer as our hostess, who kept our coffee mugs full and took good care of us.
Photo: Trip-tip, eggs, hash brown potatoes, and sourdough toast - not shown - made my breakfast today, and made the rest of my day. Back to Sunday, October 01, 2017... Photo: As you walk in the front door, you're greeted by two lovely gals, who will greet you and seat you. If you're in the mood to take a pie home, there pies available at the counter. Note the selection of wine, which I assume comes from the Casa de Wine, located next door. The gal in the red shirt is Mirella, who seated us, and was our server. She definitely seems happy to have her picture taken.
Photo: We were seated in the main dining room, which is to the left of the meet/great counter. The dining room is very large, airy and bright, thanks to the many windows which allow for natural lighting. As you dine, you can look outside and view the beautiful scenery the resort has to offer, and the oak-covered hills.
Photo: The restaurant is open 24/7/365, which means most every menu selection is available any time the restaurant is open. (Note: There are a few exceptions, such as fried chicken, as noted on the menu.) This is only one page of the extensive menu. It's about 9 on a Sunday morning, but for some crazy reason, I felt like a burger for breakfast - and a "regular" breakfast is my favorite option - so I "broke the mould" and ordered a burger.
Photo: Kim and Derric seem to have made up their minds, as Mirella takes their order. It seems the rest of our party is still studying the extensive menu. This photo gives the viewer a great idea of the beautiful dining room the restaurant has to offer.
Photo: After placing my ordered, I went over to the front of the restaurant, peeked over the counter to get a shot of the semi-open kitchen, and the staff in action.
Photo: Our super-friendly hostess, Mirella, brings orders to our table. Since there were seven of us, she had to make three trips.
Photo: Our orders are served, and Mirella asks is if everything is OK. You bet! We were amazed at her intuity, as we had planned to put all of our orders on one tab and split the bill evenly. Without asking, she knew "who was with whom" - was the only "unattached" member of our party - and deliver the correct check to the right couple, and give my check to me. I suppose, since I was single, I would have been easy, but how she figured out the rest is simply amazing.
Photo: Chorizo and eggs, sitting on a bed of hash brown potatoes, along with flour tortillas. My man, Derric, you know what a great breakfast is all about! If I had ordered a "traditional" breakfast, this item would have been high on my list.
Photo: Ham and cheese omelet, along with hash brown potatoes.
Photo: Ham, cheese and spinach omelet, with homestyle potatoes. Kim is a trooper, as she likes grilled onion and pepper in her potatoes.
Photo: Greg's spinach and cheese omelet, along with the customary hash brown potatoes.
Photo: Breakfast is my favorite meal to enjoy at a restaurant, but for some crazy reason, I decided to "break out of the mould" and order a "Bacon Cheeseburger" for my breakfast, along with an order of fries. The cheeseburger starts with a half-pound beef patty, cooked the way you want it, in my case, medium. You get your choice of cheese, and I chose "American," which is truly different for me. (Did I have too much "Ren Faire" yesterday?) You get two strips of bacon, and the burger is garnished with onion and lettuce. The buns are buttered and toasted. Condiments are on the side, and they're all the standard variety, including mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and relish. The burger was truly delicious, juicy and cooked to perfection. The cheese was melted perfectly, and I could actually taste it. The fries were golden on the outside, chewy on the inside, and neither overly salted or greasy. Truly, Casa de Fruta Restaurant makes a great bacon cheeseburger and fries!
Photo: Thanks Mirella for gladly snapping our photo. Left to right: Margi, Greg and Bonnie are hidden, Kim, Derric, Michael and Eric, front and center, who just happens to be the photographer and writer of this article, and the publisher of this web site.
Photo: We dig in and enjoy our wonderful breakfast. This weekend was almost like a "mini" family reunion, as we're all family. It's always a great thing to enjoy breakfast at Casa de Fruta Restaurant with family members. The fruit stand has been in business since the 1940's, the late 1960's saw the arrival of the restaurant, and now the landmark "orchard resort" has turned into a destination for coastal, and San Jose bound travelers. You'll enjoy great food, friendly service, and a "orchard like" atmosphere 24/7/365 at Casa de Fruta Orchard Restaurant. Casa de Fruta Orchard Restaurant Copyright(c) 2018 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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