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The small, southern Sierra Nevada town of Kernville, CA is noted for it's breathtaking location, on the Kern River, at the head of Lake Isabella, along with endless outdoor activities, such as camping, white water rafting, fishing, hunting, exploring, and just about anything "outdoors" that you can think of. When it comes to fine dining, Kernville is also known as the home of Chery'ls Diner, which serves some of the best foodin the southern Sierra Nevada mountains, and the Sequoia National Forest. 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: It's a little past 10 in the morning, Saturday, September 14, 2019, and I've arrived at Cheryl's Diner, located in Kernville, CA, to enjoy one of the best breakfasts in the southern Sierra Nevada. Cheryl's Diner is owned and operated by Cheryl and Lanny Borthick, a local couple, and has been serving fine breakfast, lunch and dinner since the restaurant opened, back in January, 1985. I had become aquatinted about this fine restaurant through social media, and I was looking forward to a great breakfast, meeting the staff, and meeting Cheryl and Lanny.
Photo: The restaurant includes two dining rooms, along with an outside patio, which was absolutely crowded on this late Saturday morning, as the temperature was in the low 80's, which made for very pleasant outdoor dining. The cashier's station is in the middle, as the gentleman in the photo pays his tab, and the main dining room is straight ahead, laid out in "railroad" fashion. Both the main dining room and the patio are very busy today!
Photo: I elected to sit at the counter, in the smaller dining room, to the right of the cashier station. I made an excellent choice, as the smaller dining room wasn't as busy, and sitting at the counter gave me the opportunity to chit-chat with the friendly staff, and watch them perform their duties.
Photo: Meet Cheryl Borthick, co-owner of the restaurant, and the friendly lady who runs the restaurant. Besides running an outstanding restaurant, Cheryl is a talented pianist, and plays a "mean" honky tonk piano. I enjoyed meeting and chatting with Cheryl, as she treated me like a member of her family.
Photo: The breakfast menu at Cheryl's Diner features all of your favorites, all of your breakfast classics, and has all breakfast bases covered. After scanning the menu, I went with "Canadian Bacon and Eggs," as it sounded good on this Saturday morning. Cheryl's is serious about breakfast, as breakfast is served any time the restaurant is open.
Photo: Don't even ask... the sign says it all.
Photo: Just inside the entrance to the restaurant, there's a piano, where Cheryl herself, who is a talented pianist, belts out a honky tonk number, which is her favorite genre of music. I love ragtime and honky tonk, and I really enjoyed Cheryl's fine piano playing! How many other diners in Kern County can post of an owner who plays a "mean" honky tonk piano?
Photo: Just outside the dining room, on the patio, husband Lanny accompanies Cheryl, as he plays his clarinet, for a fine musical duo, to the enjoyment of both inside and outside diners.
Photo: Cheryl's Diner has a large, comfortable patio, that was very busy on this Saturday morning. I certainly enjoyed the honky tonk music Cheryl and Lanny played.
Photo: Meet three of the staff, Sabrina, Renea and Patty, who are three of the most charming, and friendly ladies in Kernville. Renea was my "official" server, but all three of them chatted with me, and treated me like family. The pick up window to the kitchen is just behind these nice ladies.
Photo: Patty picks up a breakfast order from the kitchen window, and is ready to deliver it to a customer.
Photo: Sabrina stops by to wave, and say "hello" as she brings an order, identical to mine, to another diner. Such a nice, friendly person! The pick up window to the kitchen is just behind her, and offers a glimpse of twp of the talented chefs at work. Note the "old school" order wheel, where orders are conveyed to the kitchen.
Photo: Meet Renea, my friendly hostess, who brings my order to me with a smile. Renea provided amazing service, pleasant conversation, and treated me like family. Cheryl told me Renea has been with her for 20 years... which is truly a great thing.
Photo: Thanks, Renea, for taking my photo, as I prepare to enjoy a delicious breakfast at Cheryl's Diner.
Photo: From the "Egg Dishes" section of the breakfast menu, I ordered "Canadian Bacon and Eggs," along with hash brown potatoes, two eggs, and sourdough toast. For some reason, today I wasn't in the mood for biscuits and gravy, which is a rare thing for me. I hadn't enjoyed Canadian bacon for many months, and it sounded good to me. My two slices of Canadian bacon were sliced nice and thick, cooked perfectly tender and juicy, and were absolutely delicious. Cheryl's doesn't skimp on portion size, nor does the diner use inferior meat, as this the "real deal," premium bacon. Other meat choices for the identical breakfast include ham, sausage, bacon or ground beef. Steak, naturally, commands a higher price. The breakfast includes two eggs cooked any style, and as per my de facto standard, I ordered my two eggs fried, over easy, and they arrived perfectly over easy, just the way I ordered them. One of the benchmarks of a good breakfast chef, when asked to fry eggs over easy, is to cook them that way, and the chef at Cheryl's nailed this one, as my eggs were cooked perfectly. My best regards to the chef... For sides, you choose between country potatoes, hash browns or fruit. I always have a hard time choosing between hash brown or country potatoes, as I love potatoes, but today I went with hash browns, and I never looked back. My breakfast included a large helping of perfectly cooked hash brown potatoes, finely shredded, golden brown on the outside, with tender and juicy inside, just the way fine hash browns should be cooked. The sourdough toast was perfectly toasted, arrived hot, with lots of melted butter. Oh yes!!!! Cheryl's Diner serves a superior breakfast, served by super-friendly staff, and is both a mecca and a paradise for breakfast lovers! I can't wait to try one of their burger on my next visit... Not only does Cheryl's Diner serve amazing food, the staff, led by Cheryl herself, is among the friendliest restaurant staff that I've ever had the pleasure to meet, they will welcome you, and they will treat you like family. No visit to the southern Sierra Nevada, the Sequoia National Forest, or Kernville could be complete without a visit to Cheryl's Diner. You'll love this fine restaurant... Cheryl's Diner Copyright(c) 2019 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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