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How does barbecue sound for breakfast, especially when served in a unpretentious, small, "mom and pop" restaurant in a small farming town? I'd heard about Ranch Hand Cafe, located in Exeter, from a friend, and I actually drove about 25 miles out of my way to enjoy a breakfast of pork belly. Boy, I'm glad I did! 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: Ranch Hand Cafe is located in the small Tulare County farming town of Exeter, far off the "beaten track," and busy CA Highway 99. It's mid-Friday morning, May 25, 2018, and I'm eagerly looking forward to a barbecue breakfast!
Photo: Inside, the dining room is small, unpretentious, but clean and friendly. You place your order from the blackboard above the counter - how often do you see blackboards in 2018? - pay for it, and your order will be brought to your table. When I say the dining room is small, there are six tables each with four chairs, but if your group is larger, you can easily push two or more tables together. During my visit to Ranch Hand Cafe, I noticed that most orders were take-out, as the phone rang constantly and there was a steady stream of customers coming in and picking up orders.
Photo: Paul, the only staff member working during my visit takes an order from a customer. Note the menu located behind the counter, but a printed menu is available as well.
Photo: Here's the printed breakfast menu. This is DEFINITELY not the menu of a chain restaurant, but the menu of a small-town bbq joint. The "Ranch Hand BBQ Breakfast" really got my attention, but in the end I chose "Pork Belly Bacon," as I'd never had it before. I didn't regret my choice!
Photo: You can get a glimpse into the kitchen and see Paul hard at work cooking breakfast. Between the other customer dining "in," the phone orders and myself, Paul was a busy guy, but he always had a smile on his face.
Photo: My breakfast arrives with a smile. You can get a peek at the condiment counter in the rear of the restaurant, along with some of the decor.
Photo: Thanks Paul for snapping my photo. In addition to the pork belly bacon, country potatoes and eggs, a small container of salsa and a giant flour tortilla came with the breakfast.
Photo: The view from my table as the other dine-in customer enjoys breakfast, and a lady picks up a take-out order. I love the galvanized metal panels the decorate the dining room, as it lends a rustic appearance, which is very appropriate for a small restaurant, in the small town of Exeter. Just an aside, today was the first time I'd every been to Exeter, as before dining at Ranch Hand Cafe, I really didn't have a reason to stop by.
Photo: My "BBQ Pork Belly Bacon and Eggs" breakfast, after I'd scooped the salsa on my plate and added the flour tortillas. The menu describes the breakfast as "Thick-sliced pork belly bacon, two eggs any style, country potatoes, fresh salsa, and a large flour tortilla." My breakfast was amazing! The pork belly bacon was at least a quarter inch thick, after cooking, and it was perfectly cooked just the way I like it. It tasted the way fine bacon should taste, and was smoky, delicious and chewy. The eggs were cooked over easy - my de facto standard - and were perfectly cooked. The country potatoes were golden brown on the outside and chewy on the inside, the way potatoes should be. The salsa was fresh, and the tortilla was toasted. An excellent breakfast! The barbecue meat tempted me, but since I'd never had pork belly "bacon" before, that won me over for my breakfast. The food is great, the price is reasonable, and the experience is unique and priceless. Ranch Hand Cafe is definitely worth a detour to enjoy a delicious barbecue breakfast. Ranch Hand Cafe Copyright(c) 2018 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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