Woodlon Diner

Cheap AND delicious!

Woodlon Diner

24335 N. Highway 99

Acampo, CA

I’ve probably travelled the stretch of Highway 99 between Sacramento and Stockton a jillion times.  Each time, the Woodlon Diner seemed to beckon “Stop and eat here.  Wait!  Where are you going…?” as I sped by.  But when I was tasked to choose a casual breakfast spot for a gathering of my screwball friends, I knew this was the perfect place.

Woodlon diner is a cool little truck stop in Acampo.  Minutes away is a skydiving facility where mere mortals voluntarily throw themselves out of airplanes; the only risk I was willing to take on this particular morning was to eat an enormous breakfast, knowing full well I had lunch plans with family a few hours later.

 

A no-frills atmosphere can be found here, and the only drawback for the other patrons was the lack of upholstery to help absorb my group's boisterous laughter this morning.  They seemed not to care, reading newspapers while sipping on coffee and stabbing piles of scrambled eggs with their forks.  Our cheery waitress took our orders (and apologies for our behavior) before scurrying off to the kitchen.

Chewing shuts us up quickly, and I have the feeling the kitchen was highly motivated to serve us as fast as possible.  Huge platters arrived, and my go-to breakfast of Chicken Fried Steak came on TWO platters, earning me ridicule from each knucklehead in my booth.

Then, silence.  Forks scraped plates as I sawed into my crispy steak smothered in country gravy and half a shaker of pepper.  Protein is good for you, right?  I wasted not a morsel as I methodically moved from steak to perfectly runny sunny side up eggs to toast (the dessert portion of breakfast).

At least two out of four of us soon sat back with our eyes rolled to the back of our head.  Stomachs? Extended to capacity.  Lunch?  Definitely not an option.  Dinner?  Well, a girl has to keep up her strength…

Mifune Restaurant

Objects in this photo are larger than
they appear!

Mifune Restaurant
1737 Post Street
San Francisco, CA


I should have seen the warning signs.

The word "Deluxe" in its title.

The $12.99 price tag.

Identical serving vessels being shuttled to families of four.

Yet, I went right ahead and ordered the Deluxe Nabe all for myself – even when the menu clearly stated it would be served in an iron pot.  Really?  An iron pot?  I felt compelled to order it for that reason alone.

I was given two soup bowls and two soup spoons.  Ha!  If I weren't such a lady, I would have dived right into the pot itself, head first.

Having two bowls actually came in handy.  Contents of one bowl would cool off while contents of the other were being methodically shoveled into my mouth.

Super generous serving of udon, cooked perfectly...no gluey mess here.  Shrimp.  Scallops.  White mystery fish.  Imitation crab.  Shitake mushrooms, other exotic mushrooms, and various greens.  All topped with a single shrimp tempura.

Wow.

The next morning I weighed two pounds heavier.  It had to be the sodium in the soy sauce, right?  Right...

Flaming Grill Cafe

Your mouth better be open for these
mammoth burgers, too.

Flaming Grill Cafe

2319 El Camino Avenue
Sacramento, CA


I haven’t seen this many exotic meats since the last time I was in San Francisco’s Castro District!

Flaming Grill Café’s menu is designed for repeat visits.  I came for the Ostrich, but ended up ordering the Wild Boar Café Burger, and created a mental checklist to come back for the llama and yak.

Although watching other patrons systematically devour a zoo’s variety of meats had me nearly salivating, my burger was only half-eaten because (a) of the sheer size and (b) my server unknowingly sabotaged my appetite by convincing me to substitute my fries with blue cheese and bacon fries, which I couldn’t stop eating.  Damn you, bacon.

Next time, the Carne Asada Fries…because my digestive system is a glutton for punishment.

Randy's Donuts

My kind of famous in L.A.!

Randy's Donuts

805 W. Manchester Boulevard
Inglewood, CA


To be honest, I came for the photo opp.  Giant donut on a roof?  Check.  Camera?  Check.

Eating was an afterthought, given the fact that the previous day I enjoyed a double-cupcake breakfast.

I couldn't resist, though; everyone seemed to be salivating over the smells of sugar, cinnamon and coffee that wafted from the kitchen and into the otherwise smoggy LA County air.  I chose a chocolate cake donut, and managed to shove each last tender, fudgy crumb into my mouth in seconds.  A jelly-filled monstrosity was saved for my mid-morning "snack".

Will I be back?  Maybe not for a repeat snapshot, but definitely for an apple fritter…tomorrow.

Samoa Cookhouse

Arrive early to beat the crowds.

Samoa Cookhouse
908 Vance Avenue
Samoa, CA


Samoa Cookhouse has been on my must-visit list for quite a while now, and for good reasons:  first of all, the last surviving cookhouse in the West has been serving customers since the late 1800s (a feat in itself), when they fed workers in the nearby lumber and logging industries.  Secondly, the fare is all-you-can eat, AKA “lumber camp style”, and servers bring the food to you at your request, something I appreciate since I typically make 4-5 embarrassing trips to any given buffet.  In fact, I wore stretchy yoga pants in preparation for this hearty meal.

I headed to the cookhouse early on a Sunday morning, ravenous after a day traipsing through redwoods along the Avenue of the Giants.  As I stepped inside I found rows upon rows of long tables covered with old-fashioned red and white-checked tablecloths.  A few families and solo diners were already digging into their breakfasts, and the air had a slight smell of cinnamon.  I was seated, immediately offered water, juice and coffee, then told the biscuits and gravy would arrive shortly.

The cookhouse has a set menu each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Today’s menu board revealed that the biscuits and gravy would be follow by French toast, sausage and eggs; I tried to pace myself, but ended of gorging on a couple of biscuits with warm, buttery milk gravy.  I spied the chef behind the counter dipping thick, hand-sliced homemade bread into a vat of cinnamon egg mixture at a furious pace, keeping up with the steady stream of customers coming through the front door.  At the same time, he scrambled eggs and made sure there were enough hot sausage links to go around.

I declined a second round of biscuits and gravy (!) and cleansed my palate with a little OJ before the main event.  Moments later, I was presented with a pile of golden French toast, sizzling sausage links and fluffy scrambled eggs.

Few things top the taste and texture of home-baked bread; and, as a result, this might have been some of the best French toast I’ve ever had.  I drenched each rich, chewy bite with butter and syrup and watched as dozens of loaves behind the counter were being sliced up for the next day’s breakfast crowd (only day-old bread will hold up to that thick egg batter).  It was so good that even after the first helping AND my previous biscuits and gravy, I asked for seconds.  The sausage and eggs proved to be a nice balance to all of that carb-loading.

Completely satisfied, I lumbered (ha!) into the next room for a trip back in time.  The Logging Museum houses antique equipment and tools and displays turn-of-the-century photos of workers who likely dined at the cookhouse decades ago (just not in yoga pants).  Rigorous work under dangerous conditions can work up quite an appetite, which is why the cookhouse’s meals are indeed “fit for a lumberjack”.