On a mission to eat out and try one of the local restaurants at least once a week, this Sunday we really wanted breakfast. Breakfast out is usually predictable and easy on the pocketbook, so I figured it would also be an easy entry into the local reviews as well.
Up at 4:45 this morning, by 7:30, I was starving and ready for brekkies. I trolled the internet for breakfast places, and other than the standard chains, Denny's and Perko's, the two stand-outs appeared to be Mel & Faye's Diner and Thomi's Cafe. Can you believe that Mel & Faye's doesn't list their hours on their website (or at least somewhere I could find it)? So, by default, we chose to try Thomi's.
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| Photo courtesy of Thomi's website. |
The building has a charming exterior on the corner of a little strip mall on highway 49. We arrived about 8:10, the first and only customers of the day. The reception was cordial, but hardly warm and friendly. Maybe because it was early on a Sunday and the young girl really didn't want to be there. Really, I can't say I blame her all that much...
The interior is cute, almost cozy. I really liked the bar/hostess station with the brick-red wall. The wooden chairs were a nice touch compared to the faux-wood ugly tables, but they were FILTHY. I mean, really gross. Every chair-back in the restaurant was covered in a film of sticky fingerprints and spilled food, made glaringly obvious by the high-gloss finish of the chairs. It skeeved me out quite a bit.
We started with coffee as we perused the breakfast menu. Sadly, it is an over-sized laminated menu, the exact same as on the website. For such a cute little place, you would think that the menu would be something just slightly more...classy. The hubby and I usually pick standard fair for our first visit to any restaurant, eggs being a pretty good litmus for the rest of the food; if you can cook a good egg, chances are the rest will follow suit.
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| We loved the large, friendly cobalt-blue mugs. |
My breakfast arrived cold, not warm; stone-cold and starting to congeal. As the first, and still only, customers, I could not understand how my whole plate could be so cold.
Did they make my breakfast, put it in the window, and THEN start Rick's? Although my eggs were almost perfectly poached, they forgot the avocado (which was later brought to the table as a side), the ham was not the thick slice of grilled ham as pictured on the menu, but shaved, overly-salty lunch meat, and the hollandaise sauce was the completely bland packet variety. Had it been hot, it would have tasted a whole lot better. As it was, I ate because I was super-hungry, not necessarily because it was good.
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| Side of avocado, browner than in the photo. |
My side of avocado, when it arrived, was pretty brown and looked old. (The picture looks better than it did in person) It would have been fine if it was covered by the hollandaise, or in a burger or omelette, but not very pretty served as is. I would have re-thought bringing it to the table.
Our total, without tip ended up at $20.87. The waitress was much friendlier by the time we left (maybe she just need some coffee, too), but I don't think it was enough to make the experience worthwhile for a second visit.
Perhaps we should have trusted our instincts and stopped at Mel & Faye's; at 8 am their parking lot was full.
Rating (1-10):
Ambience: 7
Service: 6
Food: 4
Value: 7
Overall: 6
The Particulars:
Thomi's Cafe
627 S. Highway 49,
Jackson, CA 95642
(209) 257-0800
Open 7 days, 8 am - 9 pm (8 pm Sundays)
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