Jenn's Cafe is basically a small "mom and pop" diner, which is open for breakfast and lunch, and is a favorite of the Oroville locals. Thanks to the current state mandate, the counter is empty and all dining is outside on the spacious patio.
As you enter the restaurant, you'll notice the counter, with eight seats, and a few small tables in the compact dining room. Jenn's Cafe is a small, compact and cozy, diner, and before the COVID-19 days, much of the dining actually happened on the patio. Thanks to the virus, and the state mandate, all dining is now enjoyed outside. No worries on my part, as I prefer to dine outside.
From the "Traditional Breakfast" section of the "Breakfast Favorites" section of the menu... I went totally "traditional" which always works in my direction.
For my beverage, I chose ice water, which was free, as coffee was priced at $1.95 ... I'm sorry... I'm getting priced out of coffee.
The menu describes the breakfast as, "Served with two eggs and choice of one side: potatoes and toast, or two pancakes, or waffle or two slices of French toast, or full biscuits and gravy." Easy choice of the side for me, as I'm a total fan of biscuits and gravy, which is a great way to get my day started.. The "base" breakfast was priced at $13.65, but as the menu reads, "With choice of ham, chicken fried steak, or corned beef hash, or burger patty, or Polish sausage... $14.20." Alright, I went with Polish sausage, and paid the extra few cents, as Polish sausage is one of my favorite breakfast entrees.
It's a traditional breakfast in every sense, as it includes everything a breakfast lover could hope for, but at $14.20 plus tax seems very much on the steep side to me.
The showpiece of my breakfast was Polish sausage. The Polish "sausage" I enjoyed was actually a half Polish sausage, split lengthwise, and perfectly grilled. The chef has talent when it comes to cooking Polish sausage, but it's too bad that management is passing off a half sausage as a "Polish sausage."
I ordered my eggs fried over easy, which is my de facto standard, and my eggs arrived perfectly cook, over easy, just as I ordered them. The mark of a good breakfast chef is to cook eggs, perfectly over easy, as ordered, and the chef at Jenn's Cafe has talent when it comes to cooking eggs, as ordered.
The "full biscuits and gravy" was one biscuit, cut in half, and smothered with delicious breakfast, sausage gravy. The gravy was perfectly cooked, with just the right texture, and included lots of chunks of sausage, which is what breakfast gravy is all about. Delicious, but the word "full" implies a lot more than one biscuit cut in half.
The hash brown potatoes were plentiful, which was in a stark contrast to the rest of the meal. Jenn's Cafe's hash brown potatoes are of a different variety than I'm used to, as they were a bit on the "long" side and very well deep fried to a golden brown, in some cases, to a VERY golden brown, a little too much for my liking. No worries, as ketchup did the trick, along with mixing my perfectly cooked eggs over easy on to the hash brown potatoes, to make for a great breakfast.
As a side note, I "opened up" the restaurant at 07:00 in the morning, and my breakfast took about 40 minutes to arrive. I wasn't in a hurry, as I was heading on a camping trip to Lassen National Park, but I was a little bit surprised at the slow service. Maybe it takes time to open up the restaurant? I don't know...
Despite the slow and indifferent service, don't you think $14.20, plus tax, is a bit too high for a "traditional" breakfast?
I felt the portions were on the "slim" side for the price of the breakfast, especially since the breakfast included only one half of a Polish sausage. I wasn't particular fond of some of the over-cooked hash brown potatoes, and the credit/debit fee - should I have chosen to pay using that method - seemed so "1990's." Note that I was NOT in a hurry, but the 40-minute wait from order-to-breakfast-served time seemed excessive.
Jenn's Cafe serves a good, solid breakfast, but the lackluster service, small portions, a couple of small mistakes with the hash brown potatoes, high prices, and the long wait time make this a 3-star restaurant in my "book." Happy trails! read more