Bob & Brenda Geocaching

Our Observations

Brenda's daughter took us here for breakfast one Saturday morning instead of going to the local Denny's or IHOP. She insisted that it had some good food and the overall reviews said it was pretty good. When we got there, there were quite a few people ahead of us so hopefully that spoke to the quality of the food--unfortunately it didn't. After a long wait in line we finally were seated and greeted by a waitress who didn't seem like she really wanted to be there either (she probably already tasted the food).

We ordered our coffee and juice and stared at the menu. Brenda and I both have an adventurous palate and are willing to try anything at least once. However, there is a difference between adventurous and just plain crazy. When you read the menu, nothing jumps out and says "Hey! Pick me! I'm really tasty." Quite the opposite--the food and flavor combinations of everything except the pancakes don't even begin to sound like they'll work together. However, to be polite, we placed our orders and waited for the food. I had the only thing that sounded somewhat normal to me; the corned beef hash with red onions and Swiss cheese. By the way, they have a no substitutions policy and they do enforce it.

The service here isn't any better than the food. Wait staff is slow and you may or may not have everyone's meal served at the same time. As we waited for the food to arrive, we saw that the portions they brought out were huge--even bigger than what we get at Black Bear. Unsurprisingly, with the amount of people here, the wait for the food was about 40 minutes, which is a bit long for breakfast. Apparently because the food is all "homemade", it prevents the kitchen staff from having any type of timing system to ensure everyone at the table is served at the same time. When my food was placed in front of me, I just kind of stared at it. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I ordered corned beef hash. Instead of a neat presentation, I faced a huge pile of potatoes and the hash topped with a slice of cheese and two overcooked eggs. Sticking out of the top of this monstrosity was a rosemary tree. Normally, I would expect something like this to have the hash grilled and then have the cheese placed on top and remixed once it the cheese melted before putting it on the plate. I also expected the "crispy" potatoes to be on the side. Since they were thrown in with the hash, they were soggy from all the grease.

The food itself lacked any real flavor and no amount of salt and pepper really did anything to improve it. Sure, the portions were huge, but that just meant more wasted food at the end of the meal. Quality is a bit more important that quantity.

Their motto is "Twisted Farm Food." I'm not sure what farms they're visiting, but it doesn't conjure up any memories of food I ate growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Head on over to IHOP, Denny's or Black Bear if you want a better meal at a cheaper price.