Hung over after a night at the Belvedere, I roll out of bed around 10 a.m. Seeing that I still have a few bucks left from the night before, I drive down to Carlos’ Country Kitchen, located on West College next to West College Gas and Mart.
The name is true to its service. This isn’t a high dollar 10-course joint, where you feel underdressed in your coveralls and work boots. In fact, you’d fit right in.
It looks like a diner straight from a Quentin Tarantino film, complete with cracking brown leather booths, grease-stained walls and diner-hardened servers.
Last night’s beer still sloshing around in my stomach, plus a few ibuprofen, I take a seat on one of their crap-colored leather bar stools. As soon as I sit down I’m asked if I’d like a menu and something to drink. I order coffee and give the menu a look. Prices range from $4.25 house-cooked biscuits to a $15 top sirloin omelet.
I order the tomato, spinach, mushroom and onion omelet at $10. All omelets come topped with four cheeses: American, cheddar, jack and Swiss. Having been raised as a pork eater, I have them add bacon. A good decision – from the Santa Rosa Meat Company, the bacon is thick cut, smoky and could please even the harshest critic.
The omelet is almost a foot long, about four inches high and five inches at its widest point. It’s bursting with lightly grilled fresh tomato, steamed spinach, grilled onion, juicy mushrooms and fried bacon. The four cheeses melted over the top drip down my chin as I finish chewing the first bite.
The eggs are a little brown around the edges, slightly overcooked. And the bacon, too, could have lost some time on the fryer. The buttermilk biscuits are thick and moist; they are a great addition to the meal drizzled with a little honey.
The owner, Carlos, paces the small kitchen like a lion watching over his pride. Two cooks manage the hot line while two servers take and deliver orders with Carlos occasionally stepping in to help and checking that all customers leave satiated.
Carlos’ Kitchen opens at 5 a.m. every day and closes at 2 p.m. Whether you’re hung over, hungry from a long night of studying or a Bear Cub athlete looking for a breakfast of champions, I suggest you give this greasy country joint a try.
The ups:
* Large portions
* Homely atmosphere
* Fair prices
* Most vegetables are grown in Carlos’ home garden
* Free refills on coffee
The downers:
* Greasy
* Slightly over-cooked
* Using a microwave
Rating:
Service 4/5
Food 3.5/5
Atmosphere 4.5/5
Cleanliness 2/5
Quality for your money 5/5
