Buck’s Restaurant, Woodside
This is the wildest, wackiest diner in Silicon Valley. For a start it is in Woodside. Now for
those of you not from the Bay Area, who do not know Woodside, I will try to describe it. The town itself is upmarket. Built to look like an old town, it is obviously new and high class. The main businesses are investment banks and realtors. There is a gourmet market and a picture framing shop. The residents must do most of their shopping in Palo Alto. The Post Office looks like a fort. Folks like Steve Jobs (Apple) and Larry Ellison (Oracle) call Woodside home.
There is a lot of history to Buck’s (by history I’m not talking centuries here but decades). People say many Silicon Vally deals and great ideas were drawn up on a Buck’s napkin. It is claimed to be the haunt of a lot of well known faces and/or names. For more information check out their website.
It opens at 8 on a Sunday and we were there when the doors opened. There were already a few people waiting when we turned up. Inside it is large. The seating is mostly booths but there are some tables and chairs and off to the side there are 5 stools at the counter. We were told we could sit anywhere we liked. Our first choice would have been a booth in the window but the sun was directly in my eyes and I couldn’t see any blinds. (I did notice later that there were blinds but well disguised.) We chose a booth further back.
Our server was very friendly and told us the special – a stack of 2 buttermilk pancakes layered with ricotta cheese, kiwi fruit, strawberries and bananas ($12), so Tom went for that. I ordered oatmeal with strawberries. Now here is an interesting point. I wrote a review of Buck’s five years ago almost to the day and the oatmeal then was exactly the same price as today ($4.50). Back then I also had banana and strawberries for an extra $1.50 so we will find out later how much they have gone up.
Now to the interior of Buck’s and this is its most outstanding feature. I can sum it up in one word – stuffed. I don’t know where to begin, so I’ll start with the first thing you see as you walk in the door – a six foot plus replica of the Statue of Liberty with a string of mardi gras beads and a stethoscope around her neck. That should give you an inkling of what to expect.
From there my eyes wandered to the ceiling. Suspended were 13 large objects and that’s just in the front part of the diner. There is a helicopter, a blimp, a flying horse, a monkey in a sled, an old bi-plane, a copper surfboard, three large fish, a strange looking gas powered wooden go-kart, an airplane, a yellow wooden car smashing through the wall and a log cabin. Phew!
Every wall is covered not only in pictures, some huge, but an amazing range of objects. So many in fact I will only name a few – a case of harmonicas, a size 23 shoe, about a dozen brightly colored ceramic cows, an old squash racket and hundreds of miniature tools and utensils. Believe me, you just have to come here and see for yourself.
We didn’t have to wait very long for our food to be served. Tom’s buttermilk pancakes looked pretty and good and came with a small jug of warm maple syrup. My oatmeal came on a large, round, decorated plate with the oatmeal in a large shallow bowl. Also on the plate were a small plastic bowl of compacted brown sugar, a small green bowl of golden raisins and a small ceramic jug of milk. The strawberries came sliced in a side bowl.
The food was good, no question about it and Tom said the coffee was very good which, coming from Tom, is high praise indeed.
Now the restrooms. For a start allow half an hour for the trip not because of long lines but because there is an wonderful array of things to look at. There were two restrooms, one for men and one for women. Each one was a large room. In the womens there was a table in the corner with a very old child’s three wheeler. On the walls were three interesting pictures and one on the door. The facilities themselves were very basic but adequate.
Our verdict – pretty darn good. In fact, one of the best. A visit here will have you leaving feeling good. OK, the buttermilk pancakes were a little on the expensive side, but hey, this is Woodside where some of the richest people in Silicon Valley reside. We certainly recommend it as a must go to place for breakfast. By the way, the strawberries were free or at least we were not charged for them.
March 16 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
