Stacks Restaurant in Redwood City, California
Today we had set off to drive to Bolinas, but round about Palo Alto it started to drizzle. By the time we were approaching Highway 92, it was raining so we abandoned our plan. We found ourselves on Highway 82 – El Camino Real and stopped at Pete’s in Belmont for a coffee. After spending half an hour reading the paper and drinking coffee – hot chocolate for me – we then drove to Redwood City.
Stacks is a chain and we have been to Stacks in Menlo Park and Campbell. It is always interesting to see what things are the same and what is different from branch to branch. It was easy to spot as the Stacks sign could be see on the green awning some way away. As it were early, we parked on El Camino but they do have their own parking lot which they share with the Best Western Hotel.
Inside we were greeted and straight away taken to a large booth next to a window. The view of El Camino was not all that exciting though. The menu looks exactly like the one in Campbell. Last time I had the oatmeal so this time I tried something different – fruit, yogurt and granola served with a dry bagel $6.95. Tom ordered a short stack of buttermilk pancakes $5.25 with a side of sausage $4.65. They do oatmeal but to me the price was too steep.
This branch of Stacks is large, with lots of booths. There are a few tables with Formica tops and chrome chairs and ten chairs up at a low counter. There is only one photo on the wall and that is just inside the door. It is of a dog and the caption underneath says ‘Our Founder’. There are floral arrangements of various kinds, very attractively displayed on the wall. There were a couple of vases near with with cherry blossom in one and some other kind of blossom in another. On a half partition there was a row of small, round bay trees in pots. This theme was repeated on every table as they all had a dwarf potted bay tree. I may add that all these arrangements were artificial.
Now to the food. My bowl looked very pretty. Fruit was at the bottom, strawberry yogurt on top and granola sprinkled on the very top. Slices of strawberries were poking up round the bowl, making it look like a crown. The dry bagel was on the side. Tom was going for the large stack (3 large pancakes) to begin with but opted in the end for the short stack. Just as well, because they were very big. Extra points for the warm maple syrup.
I enjoyed the fruit, yogurt and granola but not so keen on the dry bagel. Should have asked for some butter or jam to make it more palatable. Tom’s verdict on the pancakes – good.
As for the restroom, it was more than adequate. The sinks were large and square and the surround was granite. On the counter stood a big vase of fresh flowers. The water took a long time to get hot. There was a large disabled stall with baby changing facilities inside. I liked the trash container – a large, rectangular wicker basket. Two interesting things I noticed to assist the disabled. One of the paper dispensers was set lower and, on the door, were two handles – one at normal level and one beneath it.
Would probaly come here again but the one in Campbell is nearer.
April 03 2009 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
Two breakfasts out in one weekend – we are eating high on the hog now.
Today we are off to the Farmers Market in Campbell and decided to leave a bit early to find somewhere for breakfast. We checked online before hand but the only alternative to the nearby Kings Head is Stacks. Once we went to Stacks in Menlo Park and I was not that impressed but maybe it is time to give this one in Campbell a try out.
It’s another lovely sunny day and hopefully we will find something tasty to BBQ tonight. After breakfast we will head straight to the fish stall. Unfortunately we are not going to find any local King salmon because there is a fishing ban off the California coast at all this year. We will also check to see if there is any sweet corn on sale.
Stacks normally has a lot of people waiting outside for a table but at 8.30 this morning there was nobody. To cope with the expected crowds later on there is free coffee available. Inside we were behind a couple of other new arrivals waiting. When it was our turn, we were aksed if we wanted to eat outside or up at the counter and there would be no wait but we decided to wait for a table inside. It was a very short wait and before long we were led to our table. We were expecting a small table as they are so busy but we were lucky to be seated in a 6 seater booth and have it all to ourselves. Plenty of room to stretch out.
Stacks is quite large – it was difficult to count how many booths and tables. The layout well thought out and the variety of options is extensive. It’s your typical breakfast eatery but, as it is a chain, the artwork and decorative touches are bland. It is also noisy but, of course, that is due to the number of customers here, all chatting away in large and small groups and enjoying their meals.
The menu is OK but I didn’t study it too well. I went straight to the ‘Healthy Eating’ section and checked out the oatmeal. It comes with a choice of blueberries, bananas or strawberries (hmm… just like the Ketch Joanne yesterday). Instead of toast though, the oatmeal comes with a dry bagel.
Within five minutes we gave our order and I asked the same questions as yesterday – Is the oatmeal instant? – No – Are the blueberries frozen? – Yes. So I ordered the oatmeal with strawberries ($5.75). Tom ordered a bacon Belgium waffle (7.65). He asked our server how big it was and she pointed out one on the serving hatch that was about to be served. He debated whether to order a side or something to go with it and decided not to.
The food arrived within ten minutes. That’s good. From arrival to getting our food it had been twenty minutes. We are impressed.
My oatmeal came in a medium sized, deep, round bowl on a large oval plate. Around it were small white bowls with sugar, raisins, strawberries and one with butter (I asked for butter to go with my dry bagel). The milk came in a small stainless steel jug and was full to the brim. Although the oatmeal looked a bit watery, it turned out to be nothing of the sort. It was scrummy. The sugar was not compacted in the bowl and therefore soft and the strawberries were just right. The only observation I would make, it was difficult to eat out of the bowl without moving all the little bowls out of the way, but not a big problem.
Tom enjoyed his waffle and it was soon gone. The server came to inquire if everything was OK. Now normally that superficial question which all servers ask (I guess because they are trained to do so), annoys the heck out of us. They always seem to interrupt at a critical point in a conversation or in the middle of reading an interesting article or, in my case, when I’m concentrating on writing. Our server (her name was Chelle) did it in such an engaging manner, she was excused. She also asked Tom if the waffle was sufficient or did he want to order a side. That idea appealed to him so he ordered a side of sausage. Three sausages on a plate, decorated with two slices of tomatoes and chopped cilantro, were soon put in front of him and, according to Tom, they were good.
The restroom was not that special. One thing surprised me, considering the size of the restaurant and the number of people who frequest the place, there were only two stalls – one standard and one handicapped. Plus there was only one basin. It was clean and bright though.
Our verdict is that the food is very good. Unlike yesterday, everything was piping hot. The service was excellent. All in all, we both agreed that we will come here again.
We had a successful visit to the Farmers Market and came away with 2lbs of Rainer cherries, 1lb of fresh King salmon from Alaska (at $21.95 a pound it was quite steep) and fresh white corn from Brentwood. We also noticed that there was a new restaurant serving breakfast so we will have to try it out next time.
June 17 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
