Hank’s Creekside Diner

Nope. Not French Laundry. Not Cyrus or Syrah or any of the Stark’s restaurants. Oddly enough, it’s Hank’s Creekside Diner.

I’m
dead serious–the quirky little Santa Rosa breakfast diner that’s been
around forever, served up countless banana chocolate chip pancakes and
been a reliable hangover helper to the post-party crowd. The place
where we all sit around reading the paper on Saturday and Sunday
mornings waiting for a table. That Hank’s.

Now, keep in mind I’m
not a Hank’s virgin by any means. Their burgers ain’t half-bad in my
book and that view. Oh, the view. If you’re lucky enough to get a table
by the window, it’s one of the most relaxing spots in town at a
rock-bottom price. But embarrassingly enough, I wasn’t among the ranks of the breakfast club until just last week. The omelette and toast thing just isn’t my scene. But for you, I endured.

Let
me first say that Hank’s is never going to be included in the annals of
haute cuisine. It’s diner food. Good diner food for the most part. But
diner food. It’s fluffy pancakes as big as your head, sausage, eggs and
Huevos Rancheros. But what sets Hank’s apart from, say, Denny’s or IHop
is the local cred and homemade touch. Biscuits are made from scratch,
eggs are fresh and the cottage fries are, Oh My God good.

Weekenders
tend to vere toward the familiar — eggs, pancakes and bacon. If you’re
up for a splurge–and I mean a artery-clogging blow-out–go for the Crab Cake Benedict. It’s two somewhat meager, but tasty crab cakes sandwiched between English muffins on soft boiled eggs topped with pools of Hollandaise.

also get high marks, along with outrageous omelettes stuffed with everything from ham to lox and cream cheese.

A
recent plug on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives gave
Hank’s some momentary celebrity starpower, but it doesn’t seem to have
changed much else. The pancakes are just as fluffy. The view from your
breakfast table is just as spectacular. And the wait is just as agonizing.