Happy Sunday!
Yesterday afternoon, Almanzo and I took a trip up north to Mendocino to visit some friends. The area was gorgeous (even if the weather wasn’t!) and we ended up staying the night and then taking a leisurely drive home this morning, stopping for a late breakfast at the Bluebird Cafe in Ukiah.
There’s just something about small town diners that gets me every time. I could totally imagine a varsity football team coming here after practice for burgers and shakes, or a family making this their weekly brunch destination. The interior of the diner was cute and decorated in old timey signs and newspaper clippings, but the real thing that caught my eye was this:
And this:
Any diner that makes homemade pastries is an instant win in my book. Even better was the fact that they deliver a basket of them straight to your table right when you sit down!
Friends, there are times when self control goes right out the window.
This was one of those times.
I actually didn’t eat that cinnamon roll–I opted instead for the spiral raspberry danish that fell apart in sweet, buttery sheets in my mouth. What more can I say?
For my meal itself (although I could have made a meal just out of the bread basket), I chose the Bluebird Benedict but without the hollandaise sauce.
I’m not a big fan of hollandaise. I think it’s because it made me cry in culinary school when it kept breaking during a practical exam…but that’s another post for another time.
The homefries were delicious as well!
Even though I sort of feel like a stuffed sausage right now, it was worth it. I just might need to do a few extra lunges across my living room to fit into my jeans tonight.
Typical.
Natalia - a side of simple
September 19, 2010 at 3:04 pmThis made me laugh out loud about the lunges. Totally have to do them after I devour home fries or tater tots. I lose all self-control when it comes to them! And there’s no place like a hole-in-the-wall diner. They have that homey feel to them and are a great place to go on the weekend!
Tracey
September 19, 2010 at 3:19 pmI really like diners like this. We had a lot of them back in Nebraska but not so much here in the city:( I used to work night shift and every Friday after work (7:00 am) a group of us would go to a place called the Diner and have coffee and poached eggs. I loved those meals.
I’m not a fan of hollandaise sauce but the only reason I have is because I don’t like the taste:)
Jillian @ Reshape Your Life
September 19, 2010 at 3:22 pmI love diners like that! And pastries are definitely my weakness… How can anyone say no to a freshly baked warm pastry?!
Kelly
September 19, 2010 at 3:24 pmSmall town diners are the best! Your meal looks amazing but I have to say I would have totally gone for the cinnamon roll!
hippierunner
September 19, 2010 at 3:27 pmSounds like the extra lunges will be worth it! Homefries? Mmmmm. And I’m not really a fan of pastries but your description had me wanting one. Or many…
eatmovelove
September 19, 2010 at 3:31 pmI love that you can take me away to little places that I want to be but will never be.
No wait. Positivity! So YES one day I maaaaayyyy get there…or somewhere like there…any random diner out in the desert perhaps…;)
Camille
September 19, 2010 at 3:40 pmA pastry basket!? Oh. My. God.
Jasmine @ Eat Move Write
September 19, 2010 at 3:45 pmHa! I’ve never been to a restaurant that served dessert BEFORE dinner. Very cool. I adore cinnamon rolls, especially if they’re warm. I haven’t been to Mendocino. Sounds fun! 🙂
Liz @ Tip Top Shape
September 19, 2010 at 3:49 pmHaha, I love small-town diners! I swear they sometimes have the best food 😀
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey
September 19, 2010 at 3:53 pmI love diners like that – what a great find.
Sometimes, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to fit in her pants.
I don’t judge you.
RhodeyGirl
September 19, 2010 at 3:57 pmI love little diners that are actually gourmet diners…. that cinnamon roll looks fabulous, especially with my cinnamon roll cravings of late!
Maren
September 19, 2010 at 3:59 pmoh my goodness, any restaurant that serves pastries in their bread basket is a MUST GO in my book.
Whitney
September 19, 2010 at 4:05 pmSaying “Yum” right now would be so cliche. But yum all the same. That cinnamon roll looks like heaven.
Jessica @ The Process of Healing
September 19, 2010 at 4:08 pmSome things are just worth it… those pastries look to DIE!
Heather (Heather's Dish)
September 19, 2010 at 4:08 pmhey, the raspberry pastry totally makes those lunges worth it! i love diners, especially the ones in small towns with local specialties. sounds like the perfect sunday morning to me!
Kelly
September 19, 2010 at 4:11 pmYeah, I think I would have had to go with the cinnamon roll, but both look incredible. I’d say having to do a few extra lunges is worth it, haha.
Suzanne de Cornelia
September 19, 2010 at 4:13 pmOMG! I only get Le Eggs B for the hollandaise & champagne to go with!
I LOVE diners too & have had memorable times in some of them along the Sonoma Coast & up to Mendocino. Like one scary stormy black night driving back to San Francisco from up north–we stopped in a place with a wooden floor that you walked over & made sounds as if an actor in a Spaghetti Western. There was a pot belly stove blazing–delicious stew & homemade biscuits. The only other people in there was a group of about 10 French tourists–with their scarfs tied as if by abstruse Einstein physics secret. So delicious & fun!
Jean
September 19, 2010 at 4:14 pmSmall town diners are the best. Is this where Suze Orman used to work, or do I have it confused with another cafe?
Liz @ Blog is the New Black
September 19, 2010 at 4:28 pmThose pastries look delish!
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
September 19, 2010 at 4:32 pmYou are such a gal after my own heart.
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin
September 19, 2010 at 4:35 pmMy self control would go out the window at the sight of those pastries too!
Kati @ Living Well
September 19, 2010 at 4:47 pmUm. I totally do lunges across my livingroom floor too. Why not?? And breakfast is just one of those meals I don’t eat out enough. YUM!
Katie Daley
September 19, 2010 at 4:57 pmHi! I’ve been following for a while but this is my first comment!
I just spent a weekend up in Mendocino, so gorgeous! Did you eat anything exciting there? We always enjoy Northcoast Brewing Company…but mostly for the beer:)
Cara Craves...
September 19, 2010 at 4:57 pmI think the stuffed feeling is worth it…that food looks delicious!
I can’t believe those basket goodies were complimentary…bonus!
Caitlin
September 19, 2010 at 5:02 pmI love diners, and this is my new destination. Now to convince the boyfriend that the trip is worth it!
Laura (Starloz)
September 19, 2010 at 5:25 pmI’m a huge fan of diners like this, i think i need an american roadtrip
Sana
September 19, 2010 at 5:56 pmI am going to join you in doing lunges! I have been over indulging and love it!!
Marie @ ReciPeas & Musings
September 19, 2010 at 6:01 pmHaha I’m laughing at the lunges… I definitely do that, too. I love little diners like that! We found one out while we were driving around today, I so wish we had a place like it where I live 🙂 That bread basket though… wow. Yum.
Lisa
September 19, 2010 at 6:11 pmFor some reason I thought I didn’t like hollandaise sauce but I had it recently and loved it! I try not to order it too much because it’s so decadent. But it’s a nice treat once in awhile.
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga)
September 19, 2010 at 6:20 pm“–I opted instead for the spiral raspberry danish that fell apart in sweet, buttery sheets in my mouth. “—
Oh what a great choice! But I have to say I am SUCH a cinny roll girl that it coulda been hard keeping me away from the cinny rolls!
Mendocino and staying the night, kinda on a whim….ahhh, how awesome! I love that you LIVE your life to the fullest. I remember those types of things w/ my hubs before that thing called parenthood made life more planned and less spontaneous but one day I will get back to it 🙂
MoniMeals
September 19, 2010 at 6:26 pmI agree, I love small town Diners, Out here in LA, not a whole lot of em 🙂 Good call on the Raspberry Danish!
Jil @ Peace, Love & Munchies
September 19, 2010 at 6:30 pmWoww – those pastries are stunning. Self-control would quickly fly out the window if those were in front of me.
Rebecca
September 19, 2010 at 6:53 pmI have my baking and pastry final tomorrow…then I start stocks, sauces, and soups! Here’s hoping neither make me cry!!!
Michelle @ Turning Over a New Leaf
September 19, 2010 at 7:27 pmLunges. Hah! That’s about how I feel right now. It was a friend’s birthday weekend. So much sugar!
Nora@LifeLifeEatRight
September 19, 2010 at 7:53 pmLooks amazing–what a beautiful way to spend a day. I love little places like that. Down home, and delicious. The way food should be! I hope all is well and that Almanzo is doing better 🙂
Katie
September 19, 2010 at 7:57 pmYummm I love breakfast so much and that just looks like a wondrous assortment of breakfast foods!
Susan@MomSwimBikeRun
September 19, 2010 at 7:59 pmI love that you’re not afriad to eat when you “have” to! You’re my kind of gal! Totally worth it. I hope you’re lunging as I type this 😉
Amber K
September 19, 2010 at 8:32 pmThat cinnamon roll looks fantastic! I would be all over that, lunges and all!
Katherine @ Left Coast Contessa
September 19, 2010 at 8:43 pmHoly home fries those look delicious.
Mama Pea
September 19, 2010 at 10:13 pmWHAT?! Not a bread basket, but a pastry basket? OH. MY. PEAS.
Dee
September 19, 2010 at 10:20 pmoh my gosh, oh my gosh… it’s like the universe is speaking to me. lol! mendocino is my ultimate living destination! and what serendipity for one of my favorite bloggers to visit and show me its potential! 😛 EEK! *favorite-ing this post right now*
Lizz @ Leading the Good Life
September 19, 2010 at 11:10 pmI love hollandaise, but really only my Dad’s. Restaurants usually mess it up! Every year my parents make eggs benedict for my sister’s birthday…which is coming up some I’m pretty stoked!
Lauren @ WWoB
September 19, 2010 at 11:50 pmAll that food looks delicious and totally worth it! Aint no shame!
Janessa
September 20, 2010 at 12:38 amCinnamon Rolls! YUM!
At a private club I worked at, all the members (average age: 80) would order a basket of cinnamons BEFORE their dinner. I think they were made with pork fat, so everyone loved them. (as a vegan, I stuck with munching on the garnishes to the buffet table. :D)
Gorgeous photography, Jenna. Quite inspiring.
Lauren at KeepItSweet
September 20, 2010 at 3:45 amthose baked goods looks so impressive for a “diner”!
amanda
September 20, 2010 at 4:44 amThat food looks totally worth the extra lunges. 🙂
Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down)
September 20, 2010 at 5:07 amI think that this diner would have me ordering ham and eggs and danishes too. There are absolutely no good diners in my area. They have the greasiest food, but not in a good way. 😉
Regina
September 20, 2010 at 1:07 pmThe Bluebird Cafe is wonderful, but it’s actually in Hopland, CA. A small detail, but Hopland deserves recognition!
Lisa
September 20, 2010 at 8:07 pmOmg so jealous! That looks amazing! Haha I totally would have been doing lunges after that too! =)