When our granddaughter Daron Ann was a youngster, her favorite restaurant was Elmer's Restaurant on South Hosmer. When she stayed overnight or for the weekend, we would take her out for breakfast. I think I've only eaten there once or twice for dinner over the years. It's been recommended by our readers as a great place to eat for not much money.
I do like their Dutch Baby (a German pancake), but two weeks ago I had one at the Original Pancake House, where they made a mistake in someone else's order and so our little friendly gathering had an additional breakfast item to share.
Elmers offers several ways to flavor their Dutch Baby (you can choose your syrup), but I like the tried-and-true standard of lemon wedges and butter. The Dutch Baby is baked in a frying pan with the batter going up the sides of the pan. So, they are quite the sight to see. One Dutch Baby is enough for most people. I like to melt the butter and then squeeze the lemon juice into the butter and smear it all around. I usually run out of both butter and lemon wedges.
So with my last Dutch Baby in mind, I perused the menu with interest.
Peg asked if an order had to be for breakfast. The waiter said she could order almost anything except prime rib and baked potatoes.
I placed my order while Peg thought over all the possibilities before deciding on a half bacon sandwich and a cup of tortilla soup. She ate the bacon sandwich mostly because it had bacon, but she loved the soup. I think the next time we return she might just order a bowl of soup and be done with it.
Peg drank water, while I drank coffee as did our four friends who joined us. One of them even had a bloody Mary, which he passed around for sampling. His family also has a Christmas tradition that involves Elmers. Each year they go chop down a Christmas tree out in the country and when they return to Tacoma they all have breakfast at Elmers.
Since I had dined on my share of Dutch Babies so recently, I decided on something different. I chose the potato cake with Tillamook Cheddar Cheese, eggs, and bacon. As I waited I drank coffee. It's strong. At restaurants I like to add cream, but at home (and instant coffee) I usually drink my coffee black. The little half-and-half containers served with the coffee made it perfect for me.
One of my friends gave me her biscuit. She needs gluten free products, which Elmers doesn't have. I added butter and blackberry jam. The biscuit was excellent as was the potato cakes. The addition of cheese in the crispy cakes added a little sharpness, which I liked. As I ate them I was kicking myself for not ordering lingonberries. I love those tart little berries. The cakes come with a tiny container of applesauce, which was way too bland. The cakes also had a tiny dollop of sour cream. Next time around I'll order extra sour cream and lingonberries. For this trip I borrowed extra butter from my friends.
We were eating in the bar, because when we arrived there were a number of people waiting to be seated. We were all adults, so the bar was a great alternative, which was suggested by the greeter. We found a little section (behind a small partition) with a table for four and nearby table for two, which fit our group of six. When we left there were still people waiting to be seated. Sunday morning is a busy time for Elmers. Lots of families. Nice food and nice people.
