Foothill Flavors

A Place You Can Always Count On

By Antoinette May Herndon

First let me make it clear: Jackson’s Denny’s is for serious eaters. Though that’s not to say that an occasional power breakfast can’t have happened there. Surely deals must have been struck at Denny’s. Heads have rolled or maybe even been crowned. Both proposals and propositions may have been tendered and accepted.

Or not.

Surely these dramatic make-it or break-it events must have happened. Some time. But Denny’s is definitely not a heavy action place . You don’t go there to see and be seen. Having said that, I must admit that I was quite dazzled one dreary, rainy Sunday morning by a couple sitting just across the aisle from me.

He was a showman, a real Buffalo Bill type in his cowboy hat, bright red shirt, jeans, boots, and a sheepskin vest. She was a chic sophisticate in a red and navy jockey cap that matched her smart hip-length jacket and blended with her spike heeled red boots.

What I’m saying is that Denny’s isn’t simply comprised of locals shoveling in their hash browns. The busy diner faces right on busy Highway 49 and has a hotel next door. I wouldn’t exactly say its the crossroads of a million private lives, but Denny’s is a caravansary of sorts and draws a wide variety of people traveling north and south.

Besides being a good, reliable place for breakfast, lunch and supper. Denny’s

has real people watching possibilities. Charles and I especially like to go there on Sunday mornings for breakfast. I enjoy Denny’s famous scrambles and slams, but am always on the alert for new dishes as well.

Last visit I had a fun surprise. They’ ve added some exciting new drinks, peppermint variations. There’s peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint hot tea and even peppermint sprite.

My choice was the peppermint white chocolate caramel cappuccino. ($2.50) This most delicious drink was made with white chocolate and topped with whipped cream and peppermint sprinkles. It was an unexpected self indulgent treat that I totally enjoyed. Charles, who had difficulty taking me serious with a whipped cream mustache, just went with coffee. And a few hundred less calories.

Things are pretty up to date at Denny’s. They have a bar now, so I suppose you could even have a Ramos Fizz or Bloody Mary made to order. We decided to forego that pleasure for another time.

Charles and I usually order from the senior menu, available to anyone 55 or older. I’m not really sure why we do this, because neither of us really gets what “senior” means at Denny’s. If my dish was meant for a senior (who are thought to have smaller appetites), I can’t imagine what they serve youngsters 54 and younger. My selection was the Senior Scrambled Eggs & Cheddar Breakfast. ($6.69) The portion was HUGE.

Imagine two pancakes

almost the size of the plate, two eggs, two sausages and two strips of bacon, plus hash browns.

On this particular visit, Charles blew the whole senior thing and chose Moon Over My Hammy ($8.29). It’s really hard to resist a dish with a name like that. It consists of a ham and scrambled egg sandwich with Swiss and American cheese on grilled sourdough bread served with grits.

Denny’s is definitely a place you can count on. Tried, true, reliable. The service is good. The ambience clean, open and highly functional. One feature that I particularly appreciate is that you can get breakfast any time.

How often have you gotten a late start Saturday or Sunday morning and arrived at a restaurant, visions of scrambled eggs and bacon dancing in your head, only to hear that they are no longer serving breakfast? Pastrami on rye just doesn’t cut when you’re thinking waffles and syrup.

Whether the diners are Foothill regulars, movie stars on their way to Tahoe get- aways, or Silicon Valley hotshots headed for the Capitol, the common denominator that draws them to Denny’s is food. They want reliable dishes, speedily and pleasantly served. Denny’s always delivers.

VITALS: Denny’s is located at 200 South State Highway 49 in Jackson. Phone: 257-1550. Denny’s never closes—that’s right 24 hours a day. Breakfast at midnight, if you want it. All credit cards accepted.

PICTURES

Dining at Denny’s