Scot "Toe" B.'s Profile

OMG! Pancakes that I could actually use as a sleeping bag!

Of all the places I eat, of all the types of food I love, home-town diners/truck-stops are my favorite. And Jake's...well...Jake's is tied for my absolute favorite place ever. Yes...that's a tall order. And yes...this is there.

I'm going to add to this review from time to time as I think about it. Each time I write something, I start getting the shakes and need to head over to Jake's and take care of it. So bear with me.

I have been here myself, with family, and with friends multiple times in the past 6 months. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not a single visit has left me unsatisfied or complaining about any part of the meal. Not once.

Portions are HUGE! I say this like it's a good thing. It is. Sometimes it's way too much at once, and we take it home for another meal. I have learned to order their "specials" because the portions are just right for an adult. Like I ordered their Spaghetti Special a few weeks back and the bowl was larger than I have ever seen. Another patron ordered the spaghetti from the regular menu and hers was almost twice the size.

Breakfast...simply awesome. Fast, fresh, and FRIGGIN' HUGE PORTIONS! I don't even know if I can elaborate more on this...it's Saturday...I'm talking about Jake's...and...well...gotta go...

Oh...the place it's tied with? Hwy 29 Cafe in Napa, CA.

I am still a HUGE BBQ fan, so this has been on my must-visit list for a while.

Went here for the first time to celebrate son's birthday. Actually...we were expecting to go to their "Eastside" location, but that's in a friggin' gas station... Not like Rudy's (Texas) where it's a converted gas station, but an actual gas station. No...not eating here...moved on...headed all the way back across town to Century Dr.

Came on the $10 full-rack night. Nice...many people were ordering it. The plate is just ribs, beans and slaw...would have liked a better substitution, but hey...it's the special...I get it.

Smothered Fries. Excellent. In fact...had I known, I would have split this as a meal with one of my kids.

Onion Rings. Excellent.

Ribs. (Danish Ribs?!?) OK...let's give them a shot. While they were too smoky for me, they were still very good. I get the sense that mine had been sitting for a while, but I also understand that there are a lot of racks heading out on a night like this and they were fine.

Oh...$10 for the full rack of ribs! That was an awesome price and my review above is based on quality/flavor only, not value...value was OUTSTANDING!

Pulled Pork Plate. Excellent...HUGE portion...HUGE. The Garlic Mashed was excellent, though a bit spicy for the wife. It had little crispy chunks of potato in it and was...well...excellent.

Kids' Ribs. These were great, but the kids pulled off the really burnt parts and they would have been wasted had I not snagged them. Same comment as on my ribs where they were too smoky, but overall were good ribs.

Fries. Excellent. These are the large style of restaurant fries with the shredded potato crust that makes them extra crunchy on the outside while perfect on the inside. They were done very well for both the sides and the Smothered Fries.

Burger. Good "restaurant burger".

BBQ Sundae. A pile of mashed potatoes, beans and pulled pork. So now here's where it starts heading down. And after a while, we figured out what the problem was. It's the beans! They're awful. And since they flavored the whole dish, the dish was then awful.

Jalapeno Cornbread. Good. Not great, but good. It needs to go with something, like beans, but...

BBQ Beans. A couple of us had beans as the side, and they were in the BBQ Sundae above. They were awful. It's the sauce. Too sweet. Too much ketchup. Too much. The other ingredients were done well, the beans themselves were good as were the chunks of bacon, but the sauce destroyed it for me. I watched the finished dishes of a few other patrons go back and every single one had a not-empty bowl of beans on them. Either something was really wrong that night, or they're not understanding these beans need to be changed.

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Service was ok. We were greated and seated promptly, and there was a big party next to us. It took about 15 minutes from appetizer order to food order, which was way too long, but overall it was understandable based on the orders ahead of us getting prepped. I did like that they were at the front door waiting for us and had our table ready before we entered.

We'll be back...but I am disappointed that this didn't turn into one of my WE'LL BE BACK places.

I have been to multiple fairs and events with amusement rides throughout the country and have never experienced a more inconsiderate group than Funtastic.

Throughout a multi-day county fair in Oregon, I watched time and time again as patrons were rudely dismissed, ignored and downright insulted. Like any fair, you expect a certain portion of "non-standard behavior" from the part-time staff and 'carnies', but this rude, dismissive behavior went all the way to the top.

When I brought a couple of the things to the attention of their customer service, not only did it appear I was talking to a wall, as the customer service person was speaking to what appeared to be a supervisor sitting RIGHT NEXT TO HER, he simply got up and started walking...AWAY. He couldn't care less about the customer service employee and my feedback.

I rarely find myself writing directly to a company in these cases, but this consistent behavior was so bad it deserved documentation. (for a copy of my documentation, send me a message)

Speaking with other patrons who have attended the same fair and dealt with the same company for years, they were not at all surprised with what I shared and experienced. In fact, they have just come to expect it. A sad, sad state of expectation.

I'm a reasonable guy. I'm a manager. I deal with customer service and personnel issues constantly, so I am not some raving, incoherent lunatic who's screaming at the people. Maybe that's what they're used to...maybe that would have gotten some results. Maybe...but that's simply not right.

I do not recommend this company for any reason.

Seriously...some of the BEST donuts I have ever had. Deserving of the 5 stars. Sure, you could drive 4 hours for a Voodoo Donut, then wait another hour in line, but you'll be thinking about the 4 hour drive back for one of Richard's.

Just moved to Bend and went looking for a donut shop nearby. Richard's is about 1/4 mile from my place, so I figured it would just be a "local" one, not setting any expectations.

I got a cinnamon roll that was absolutely perfect...for a donut. Not greasy, very flaky...just the right flavoring. Same with the tiger tail twist. All of the cake donuts we got were excellent as well. I had a piece of cherry frosted cake donut with sprinkles as a dessert at night and it was fantastic...really...fantastic. I snuck another piece too.

I was very surprised at how well this place came across as my expectations weren't high. Small store in a small town... But these are really some of the best donuts we have ever had, and I highly recommend them.

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Updated to add...

I have visited hundreds of donut and pastry shops in my life. The ones that stick out have high-quality product and friendly staff. Richard's qualifies as a hometown favorite that beats out many of my long-standing ones.

OH. MY. GOD.

Had the Tikka Masala Burrito. Looser than a normal burrito, but is easily one of the best I have EVER had. Got the mild and it still had a healthy bite to it. I got mine without the pickled onions, though most people say they are great as well.

Line...crazy busy. It was hard to hear them call our names over the noise and the loud music, but everything was done right and was excellent. Friend got a Mango drink and enjoyed it too.

Menu's a bit daunting to a rookie like me, but I just went for it and ordered based on a recommendation.

Worth the wait...

30 years ago I visited this location for the first time. Back then, this was one of the only, and best, places I went to. So it was an interesting process to bring my family back. Thanks to a special from http://restaurants.com, I got a $25 certificate for $3.

Food was OK...I can't say fantastic because the bar is set so high now. I really like this place because of the fast service and being one of the best, but the food was just that...OK.

I wish I had tried some of the tacos, instead we opted for the burritos. I'll come back and try some more items.

I started working nearby and have been looking for a good steam-table place. This is it.

Just stopped by for lunch and it was all very hot, fresh and good. Yes...it's "Americanized", but that's what I was looking for. I'm fine with that.

Turns out that I have been coming here for many years and didn't know it...how, you ask? Well...during the Chinese New Year Parade, when I and 500 billion of my closest friends descend on Kearny to see the parade as it turns the corner, food is hard to come by. And I have braved the crowds many times to go here and load up with a couple of large plates full of food. I have never been disappointed with the freshness. A few years back, I brought the extended family, parked our butts on Kearny and headed over to China Fun Express. $25 later, all 10 of us had full bellies. Looking forward to that again this year.

I did NOT know what to expect here. Coming from the South Bay, the reviews of how much stuff they carry are over-exaggerated. Barnes & Noble in San Jose carries more than here. But I guess this is unique for SF?

Brought the wife and kids in tow. Ooops. $10 later for some tiny chocolate pieces. I appreciate fine chocolate, and I appreciated the depth of knowledge offered, but it's just not my thing to be here. My wife says it more succinctly-"I hate snobby places."

Fast cashiers...agreed.

Mediocre-at-best steam table...mostly agree.

Quick, cheap sandwiches...agreed.

I read through the previous comments and this is what I love about Yelp...I agree with a lot of the comments and observations. Particularly the one about "wish they were more customer-conscious" with refilling trays, mopping...so on. This has happened each time I have been there.

I'll keep coming back.

My business recruiters took me here the other day for a quick lunch. We were ushered to the back/side room and it was quiet enough to share a conversation. Ordered Fish & Chips...and they were excellent. Can't say much more, and hope to be here some evening, but my first visit was pretty dang good.