In the Shadow of the Greasy Spoon
It has become a family tradition for us to have Sunday morning breakfast at the Sutter Street grill in old town Folsom. The only problem with this tradition is that the wait to be seated can sometimes be horrendous. My husband and I are fairly used to it and we just wander around looking at the eclectic shops that flank the restaurant. However, patience isn’t a strong point of some of our family members and the whole twenty minutes that the server suggested it might be to have our party of six seated was out of the question.
Now let me be clear here...a tradition wouldn’t be a tradition if it wasn’t worth the wait, and Sutter Street Grill is worth its wait in gold to me for two items. Buttermilk biscuits and the cinnamon roll French toast. But it was not to be, so the question was where do we go? Sutter Street does have a few choices but how were they going to measure up to what I consider the best greasy spoon restaurant perhaps of all time, oh and could they get us seated ASAP? Tall order, but we were off to find a restaurant. Two minutes later, restaurant found. At Seasons on Sutter, I walked in to inquire how long the wait would be for our party and they said that they could seat us right away. Um, is that a good sign or bad...either way my sister in law was relieved, thus the rest of the party was relieved.
We sit and I survey the dining room. Nice enough, they had already brought fall in to the decor with candy corn filled vases and orange/brown silk flower arrangements, but it was decidedly more upscale then my beloved Sutter Street with the mere fact that everyone at our table had a matching coffee cup. On the other hand the gal next to our table was reading a book titled “Drink as much as you want and still live longer,” so things were looking up.
Since I had in my mind all morning that I would be having the cinnamon bun French toast at Sutter Street I was still in the mindset of something completely unhealthy and sweet for my breakfast. So I settled on the caramel apple French toast as it seemed like a nice way to compare. My husband settled on Oatmeal...which I thought was a miserable idea, but he has been on a health kick and held strong with his decision. My sister in law of course ordered whole grain cereal, at which point my shoulders were slumped in defeat. GREASY SPOON folks! This is why we work out (or why I do)--so we can get to eat! My brother and mother in law slightly improved the orders with one having a Denver omelet (egg whites) and the other opting for scrambled eggs and sausage with wheat toast.
My French toast was good...not great but good. The apples were nicely cooked and the French toast had good flavor and was not overly eggy, which I can’t stand. They provided some nice warmed maple syrup on the side but the dish didn’t need it. Was it the same as my beloved cinnamon bun French toast down the way? No way, but it was probably quite a bit better calorie wise which seemed to be the theme this morning. My husband’s oatmeal was a disappointment to him; hmmm I wonder why? Cause it is Oatmeal maybe. My sister in law of course loved her cereal. Of course. Everyone else was happy with their meals, or at least they were full and keeping any major feelings of dismay to themselves. It occurred to me as I took another cursory look around the dining room this wasn’t a destination restaurant; this is the overflow restaurant or maybe even more aptly put, this particular restaurant is the bridesmaid to the Sutter Street Grill bride. It has to be tough being in the shadow of the greasy spoon.
Seasons on Sutter
719 Sutter St.
Folsom CA
916-608-9894