Silver Creek Cookhouse vs. Humpty's Family Restaurant

Battle of the Breakfasts

Silvercreek looks like a trucker's breakfast joint. It's even next to a tire shop (Integra Tire) that services big rigs (which happens to be a plus if your car is being worked on--go grab a pancake and hot chocolate while you wait!) The parking lot is unpaved and the place smells slightly old when you walk in. The decor isn't anything special.

But. Where the time is spent is on breakfast! I'm mostly okay with a dive as long as the food makes up for where nearly everything else is lacking. Sometimes, dives can be the best places to score a great meal.

I've been to this place a number of times over a handful of years. The smiles are plentiful. Those Silver Creek ladies run a happy show. And breakfast is hot and delicious. I wish I could order breakfast all day. I mean, who says the eggs should stop at 2 pm? I heart breakfast restaurants. By 'Breakfast Restaurant' I mean those places that specialize in the most important meal of the day. Generally, across the board, these places do a pretty job with breakfast. My fave at this joint is any combo plate that includes their eggs, potatoes or pancakes. Yum.

Silver Creek Cookhouse is on the pricer side. A group of four eating a full breakfast will run around $60+.

Humpty's

Here's the setting: Saturday morning. Family breakfast outing. High guest traffic. I expect somewhat of a wait to be seated. Nevertheless, a restaurant should probably be on top of their game, right?

This place is laughable It's supposed to be a FAMILY RESTAURANT and yet nothing about speaks of family to me. Sparse, thrift store decor. Something like TEN tables. The one and only time I've been to this chain and location was here in FSJ. With teenagers waiting on tables and practically running around with their heads cut off to the disgusting, foul-mouthed old men who make me want to sanitize my hands when they look at me...well, this isn't a place I'd bring my family OR myself back to. Ever. The food is less-than-mediocre. (Remember my Happy Breakfast Mantra? Not here.) The service isn't even service. I left NO tip and waited way too long for everything because of Ms. Chicken Head forgot everything we told her. Yup. Didn't write anything down. And then she forgot more things during our dining experience. Get this, she didn't even come back for our money. We could have walked out without paying, that's how chaotic this place was being run.

I think I'm a magnet for horrible and yet, in retrospect, humorous dining experiences.

Here's the thing:

I would like to see smaller menus. Have a handful of items to choose from and present them well. Big menus give the customer a chance to get lost, take longer ordering and thus backing up the entire process. Big menus offer a lot more room for staff error--kitchen mistakes, wait staff not knowing answers to basic questions, ordering mishaps, juggling too many fresh ingredients and countering waste.

What I want to see is a two-sided menu and that is all. You know what? You'll also figure out very quickly what your customers love and what they hate. You can rotate a few features every week/month and try on the chef hat that way. SImplicity is the key. Ever been to a home where every wall is covered with something? It's like your eyes don't know where to look and one can't appreciate any beauty. Rather there is confusion and chaos. Same with giant menu. Less is more. Really.

Silver Creek GRADE: B. Develop a small, awesome lunch menu (or get rid of it altogether,) stay open later, and keep up those smiles.

Open 6am -2pm
10104 Alaska Rd
250.785.4888

Humpty's GRADE: Fail. I will never recommend this place and never return. Anywhere. I don't care how many improvements you say you'll make.

Located somewhere along the Alaska Hwy. That's all I'm gonna say.